Glycolic acid and azelaic acid
Keep them apart
Use them on alternate nights, applying glycolic acid first and azelaic acid next, because combining them causes too much irritation. Using both together can over-exfoliate your skin and cause redness, peeling, or irritation. You can try a lower strength of each product or leave more time between them to let your skin adjust.
Glycolic acid products
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The Ordinary
Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution
€13.90
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RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
€33.34
-
First Aid Beauty
KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub
€25.02
-
First Aid Beauty
Facial Radiance Pads
€17.25
- Murad Rapid Dark Spot Correcting Serum
-
Skinbetter Science
AlphaRet Overnight Cream
€12.99
- St. Ives Apricot Scrub
-
COSRX
AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner
€14.11
-
Dr. Dennis Gross
Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel
€168.25
-
Pixi
Glow Tonic
€19.32
-
Good Molecules
Overnight Exfoliating Treatment
€20.99
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Nightly Exfoliating Treatment
Azelaic acid products
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The Ordinary
Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%
€10.90
-
Paula's Choice
10% Azelaic Acid Booster
€49.00
-
Topicals
Faded Serum
€8.99
- NATURIUM Azelaic Topical Acid 10%
- Musely The Spot Cream
- Topicals Faded Brightening & Clearing Serum
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Bioderma
Pigmentbio Sensitive Areas
€21.00
- Peach Slices Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum
- Finacea Gel
- NATURIUM Niacinamide Cleansing Gelée 3%
- NATURIUM Azelaic Acid Emulsion 10%
-
Cos De BAHA
Azelaic Acid 10% Serum
€17.90
Questions and answers
Can you use glycolic acid and azelaic acid together?
No, you should keep glycolic acid and azelaic acid apart in your routine because combining them may lead to over-exfoliation and inflammation. Instead, you can alternate their use on different days or use products like StriVectin Daily Reveal Exfoliating Pads separately.
Which goes first, glycolic acid or azelaic acid?
Keep glycolic acid and azelaic acid apart in your routine by using them on alternate days, or find them together in StriVectin Daily Reveal Exfoliating Pads. Combining them in the same routine over-exfoliates the skin and may lead to inflammation.
Are glycolic acid and azelaic acid good for sensitive skin?
Keep glycolic acid and azelaic acid apart in your routine, as combining them may lead to over-exfoliation and inflammation. They are suitable for all skin types, especially sensitive and acne-prone, when you alternate their use or buffer them with soothing actives.
Research on glycolic acid and azelaic 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. Sofía Perea Pérez, 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
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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