The Ordinary Azelaic Acid 10%

[TexasMeow]

Anyone with any experience or knowledge of this?

[greeneyedgirl107]

@TexasMeow Here's the review from beautypedia (4/5 stars):

Azelaic acid is a fascinating, multi-functional ingredient for skin, and The Ordinary's Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% delivers what we suspect is an effective concentration of it in a fragrance-free formula suitable for all skin types, but an esthetic issue keeps it from our top rating.

Housed in an opaque tube, this product's cream-gel texture feels lightweight going on, but also tends to feel scratchy as you blend, likely due to the azelaic acid powder not being properly homogenized in the base. Perhaps this issue will be corrected now that Estee Lauder owns The Ordinary's parent company, DECIEM.

As with most products from The Ordinary, Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% is one note, while your skin deserves an array of beneficial ingredients—one good ingredient just isn't enough.

Still, even with the esthetic issue, 10% azelaic acid can be potentially helpful for reducing breakouts, improving skin tone and texture, and possibly even reducing the visible symptoms of rosacea (we wrote "possibly" because most cases of rosacea require prescription topical products to keep it under control). Azelaic acid is also a very good antioxidant, but even with all of that going for it, what we said above remains true: Your skin requires more than one ingredient to thrive.

Despite the information above, we rate this four stars due to the relative scarcity of high-strength azelaic acid products on the market. It's an ingredient that can have value, especially for those struggling with acne and rosacea at the same time, so we recommend it, although we do hope they eliminate the scratchy feeling.

PROS:

• Contains antioxidant skin brightener azelaic acid.
• Lightweight cream texture.
• Likely to help blemish-prone skin improve.
• Inexpensive and fragrance free.

CONS:

• Can feel scratchy as you blend over skin.
• A one-note product, but skin deserves more than that.