How to Use a Himalayan Salt Scrub (and What It Actually Does)

A salt scrub feels rougher than a sugar scrub, and that is the point. The pink salt grains have edges that lift off dead, flaky skin instead of sliding over it. After a summer of sunscreen, salt water, and sweat, that buildup is real, and a scrub clears it in a couple of minutes.

Here is how to use one so you get the benefit without irritating your skin.

Use it on damp skin, not dry. Get in the shower, get wet, then step out of the stream or turn the water down. Scoop out a small amount, less than you think you need, and massage it in circles over the spots that need it most: heels, elbows, knees, the backs of your arms. Skip your face. The grains are too coarse for facial skin.

Go easy on the pressure. The salt does the work. Scrubbing hard does not exfoliate more, it just leaves you red. Thirty seconds to a minute per area is plenty.

Rinse with warm water. You will feel a layer of oil left behind, and that is intended. A good salt scrub exfoliates and moisturizes at the same time, so your skin holds onto softness after the grains are gone. Pat dry instead of rubbing, and most people can skip lotion afterward.

How often: one to three times a week. Daily is too much for most skin and can leave it tender. If you shave, scrub first. Clearing dead skin gives you a closer shave and fewer ingrown hairs.

A few cautions. Do not use a salt scrub on fresh cuts, sunburn, or freshly shaved sensitive areas, because salt and broken skin sting for a reason. Keep water out of the jar, too. Scooping with wet hands shortens its life and can introduce bacteria, so use a dry spoon or dry fingers and it will keep for months.

Salt or sugar? Sugar is gentler and dissolves faster, which makes it better for sensitive or facial skin. Salt is coarser and better for rougher body skin and post-beach cleanup. They are built for different jobs.

If your heels crack in flip-flop season or your skin feels dull after a day on the water, a salt scrub is the fastest fix already sitting in your shower.