The key to vibrant, glowing skin can start with something as simple as a face scrub. Yet, nearly half of women revealed they skip exfoliating in their skincare routine, according to a Good Housekeeping survey. It means they may be missing out on skin that appears smoother, brighter, clearer and more radiant, both immediately and over time. “Exfoliation is the process of removing dead cells in the stratum corneum, the top layer of skin, to increase cell turnover,” explains Beauty Lab chemist Danusia Wnek. So, keeping a good face scrub on hand can ensure your skin looks and feels squeaky clean.
Infused with herbal botanicals like walnut shell powder and lemon peel, this exfoliating face scrub came to impress in our GH Beauty Lab face scrub test. It wowed with its deep-cleaning performance, scoring perfectly for cleansing in a test of full-cover makeup removal and highest with testers for both clearing impurities and brightening skin. In fact, a majority of Lab testers called it the best scrub they’d ever used, noting it left skin “so refreshed and smooth, I didn’t need makeup” and “matte for hours after use.”
Exfoliating effectively at a palatable price, the iconic St. Ives drugstore cream scrub lived up to its cult-classic status during our Lab tests. Our consumer testers found it checked many boxes: They rated it high for its fresh, fruity scent; dirt and oil removal; and minimizing pore appearance, though some found its coarser particles irritating. “It gave my skin a glow and even helped my makeup go on smoother,” a tester noted.
