‘I’m an Anal Surgeon, and This Is the Acne-Fighting Butt Scrub You Need To Buy”

“No one is cleaning their butt properly.”

When anal surgeon Evan Goldstein, DO, shared this particular piece of knowledge with me during a recent meeting, I felt… shocked. Over-wiping, excess moisture, and irritating wet wipes are keeping people’s backsides less than pristine, he said. So, he created a product to undo all that dirty damage in the shower. Enter: The Future Method Butt and Body Scrub ($35). He claims to use it every day, so I figured, heck, I would, too.

“The everyday grime from life’s activities is not limited to our hands and faces. It accumulates across our entire body, including—you guessed it—the anal region,” says Dr. Goldstein. “We sweat, we poop, we have sex, and all of these situations create bodily waste and fluids that need an appropriate scrub to cleanse and rejuvenate the skin. And just like the face, exfoliation is paramount to creating healthy anal hygiene.”

Shop Dr. Goldstein’s butt wash

Like your usual exfoliating body wash, the Future Method scrub uses physical exfoliants (in this case, naturally-derived chia powder and jojoba beads) to slough off dead skin cells and help fend off body acne—including butt-ne. What makes this product special, though, is that it’s designed to be used between your cheeks to help keep them extra clean.

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“Our butt has several parts, with the least hygienic—and hardest to reach—being your inner butt cheeks and your actual external hole,” says Dr. Goldstein. “To use our scrub, I recommend wetting all areas in the shower, placing a dollop in your palm, and then gently scrubbing in concentric circles from the outside in, making bigger circles as you progress. You don’t need to grind it in, nor should you go inside your actual hole, but you should feel the exfoliants working their magic.” And so, that’s what I’ve been doing every time I step under the stream.

Without veering too far into TMI territory, allow me to share a few things I very much like about the scrub. For one, it smells delightfully of citrus, clove, and cedar, a combination that helps to jolt me awake during my morning shower. The exfoliating beads are super small—almost like a body polish—and don’t feel harsh or abrasive no matter where I use them (and yes, I’ve tried them everywhere). The scrub has also helped rid my behind of some of the sweat-induced pimples that have been hanging out back there ever since summer weather set in, and it leaves my skin so smooth and hydrated that I don’t even need to follow it up with lotion. And for what it’s worth? The space between my cheeks has never felt so fresh or clean.