Azelaic acid and citric acid
Keep them apart
Use them at different times of day, applying azelaic acid in the morning and citric acid at night. Combining these two exfoliating acids can over-exfoliate your face, leading to redness and irritation. You can make this routine work by choosing a lower strength or waiting longer between applications.
Azelaic acid products
- The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%
-
Paula's Choice
10% Azelaic Acid Booster
SAR 275.52
-
Topicals
Faded Serum
SAR 49.00
-
NATURIUM
Azelaic Topical Acid 10%
SAR 141.00
- Musely The Spot Cream
- Topicals Faded Brightening & Clearing Serum
-
Bioderma
Pigmentbio Sensitive Areas
SAR 81.95
-
Peach Slices
Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum
SAR 142.15
- Finacea Gel
- NATURIUM Niacinamide Cleansing Gel茅e 3%
-
NATURIUM
Azelaic Acid Emulsion 10%
SAR 141.00
-
StriVectin
Daily Reveal Exfoliating Pads
SAR 241.56
Citric acid products
- The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution
- Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Liquid Soap (Baby Unscented)
-
Thayers
Hydrating Milky Toner
SAR 107.17
- Seven Minerals Organic Aloe Vera Gel
-
SkinCeuticals
Blemish + Age Defense
SAR 458.33
- Naturie Hatomugi Skin Conditioner
-
E45
Cream
SAR 127.97
-
NATURIUM
BHA Liquid Exfoliant 2%
SAR 139.59
- Dr. Sam's Flawless Cleanser
-
Kiehl's
Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash
SAR 241.34
-
Neutrogena
Hydro Boost Micellar Water
SAR 16.56
-
Garnier SkinActive
Blackhead Eliminating Scrub
SAR 103.82
Questions and answers
Can you use azelaic acid and citric acid together?
Keep azelaic acid and citric acid apart because combining strong exfoliants may over-exfoliate your skin and lead to inflammation. Alternate their use in your routine or buffer them with soothing ingredients.
Which goes first, azelaic acid or citric acid?
Keep azelaic acid and citric acid apart in your routine to avoid over-exfoliation and potential inflammation. Instead, alternate their use or buffer them with soothing actives.
Are azelaic acid and citric acid good for sensitive skin?
No, you should keep azelaic acid and citric acid apart in your routine. Combining these strong actives may lead to over-exfoliation and inflammation.
Research on azelaic acid and citric 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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