Latest treatments reviews

From users, and from around the web with the source linked.

Went through a whole jar of the Anua azelaic acid without changing their scars.

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“I've been looking up stuff about them for so long and went through a whole jar of anua azelaic acid but it didn't change anything and I dont usually see people with their scars like mine so idk”
negativeevened skin tone
Redditr/acne·

Puts The Ordinary Azelaic Acid on fresh pimples at night and is amazed how much better they look by morning.

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“Azelaic acid might help, the one from the Ordinary is great on a fresh pimple—I’ve put it on at night and been staggered in the morning at how much better the pimple was.”
positivecleared breakouts

After four years of acne, the CeraVe Blemish Control (Acne Control) Gel is the only thing that has helped them.

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“I’ve found that the cerave blemish control works wonders! In the US it’s acne control gel”
positivecleared breakouts

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The Acne Control Gel seemed to work at first, then less so, so they moved to something else.

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“sometimes i use the acne control gel it seemed like it worked at first but now i feel like maybe not as much so i switched to something else.”
mixed

Cannot recommend the resurfacing retinol serum enough after never noticing a huge acne improvement before.

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“Can’t recommend the resurfacing retinol serum enough!! Best of luck”
positivecleared breakouts
Redditr/acne·

A newly postpartum user has loved The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension through pregnancy and since.

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“Newly postpartum and I have been loving The Ordinary azaleic acid, Mad Hippie vitamin c, and a glycolic acid face maskthrough my pregnancy and now!”
positive

After adding several actives at once their skin broke out; reintroducing one drop of the Granactive Retinoid brought a big bump two days later.

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“On friday I used the retinoid, 1 drop, two days after got a huge bump on my forehead and right cheek.”
negativebroke me out

On very sensitive, acne-prone skin, Anua azelaic acid was well tolerated and improved things by about 30–40%; slow, but they finished a bottle and bought another.

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“My skin tolerated it well and improved by about 30 to 40%. It worked slowly, but I finished one bottle and bought another.”
positivegentlecleared breakouts

Three months into Paula's Choice azelaic acid for post-acne marks, they haven't noticed any change.

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“i started using the paula’s choice one like 3 months-ish ago but i don’t know if it’s doing anything to my skin, i haven’t really noticed anything”
negative

After 2-3 months nightly, breakouts and whiteheads are going away and skin is smoother.

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“My current routine is Morning Wash Moisturize Spf Night Wash Anua azelaic acid Moisturize Ive been running it for a 2-3 months now and the breakouts and whiteheads have definitely been going away and my skin has been”
positivecleared breakouts
Redditr/acne·

Finally started clearing up their redness; gentle and inexpensive.

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“What's finally started working for me in clearing up redness is azelaic acid—The Ordinary has a 10% azelaic acid that's pretty gentle & helpfully not expensive!”
positiveevened skin tonegentlegreat value

Out of 10+ azelaic acids tried, this is their favourite: thin, non-sticky, absorbs quickly and doesn't irritate.

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“There are lots of good ones, but Paula's Choice is my favorite. It is thin, non-sticky, absorbs quickly, and non-irritating.”
positiveabsorbs quicklygentle

Three tubes in, a nice formula that clearly helps their very mild acne, and it's easy to buy cheaply at CVS.

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“I've only used Peach Slices but I've bought three tubes because it is a nice formula and definitely helps with (very mild/minor) acne.”
positivecleared breakoutsgreat value

Of several luxe retinols, A+ worked best for them: smoother texture, fewer imperfections and no irritation, until they moved to tret.

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“My skin responded best to the Sunday Riley. Visible results with improved texture, surface imperfections reduced, no irritation, skin calm and happy.”
positivegentle

They get rosacea-like flare-ups on the cheek and have had very few issues since starting The Ordinary's azelaic acid.

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“Azelaic acid! I get it on my cheek like this and I’ve had very few issues since using azelaic acid. I use The Ordinary”
positive

Their first azelaic acid, The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%, doesn't play nicely with other products: its slick texture rolls up on the skin when layered over vitamin C or other first steps.

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“It has this slickeriness to it that rolls up on my skin if used on top of Vit C”
negativepills under makeup

Before moving to a compounded azelaic cream they used the Peach Slices redness serum daily and loved it: it absorbed beautifully and layered well with other products.

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“I used Peach Slices redness reducing serum daily and loved it. Absorbed beautifully, played well with others.”
positiveabsorbs quickly

After years of hormonal acne and failed treatments, The Ordinary azelaic acid every other night (with a salicylic toner) is finally clearing their skin.

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“I use the toner twice a day and the azaelic acid every other night and I swear my acne is finally clearing up after years.”
positivecleared breakouts

They've used Naturium's retinaldehyde on and off for years, working up through the strengths; a tube lasts long and is often on sale.

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“I've been using Naturium's retinaldehyde off and on for years.”
positivegreat value

Acne reduced a lot on adapalene plus Anua azelaic, but little change in spots and hyperpigmentation after a year.

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“My current routine includes the following actives: \- 0.1% adapalene + 2.5% bpo gel \- Anua 10% azelaic acid serum Although my acne has reduced alot, it's been more than a year and not much difference in spots”
mixedcleared breakouts

Oily, acne-prone user found the thick texture clogged their pores and thinks it suits dry skin better.

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“I used it on my oily acne skin and it clogged my pores because the texture is too thick, i think it suits people with dry better”
negative

Hated Paula's Choice azelaic acid: disliked the texture and it pilled under any sunscreen or moisturizer.

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“I hated Paula’s Choice. Didn’t like the texture. And it pilled no matter what I put over it (spf or moisturizer).”
negativepills under makeup

Has used Paula's Choice azelaic acid since 2018 and credits it with keeping hormonal breakouts away and improving texture on mature skin.

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“I've been using the Paula's Choice AA since 2018! It's the one thing in my routine that I've never changed.”
positivecleared breakouts

Anua's azelaic acid is one of the only products that helps all their acne, including cysts and closed comedones, and suits sensitive dry skin.

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“I love Anua's azelaic acid. It's been one of the only acne products that helps with everything, including cysts and closed comedones.”
positivecleared breakoutsgentle

Says it has been okay applied every other night as a low-strength starter retinol.

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“It’s been okay, I apply it every other night. I was told to start with something with very less retinol, but now I’m almost done with this and wanted to know what should I get next?”
mixedgentle

Faded most of their acne scars and darkness, though it tingles and itches at first.

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“I use Naturium Azelaic Acid (I think 10%), emulsion. It's very effective for my skin. But it does make my skin a but itchy and tingly at first application.”
positiveevened skin tonestinging

A week in, their daily pimples stopped and post-acne marks are fading.

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“I’ve just hit one week of The Ordinary Azaleic Acid and I’ve now finally stopped getting pimples. It’s also slowly fixing PIH discoloration, which is wild.”
positivecleared breakoutsevened skin tone

Nightly use for a few weeks completely cleared dark spots on their hand.

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“I fixed it with azelaic acid nightly for a few weeks. Spots went away entirely. I would definitely try that. I used the one from the Ordinary.”
positiveevened skin tone

Used on spots as needed by their very sensitive skin, now more sparingly.

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“if needed I use Mario Badescu drying lotion. I used to cover every minor imperfection with it but now I use it more sparingly”
positive

The upgraded blue Starface salicylic acid patches don't stick and keep moving, so they can't even be worn for looks.

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“i got the upgraded version of the blue one and they advertise it as being an upgraded formula but it DOESNT STICK ON.”
negative

An avid patch user who rates COSRX's patches as one of the good ones.

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“I'm an avid user of pimple patches and they're definitely not all the same, but the cost doesn't always determine the quality either. Corsrx is good”
positive

Despite building it in slowly with SPF and moisturizer, this sensitive-skinned user's skin got worse overall on the INKEY 10% Azelaic Acid.

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“I use the Inkey list 10% which is supposed to be better for sensitive skin but I think it just doesn’t work for me.”
negativebroke me out

Cleared blackheads and sebaceous filaments that retinoids didn't, alongside The Ordinary's glycolic toner.

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“Tret and ret did nothing for my blackheads and sebaceous filaments, but glycolic acid and azelaic acid did! I use both from The Ordinary.”
positivecleared breakouts

At 39 with hormonal acne and sensitive skin, the Anua Azelaic Acid + Hyaluronic serum made the biggest change in a stripped-back routine: completely clear skin for the first time in years. It's gentler and absorbs faster than The Ordinary's azelaic acid.

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“Anua Azelaic Acid + Hyaluronic serum (this stuff has made the BIGGEST change)”
positivecleared breakoutsgentleabsorbs quickly

Currently trying the Anua azelaic serum; so far so good and it works as it should.

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“I’m currently trying that very same Anua azelaic acid serum —so far so good, seems to work as it should but I think NINELESS’s AC serum works a bit faster.”
positivegentle

Soothing and hydrating but did not move the needle on redness, so they bought something else after a month.

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“Love azelaic acid, but the anua one didn’t do much. It was still soothing and hydrating but didn’t move the needle enough on redness and I ended up buying something else after about a month.”
mixedhydratinggentle

After using the 0.05% Naturium retinal two nights in a row, this user broke out in small pimples on the chin, despite it feeling great at first.

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“Omg I think I'm currently purging from the naturium 0.05 retinal.”
mixedbroke me out

A miracle overnight spot treatment for their hormonal acne.

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“it’s a miracle cure for my hormonal acne/bacne. I can Q-tip some onto a blemish, go to bed, and by the time I wake up the blemish is flat and losing its red color.”
positivecleared breakouts

Found it during pregnancy: less irritating than salicylic acid, calms redness and treats sensitive acne-prone skin.

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“It’s very similar to Salicylic as a chemical exfoliant, but is less irritating, targets redness (hello!!), and treats sensitive acne prone skin.”
positivegentlegreat value

Prefers it to CeraVe's purple retinol: better texture and does more for acne.

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“Having used both, I just personally don’t care for the texture of the stuff in the purple bottle and will be switching back to the blue one when I run out.”
positive

Painful, itchy cysts and whiteheads within days, leaving pigmentation marks.

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“My face got full of painful and itchy cysts, together with a bunch of small whiteheads, after a few days of starting to use the Cerave retinol.”
negativebroke me out

Six months cleared most of their fairly bad acne, with only an occasional spot.

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“I’ve been using the product for about 6 months now I had decently bad acne and it’s cleared most of it up.”
positivecleared breakouts

After 2.5 months they developed bad closed comedones on the jaw, chin and temples, which they suspect the squalane base worsened.

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“I've been using this product for 2.5 months and I developed pretty bad closed comedones on my jawline, chin, and temples.”
negativebroke me out

A user in a hot climate who blots off the COSRX Retinol 0.5 Oil after an hour says it works slowly but their skin improves, with no reaction at all.

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“Personally the retinol does work slowly, I have no reaction whatsoever, my skin does improve”
positivegentle

On sensitive, dry skin they tolerate Paula's Choice azelaic acid every morning and saw results quickly.

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“I started using the Paula’s Choice AA every morning after trying a sample. I didn’t have a ton of redness, but I noticed results pretty quickly.”
positivegentle

Sees better results with the Resurfacing serum than past retinols, which gave only painfully slow results.

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“Whereas when I use the Cerave Resurfacing serum, I can see better results and I’ve recently incorporated the Celimax retinol shot which faded a stubborn spot on the first night.”
positiveevened skin tone

A user who stepped up from a 0.1% retinol to the COSRX Retinol 0.5 Oil was happy with it and used it every night before looking for a stronger option.

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“After using the 0.1% from Some by Mi, I switched to the 0.5% retinol from Cosrx. I was happy with it, I use it every night”
positivegentle

Working really well with no purging; acne scars lighter with each use.

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“It's working really well for me and (knock on wood) no "purging" thus far. Each time I use it, I notice my acne scars get lighter.”
positiveevened skin tone

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