The Best Face Scrubs, According to Dermatologists and Facialists (2024)

Garshick describes this polish as “a great multitasking product” because of its well-rounded list of ingredients. She mentions the formula’s shea nut shell powder, which effectively eliminates dead skin, and willow bark extract that improves the appearance of pores. The two help improve the overall look of your skin. But they are gentle enough to use on all skin types, she adds. Other standout ingredients include soothing shea butter and colloidal oatmeal, alongside complexion-improving licorice root, feverfew, and white-tea extracts, she tells us.

In a business where your job is to know the best skin-care products, product loyalty can be rare, but Danuta Mieloch, an esthetician and founder of Rescue Spa, has been using Valmont’s Face Exfoliant for years. “The ultra-creamy texture and micro quartz particles make it the perfect scrub for everyone,” she says, adding that you can mix it with your cleanser or a drop of micellar water to create a polish (and perhaps make it last longer since it’s whopping $95 per 1.7-ounce jar). The high-end scrub also got facialist and founder of La Suite Skincare Rhea Souhleris Grous’s vote, who calls the texture “elegant” and appreciates the rose-infused “distinct Valmont aroma.”

If you have oilier skin, you might assume a stronger scrub will get rid of pore-clogging sebum. But Palm, Green, and Garshick recommend this milder cleanser instead. Palm likes the scrub because it blends light physical exfoliation, via super-gentle jojoba beads, with chemical exfoliation. Green says that the combination helps clean out clogged pores and prevents future breakouts. “It contains several forms of alpha hydroxy acids, including glycolic, lactic, and malic,” Palm says, as well as breakout-busting salicylic acid, a beta-hydroxy acid “that is attracted to the hair follicle-oil gland unit, where acne starts.’’ What’s more, the inclusion of chemical exfoliants allows products to “interact with more metabolically active layers of skin, increasing their effectiveness,” Palm adds. In other words, you’re more likely to get your money’s worth out of your fancy serums and creams after using it.

Garshick’s top pick for acne-prone skin is SkinMedica for its ability to unclog pores. But this scrub does an exceptional job, especially for its price. For oily skin, the 2 percent salicylic acid in the formula helps remove excess oil while also exfoliating, she explains. This also helps prevent blackheads, but it won’t leave the skin feeling dry and tight. A scrub that overly dries the skin can actually cause excess oil production — which can lead to more acne, says Garshick.

This scrub includes the same percentage of salicylic acid as the above Clean & Clear’s, but it’s notable for using charcoal. The ingredient works well for oily skin as it absorbs excess sebum, says dermatologist Dr. Hadley King. The combination of salicylic acid and charcoal is like a one-two punch for clogged pores. It has a grittier texture that provides just enough physical exfoliation, she explains.

Avoid unevenly shaped particles like smashed shells, fruit pits, and volcanic rocks, says Czech. These can cause micro-tears in the skin. One of her go-tos is the refreshingly unscented Dr. Barbara Sturm Facial Scrub. Its impressive ingredient list includes purslane, an ingredient that she says “stimulates the production of collagen and helps to calm inflammation,” along with vitamin A, “which promotes cell regrowth and keeps skin firm and healthy.” Those with sensitive skin can spot-treat with the scrub, she advises, focusing on dry, dehydrated patches instead of using it all over your face.

Robinson’s top tips for using face scrubs: Scrub with gentle pressure and “wash your face first to remove makeup, oil, and dirt,” she says. “That way, as you open the pores and expose new skin, it’s clean.” She recommends the extra-scrubby Dr. Brandt Skincare Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant, an at-home version of a microdermabrasion treatment. “It’s great for people who wear a lot of makeup and athletes that often have sweat on their skin,” she says. “The aluminum oxide crystals exfoliate, lactic acid softens, and a blend of chamomile, jojoba, and aloe-vera calm.” Waldorf similarly points out that these botanicals help ensure the skin isn’t tight, dry, or stingy after use. Worden agrees, adding it leaves the skin moisturized and supple. “With using this one time, you notice a huge difference,” she adds.

“For dry skin types, the main concern surrounding a face scrub is retention of necessary facial oils,” Green explains. This Shiseido exfoliator doesn’t strip the skin of the essentials to stay healthy while simultaneously providing an effective exfoliation, she tells us. Green adds that the scrub’s soy extract does the double duty of cleansing and moisturizing.

Tula So Polished Exfoliating Sugar Scrub is another one of Robinson’s picks. The scrub“uses sugar granules in tandem with fruit enzymes of papaya and pineapple to chemically exfoliate skin.” She adds that it won’t leave your face feeling stripped or tight and also has probiotics, which soothe and hydrate skin.

Swiss oxygen-based brand Karin Herzog’s Mild Scrub’s key exfoliating ingredient is one you won’t find anywhere else on this list: ground white marble. “The marble is crushed in perfectly spherical granules so it’s effective, gentle, and never abrasive,” Mieloch says. And Mieloch recommends that it be applied in upward, circular movements. “It’s tried and true and gets the job done for all skin types, especially those with texture concerns. Nothing improves skin texture better than a scrub.”

Green recommends this scrub for skin that looks dull and bumpy. Like SkinMedica’s scrub, this one features both chemical (glycolic and lactic acids) and physical exfoliants. The formula’s physical exfoliants include lemon peel and sugar. The two work together to reduce the appearance of fine lines, enlarged pores, and dullness, Green says. The result is smoother and softer skin.

The vitamin C in the scrub brightens skin and reduces discoloration, so skin looks less dull and more glowing, Garshick explains. For a dose of hydration, there’s glycerin, cucumber, and rose in the formula. These ingredients help minimize irritation along with soothing the skin, she tells us.

DefenAge 2-Minute Reveal Masque is both a warming face mask and scrub and combines sugar crystals with chemically exfoliating fruit enzymes (a blend of papaya, pumpkin, and pomegranate). Grous likes how the sugar crystals “melt when you add water, making the exfoliation process friendly to sensitive skin.” Because it’s a fragrance-free option, she notes her male clients are fond of it, too.

This mask’s blend of fruit extracts and enzymes makes it gentle enough for sensitive skin, says founder of Derm to Door and dermatologist Dr. Lily Talakoub. For oily skin, there’s also a fusion of volcanic ash and mineral-rich clay to draw out impurities, she explains. And Talakoub appreciates the post-wash glow you get with this scrub-mask hybrid.

Another King recommendation is this three-in-one wash that cleanses, exfoliates, and hydrates. The wash features the same jojoba beads as other scrubs on our list. In this formula, however, the beads work to remove sunscreen residue along with oil and dirt without disrupting the skin barrier, King points out. There’s hydrating hyaluronic acid in it, too.

Acure Brightening Facial Scrub, a Palm recommendation, is vegan and also free of sulfates, parabens, and mineral oil. She loves that it has sea kelp, an antioxidant that tones down inflammation, and green clay to help detoxify skin.

Vitamin C is a proven antioxidant and skin brightener and Grous says the Obagi Professional-C Microdermabrasion Polish + Mask contains an “unparalleled” amount of it. “I love scrubs with multitasking technologies,” she says. “Obagi’s works by exfoliating while simultaneously enhancing vitamin C bioavailability, transforming skin from dull to smooth and radiant.” Worden similarly praises its ability to “tighten, lighten, brighten.”

Czech recommends this scrub to clients as a gentle pick to use before shaving. The creamy Malin + Goetz Jojoba Face Scrub sloughs off skin with a blend of jojoba meal and biodegradable polylactic acid, contains soothing cilantro and amino acids, and is a good option for men, she says.

Gommages are a little more time consuming and act differently than other scrubs. Instead of working them into wet skin like a cleanser, you apply them to dry skin, let them set, then rub, so that “dead skin cells pill into little balls that can be washed off,” Palm explains. Her favorite is Sakura Silk Exfoliating Gel, a Japanese product that, according to the brand, contains a “K-Link” complex to “adhere to and react with protein on the epidermis to remove dead cells on contact.” She says it’s ideal for all skin types, but especially those with sensitive skin or those recovering from laser treatments who wouldn’t want a true scrub. “I love using it at night to thoroughly yet gently remove dirt, dead skin, and environmental pollutants.”

Like the Dermalogica scrub that took the top spot, the highlight of this scrub is rice bran. Worden likes how gentle the ingredient is, especially for sensitive skin — but notes that it works for most skin types. The scrub becomes a creamy foam once you add water. Worden appreciates how well the polish exfoliates without irritating the skin.