6 Best Exfoliating Face Scrubs for Men Reviewed

by Jay Kang | Updated on April 16th, 2024
washing face

A face scrub is an excellent place to start if you want vibrant, beautiful skin. By ensuring that you are not applying new moisturizer on top of oily skin, employing an exfoliator as part of your skincare routine can remove dead skin cells and maximize the effects of the products you are already using. 


Choose scrubs made with natural and organic components when shopping for one. Also, opting for a mixture containing moisturizers and calming agents is crucial to counteract the abrasion is crucial. Choosing the ideal face scrub for you might be challenging, given the variety of options. 

Because of this, we have searched the market for the best exfoliators available for males. 

Best exfoliating face scrub for men

Best overall: Bull Dog Skincare Energizing Face Scrub

Bull Dog’s Face Scrub is specially made for people with sensitive skin.

This scrub combines a moderate blend of carefully selected man-made components and fantastic natural elements such as ground coconut shells, rice, algae, and maize in this deep-cleaning recipe to help remove dead skin cells softly yet efficiently. Aloe vera, camelina oil, and green tea are also included to aid in thorough cleaning without over-drying.

Once the scrub has been thoroughly rinsed away, the refreshing aroma of citrus, ginger, and lime leaves your skin feeling refreshed and energized.

Not only is this natural facial scrub free of dyes and fragrances, but it’s also vegan and cruelty-free. In addition, it is the first men’s brand in the world to produce its tubes from sugarcane-based compostable plastic.

Features:

  • Minimal irritation
  • Natural substances
  • Specifically designed to deeply clean and smooth the skin
  • Full of organic components
  • Suitable for skin that is sensitive

Top pick: Clinique for Men Face Scrub

It has some real skincare advantages and comes in slick charcoal-colored packaging that looks quite nice in your bathtub. This thick paste contains tiny, non-abrasive exfoliating grains that lift beard hair without irritating the skin, smoothing the skin, and reducing ingrown hairs. It’s a terrific way to prepare the skin for shaving.

Clinique created this men’s face scrub to prepare the skin for shaving. Ingrown hairs can be lessened using refined scrub grains to lift beard hairs and de-flake skin.

Because it is free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and scents, people with sensitive skin may be sure they won’t react to it.

Salicylic acid also aids in reducing inflammation, redness, and acne. It prevents skin irritants and eliminates acne before it even reaches the surface.

Features:

  • Free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, sulfates, and scent
  • Reduces ingrown hairs and lifts beard hair
  • Men’s face scrub that revitalizes and smooths skin is designed to prepare the skin for shaving. 

Best morning face scrub: Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Energizing Scrub

This one from Kiehl’s, one of our favorite skincare companies, has a blend of revitalizing ingredients to help you start your day and look your best.

This revitalizing scrub is ideal for men with skin that fluctuates between dryness, oiliness, and anything in between. The tried-and-true apricot kernels remove dead skin cells from your face while stimulating caffeine and menthol, hydrating vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids, and adding a brighter appearance with citrus extracts.

Features:

  • Energizing aroma
  • Soften tough facial hair, softens coarse facial hair.
  • Reduces dullness
  • Enhanced with Caffeine, menthol, vitamin E, and citrus extracts

Best for oily skin: Kiehl’s Oil Eliminator Deep Cleansing Exfoliating Face Wash for Men

This Kiehl’s face scrub is designed to unclog pores and remove extra shine, making your skin more straightforward and healthier.

Crushed apricot seeds, included in their formulation, help to remove surface sludge and contaminants. This cleanser thoroughly cleans the skin without removing its natural oils.

Features:

  • Washes skin thoroughly to get rid of extra oil, sweat, and pollution
  • Exfoliation removes dead skin cells from the skin, leaving it smooth.
  • Visibly shrinks enlarged pores and excess shine
  • Non-acnegenic and non-comedogenic
  • Optimal for oily skin
  • It exfoliates dead skin cells because it is made of crushed apricot seeds.
  • Dermatologist-tested, oil-free, paraben-free, and sulfate-free.

Best natural face scrub: Marlowe No. 122 Facial Scrub for Men

The skin is nourished, made smoother, and youthful by willow bark extract, while dead skin cells are removed by apricot seed powder. Deep-sea algae extract soothes sensitive skin and aids in minimizing inflammation. Then, green tea extract jumps in and speeds up skin cell repair.

You smell fresh after a masculine combination of sandalwood and musk and a delicate agarwood scent.

The No. 122 men’s facial scrub is phthalate-free, paraben-free, and manufactured with natural ingredients. It works well for all skin types. It is created in the USA, is non-toxic, and is never tested on animals.

Features:

  • Made with agarwood extract, which has a relaxing scent
  • With added green tea extract
  • All skin types are acceptable
  • Phthalate and parabens
  • Natural ingredients made free

Best value face scrub: Brickell Men’s Renewing Face Scrub

Brickell uses the best natural and organic components to make the best solutions for men’s skincare and grooming.

The Brickell Men’s Renewing Facial Scrub uses a pumice and jojoba bead exfoliating paste to remove dirt and impurities from the skin.

The Brickell Renewing Facial Scrub, specially created for men’s skin, removes oil, pollutants, and dead skin cells to clear up your complexion and make it simpler to shave as closely as possible.

Its main components are avocado butter and vitamin E to nourish the skin for a refreshed and moisturized feeling, jojoba beads and pumice, coffee extract and green tea for an energetic impact, and numerous natural oils to rehydrate your skin after washing.

While exfoliating your face, you may also savor the exquisite aroma of coffee and green tea.

Features:

  • Certified natural and certified organic products are used, leaving the skin feeling revitalized.
  • brings back clarity to the skin and leaves it gentle
  • Green tea and coffee’s enticing aroma

What is exfoliating, and why is it important?

Dead skin cells are eliminated through chemical or mechanical exfoliation. Acids are frequently used in chemical exfoliation to remove old skin cells and encourage the growth of new ones. On the other hand, manual exfoliation using a physical exfoliant such as brushes, silicone face scrubbers, and face scrubs is required for mechanical exfoliation. 

Your body naturally eliminates dead skin cells, but occasionally your skin needs a little prodding from an exfoliant. Without routine exfoliation, your skin might be more prone to dullness, dryness, blackheads, and acne. 

Exfoliating once or twice a week is sufficient to get rid of extra skin cells; you don’t need to do it daily. In actuality, over-exfoliating might be more harmful than beneficial. Exfoliating too frequently might harm and irritate your skin by exerting too much pressure. 

What are the different types of exfoliants?

You should consider physical and chemical exfoliants when looking for the best face scrub.

The option you select will be based on the outcomes you’re after and how far the product will penetrate.

Physical exfoliants

This exfoliator comprises coarse particles like sugar crystals, pumice, or apricot pits. A physical exfoliation will have a gritty texture you can feel when you rub it into your skin. Physical exfoliants may be too abrasive for people with delicate skin types, depending on the size of the granules.

Chemical exfoliants

The texture of chemical exfoliants is not harsh and abrasive. Depending on the type you choose, they may function at a deeper cellular level to clear your pores and dissolve the glue holding dead skin cells together.

Moisturizers, serums, peels, and masks are rinse-off cleansers containing chemical exfoliants.

Mistakes to avoid when using facial scrubs

The texture, tone, and radiance of your skin can be significantly improved by exfoliating. Unfortunately, several errors could prevent that from happening. Now let’s talk about the blunders you must never make when using facial cleansers.

Be wary of side effects

Even if the face scrub you select is ideal for your skin type, you should still be cautious of potential adverse effects. You should look for side symptoms like tingling, burning, redness, and irritation. If you suffer severe side effects, call your dermatologist right away.

Don’t scrub aggressively

The majority of face scrubs have physical exfoliants that work to remove dead skin cells manually—being too harsh while scrubbing will do more harm than good. It can lead to abrasions, redness, inflammation, and even acne breakouts.

You should always exfoliate your skin gently. Be careful not to overstimulate the area around your eyes as you gently rub your face in circular strokes.

Follow up with a moisturizer

Exfoliate your face, then moisturize. After using a facial scrub, putting on moisturizer will act as a barrier against any pollutants that could try to penetrate your exfoliated skin.

Frequently asked question

How often should you use a face scrub?

Face scrubs should not be used daily, unlike cleansers. Use a face scrub twice weekly if your skin is normal to dry to prevent further drying. You might get away with using a face scrub two to three times a week if you have normal to oily skin.

Should I use a chemical or physical exfoliant?

Again, how much exfoliation your skin type can tolerate will determine this, but generally speaking, chemical solutions may be a better choice for people with delicate skin. Yet, physical exfoliants should have smaller exfoliating particles to avoid irritating the skin or causing microtears.

Last update on 2024-04-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using these links.

Jay Kang

Just because i'm asian does not mean I don't need shaving. I always wanted to grow a beard when I was young, now I need to shave because hair growth for me is a problem. I'm going through what every man will and has gone through before.

A note to our visitors

This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with changes to European Union data protection law, for all members globally. We’ve also updated our Privacy Policy to give you more information about your rights and responsibilities with respect to your privacy and personal information. Please read this to review the updates about which cookies we use and what information we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated privacy policy.