The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% On your shelf ✓
Our read, in one look
Azelaic Acid is the reason to consider this serum, with Vitamin E behind it.
The case for it
- Azelaic Acid, moderate evidence for oil and breakouts
- Vitamin E, moderate evidence for antioxidant
- No fragrance, alcohol or parabens
Mind this
- Morning or evening, whichever suits your routine
- Add it on its own for a week or two, so you know what your skin is answering to
Maya's readThe Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% is a serum built around Azelaic Acid, Isohexadecane and Vitamin E. It leans strongest on barrier repair, brightening / tone, oil-control & blemishes. Best suited to acne prone, rosacea and pigmentation skin. Nothing in it we'd flag for most people.
Skip it if you already own something similar: it's a solid, honest basic rather than a must-have upgrade.
The formula, drawn
Every ingredient in label order, coloured by the job it does here.
9 of the 17 sit above the 1% line. The other 8, hatched, are each under 1%. Widths show the ORDER on the label and nothing else: the label never discloses amounts, so we never draw them.
- Actives & signals
- Texture & base
- Preservation
- Not in our library yet
- No fragrance anywhere on the label
What it delivers
How it feels A light, fast-absorbing texture that layers cleanly under the rest of your routine, with no greasy film. (estimated from the formula)
What's in it that matters
Multifunctional dicarboxylic acid with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and tyrosinase-inhibiting activity that treats acne, rosacea and hyperpigmentation.
Lightweight, non-greasy emollient that improves slip and reduces greasiness in creams and sunscreens.
Fat-soluble antioxidant that protects oils from oxidation and can support photoprotection; may be comedogenic or irritating for some.
How to use it
Morning and/or night, after your thinner water-based steps and before heavier creams.
Where it acts
The same cross-section as our 500 dalton page, with this formula's actives on the layer each one works on. Depth is the anatomy's, never an ingredient's.
Skin surface
The stratum corneum
- Isohexadecanederived from what it is
- Vitamin Ederived from what it is
The living epidermis
- Azelaic Acidlikely, sourced
3 of this product's actives have a layer we can defend.
Sources for the sourced ones: Ebanks et al. 2009: mechanisms regulating skin pigmentation; StatPearls: Acne Vulgaris.
Against the average serum
It scores higher than the median serum on oil control and brightening.
It gives up ground on hydration and anti-aging.
A median, not an average: one unusual formula should not move the middle. The numbers are the same 0 to 10 reads the comparison pages use.
The full ingredients list, decoded
Every ingredient on the label, in the order it appears (highest amount first). We link the 8 our library knows, name what each one does, and flag anything that can irritate or clog. The rest we leave plain, nothing is hidden.
All 17 ingredients, decoded
- Aqua (Water)Solvent (base)
- Isodecyl NeopentanoateEmollient (ester)
- DimethiconeOcclusive
- Azelaic AcidDicarboxylic acidmild irritant
- Dimethyl IsosorbideSolvent
- Polysilicone-11
- IsohexadecaneEmollient
- roughly the 1% lineThe rules only require descending order above 1%. From Tocopherol down, these 8 can be listed in any order the brand likes, so position stops telling you anything.
- TocopherolAntioxidantmild irritant
- Trisodium Ethylenediamine DisuccinateChelator (stabiliser)
- Isoceteth-20Emulsifier
- Polysorbate 60Emulsifier
- TriethanolaminepH buffer
- EthoxydiglycolSolvent
- PhenoxyethanolPreservativemild irritant
- ChlorphenesinPreservative
Copy the raw INCI list
Aqua (Water), Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Dimethicone, Azelaic Acid, Dimethicone/Bis-Isobutyl PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysilicone-11, Isohexadecane, Tocopherol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Isoceteth-20, Polysorbate 60, Triethanolamine, Ethoxydiglycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin
Read enough? Find it on amazon.com →
We don't make or sell skincare of our own. So there's nothing here we're trying to push, just an honest read of whether this formula suits your skin.
Against your shelf
Read from your own shelf, in your browser. We never see it.
Compare it with…
All 15 comparisons
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (Original Formulation)
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (with Ceramides)
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Suractivated Serum
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs Eucerin Anti-Pigment Dual Serum
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Eye Serum
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs Geek & Gorgeous A-Game 10
- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% vs Celimax The Vita A Retinal Shot Tightening Booster
Common questions
Is The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% good for acne prone skin?
By our read of the formula, it suits acne prone, rosacea, pigmentation skin. The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% is a serum built around Azelaic Acid, Isohexadecane and Vitamin E. It leans strongest on barrier repair, brightening / tone, oil-control & blemishes. Best suited to acne prone, rosacea and pigmentation skin. Nothing in it we'd flag for most people.
How do you use The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%?
Morning and/or night, after your thinner water-based steps and before heavier creams.
What are the key ingredients in The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%?
The actives that do the work are Azelaic Acid, Isohexadecane, Vitamin E. The rest of the list is texture, preservatives and emulsifiers that hold the formula together.
Does The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% contain fragrance?
No. By our reading of the ingredient list it is fragrance-free, which is a plus for sensitive or reactive skin.
What the 3D scene shows
The scene shows The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% beside a cross-section of skin, with 2 of its ingredients drawn at the layer each one acts on and at one shared molecular scale: Vitamin E in the stratum corneum, the dead outer layer where most skincare works; Azelaic Acid in the living epidermis, among the cells that are still dividing. Depths come from the same sourced layer data as the rest of this site, and any ingredient whose layer is not established is left out rather than guessed.
The Ordinary prints: 10% azelaic acid. Read on the brand's own product page, 2026-08-10.
