On 9 January, the use of plastic microbeads in rinse-off beauty products and toiletries was finally outlawed, after years of campaigning by environmental groups and more responsible sections of the beauty industry. Good riddance, I say, since microbeads – those tiny, coloured, plastic spheres suspended in scrubs and shower gels, ostensibly to “exfoliate” dead skin and “release” skincare ingredients – were as useful as a glass tennis racquet. In practice, they fall off skin, down the plughole and into the oceans before they come close to bursting. In any case, their size, sparseness and softness makes them wholly ineffective skin exfoliants.

While I am strongly of the view that facial exfoliants should never be granular (I prefer a flannel and grit-free AHA and BHA products to remove dead skin from the face), I am happy with the refreshing, bracing feel of densely packed, textured scrubs on sturdier body skin. These are my personal favourites, none of which are affected by the ban.

Lush’s Rub Rub Rub shower scrub (£9.95, 350g) is brilliantly effective on tricky areas such as shins, elbows and scalp, especially when applied to dry skin before entering the shower. It removes even fine flakes extremely well, rinses out fully and doesn’t irritate.

If dry flakes are a secondary concern to goosebumpy upper arms and thighs, you will need a chemical exfoliant as well as a physical one. Cult Beauty’s Ameliorate (£17.50, 150ml) contains both and work wonders with regular use. Make sure you apply it five minutes before entering water, to give the lactic acids a chance to knuckle down (it is cruelty-free but, unlike everything else here today, not vegan; it contains milk proteins). Ground-coffee scrubs, which also contain sea salt and essential oils, are an all-natural, fun alternative to classic exfoliants. They also have practical benefits: the dry consistency and compact, brown-paper packaging make them an environmentally responsible option, although I find myself more likely to use too much and consequently waste product.

I like all of Frank Body’s scrubs, but its Coconut Coffee (£13.95, 200g) smells extraordinary and gives me a jolt of energy on knackered mornings. My favourite of the posher, gift-appropriate scrubs is Ren’s Guérande salt body balm (£23, 330ml), which smooths thoroughly, smells divine and melts fully into bath water for a decadent, skin-softening treat.