Azelaic acid and lactic acid
Keep them apart
Use them on alternate nights to avoid over-exfoliating your skin. Combining these two strong acids can cause redness, irritation, and dryness. You can switch to a gentler strength or space them out by using them on different days.
Azelaic acid products
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The Ordinary
Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%
€12.64
-
Paula's Choice
10% Azelaic Acid Booster
€49.00
-
Topicals
Faded Serum
€7.99
- NATURIUM Azelaic Topical Acid 10%
- Musely The Spot Cream
- Topicals Faded Brightening & Clearing Serum
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Bioderma
Pigmentbio Sensitive Areas
€39.70
- Peach Slices Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum
- Finacea Gel
- NATURIUM Niacinamide Cleansing Gelée 3%
- NATURIUM Azelaic Acid Emulsion 10%
-
StriVectin
Daily Reveal Exfoliating Pads
€26.90
Lactic acid products
-
Medicube
Zero Pore Pad
€17.15
-
First Aid Beauty
KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub
€12.65
-
EltaMD
UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46
€75.18
-
First Aid Beauty
Facial Radiance Pads
€41.22
- CeraVe SA Lotion for Rough & Bumpy Skin
- CeraVe Renewing SA Cream
-
The Ordinary
Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA
€12.08
-
The Ordinary
Retinal 0.2% Emulsion
€17.48
-
Kate Somerville
ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment
€16.30
-
Dr. Dennis Gross
Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel
€127.62
- The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA
-
Good Molecules
Overnight Exfoliating Treatment
€22.99
Questions and answers
Can you use azelaic acid and lactic acid together?
Keep azelaic acid and lactic acid apart in your routine, as combining them may cause over-exfoliation and inflammation. Instead, use them on alternate days.
Which goes first, azelaic acid or lactic acid?
Keep azelaic acid and lactic acid apart by alternating their use in your routine to avoid over-exfoliation and inflammation. Products such as MZ Skin Radiance & Renewal Instant Clarity Refining Mask, Farmacy Brighten Up 3% TXA, and Dr. Sebagh Deep Exfoliating Mask contain both ingredients, so they should be used separately.
Are azelaic acid and lactic acid good for sensitive skin?
Azelaic acid and lactic acid should be kept apart in your routine, as combining them may lead to over-exfoliation and inflammation, especially on sensitive skin. You can alternate their use on different days.
Research on azelaic acid and lactic 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
-

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