Azelaic acid and salicylic acid
Keep them apart
Use them on alternate nights to prevent too much irritation and dryness. Using both at once can dry out and irritate the skin because they both exfoliate deeply. The shopper can switch to a gentler strength or space out the usage with more time between nights.
Azelaic acid products
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The Ordinary
Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%
CA$15.80
-
Topicals
Faded Serum
CA$24.50
-
NATURIUM
Azelaic Topical Acid 10%
CA$33.99
- Musely The Spot Cream
- Topicals Faded Brightening & Clearing Serum
- Peach Slices Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum
- Finacea Gel
- NATURIUM Niacinamide Cleansing Gel茅e 3%
-
NATURIUM
Azelaic Acid Emulsion 10%
CA$33.99
-
StriVectin
Daily Reveal Exfoliating Pads
CA$49.00
- Cos De BAHA Azelaic Acid 10% Serum
-
The INKEY List
10% Azelaic Acid Serum
CA$27.00
Salicylic acid products
-
Paula's Choice
Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant
CA$52.00
-
Medicube
Zero Pore Pad
CA$33.99
-
CeraVe
Renewing SA Cleanser
CA$20.96
-
Dermalogica
Daily Microfoliant
CA$29.50
-
The Ordinary
Salicylic Acid 2% Solution
CA$8.69
-
Mario Badescu
Drying Lotion
CA$34.95
-
La Roche-Posay
Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser
CA$31.95
-
The Ordinary
AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution
CA$13.00
-
CeraVe
SA Lotion for Rough & Bumpy Skin
CA$21.26
- COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid
-
Hero Cosmetics
Mighty Patch
CA$31.78
-
CeraVe
SA Cream
CA$30.99
Questions and answers
Can you use azelaic acid and salicylic acid together?
No, you should avoid layering azelaic acid and salicylic acid in the same routine due to the risk of compounded exfoliation and irritation. Instead, you can alternate days or use buffered versions to manage both ingredients safely.
Which goes first, azelaic acid or salicylic acid?
Keep azelaic acid and salicylic acid apart in your routine to avoid compounded exfoliation and irritation risk. You may alternate days or use buffered versions instead of layering them together.
Are azelaic acid and salicylic acid good for sensitive skin?
Keep azelaic acid and salicylic acid apart because layering them together increases the risk of irritation and exfoliation for sensitive skin. Alternate days or use buffered versions instead.
Research on azelaic acid and salicylic acid
Behind this pairing advice
Lovi checks every pairing with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sof铆a Perea P茅rez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
-

Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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