PAULA'S CHOICE | 10% AZELAIC ACID BOOSTER

This product review was originally part of my blog article titled, The Best Azelaic Acid Serums and Creams from Paula's Choice, The Ordinary and Naturium – What Is Azelaic Acid and What Is Azelaic Acid Good for? You can catch the full piece here.

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Last week, I published a blog article titled, A Complete Oily Skin Routine From The Ordinary – Best Niacinamide Serum For Oily Skin, Best Oily Skin Mask With Salicylic Acid. In it, I offered a collection of five products which combined to form an ideal skincare routine for oily skin.

To put it together, I hit The Ordinary’s regimen builder on the Deciem website and, well, pretended I had oily skin. The products featured in my article were the result of my online consultation — and what appears to be the best skincare routine for oily skin composed of some of the best products from The Ordinary.

A COMPLETE OILY SKIN ROUTINE FROM THE ORDINARY – BEST NIACINAMIDE SERUM FOR OILY SKIN, BEST AZELAIC ACID SERUM

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One of the more intriguing products in the The Ordinary’s oily skin routine was the brand’s Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%. I had been planning this article on Azelaic Acid, one of the hottest ingredients in skincare, for several months now.

What Is Azelaic Acid and What Is Azelaic Acid Good for?

Azelaic Acid is one of those hidden gem ingredients that’s been recently repositioned as a highly effective, reliable substance for promoting skin health. It’s not a new ingredient, but it’s newly used in skincare. And like Niacinamide and Salicylic Acid, which are both oily skin essentials, anyone can use Azelaic Acid.

According to the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team,

A type of acid known as a dicarboxylic acid derived from grains that offers numerous benefits when applied to skin. For example, it’s a gentle leave-on exfoliant which helps unclog pores and refine skin texture. Azelaic acid also significantly lessens factors in skin that lead to redness and bumps. Azelaic acid is also an antioxidant.
Research has shown azelaic acid can significantly diminish blemishes, help fade the appearance of post-acne red marks and other discolorations, and reduce the kind of skin sensitivity that leads to redness.
Although azelaic acid can be derived from grains like barley, wheat, and rye, its lab-engineered form is typically used in skincare products because of its stability and effectiveness. Because of this, azelaic acid is considered a synthetic ingredient, but this is a clear case where the synthetic version outperforms the natural version, with no research indicating a risk to skin.
Azelaic acid is available in strengths of 10% or less over-the-counter, and in topical prescription products at concentrations between 15-20%.

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Like Niacinamide, at higher concentrations, Azelaic Acid can have serious benefits for oily skin by helping to moderate sebum production and even calm irritation. Derived from grains like wheat and barley, Azelaic Acid is ideal for controlling surface oil and one of the most vexing concerns of oily skin — acne.

If you’re struggling with oily skin, I encourage you to have a look at my recent blog article on oily skin and some of the best products for your skin type.

For now, let’s have a look at oily skin’s newest BFF with one of the best face serums made with Azelaic Acid…

Paula's Choice | 10% Azelaic Acid Booster

Of course I make no apologies for the fact that I consider Paula's Choice the ideal brand for serious skin treatments. That’s especially the case when it comes to skincare innovations like the Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster. There’s simply no brand I trust more to get formulation right when it comes to the newest actives.

Short on hyperbole and long on efficacy, Paula's Choice always nails it. The perfect example is the Paula’s Choice 0.3% Retinol + 2% Bakuchiol Treatment. While brands the world over have been putting Bakuchiol into both new and newly renovated serums and creams, Paula's Choice took a more conservative approach by combining Bakuchiol, the “Retinol-alternative” with tried and true Retinol itself.

PRODUCT REVIEW: PAULA’S CHOICE 0.3% RETINOL + 2% BAKUCHIOL TREATMENT

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Likewise with the Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster. When it was introduced five or so years ago, it was the very first Niacinamide serum I’d ever tried — and the first time I’d even heard of Niacinamide. Today, I consider the Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster to be the best anti-aging serum available. I go through one bottle of it every three weeks!

The Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster was introduced about a year ago and like those two Niacinamide and Bakuchiol faves of mine, it’s quite a well-formulated treatment. I would expect nothing else from Paula's Choice!

With what appears to be the maximum 10% concentration of Azelaic Acid, the Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster is much more than that. By combining a sexy new active with a reliable workhorse, the brand seems to have taken the same approach as with the 0.3% Retinol + 2% Bakuchiol Treatment.

The 10% Azelaic Acid Booster combines Azelaic Acid with Salicylic Acid, surely an oily- and acne-prone skin must.

WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF

PAULA’S CHOICE OMEGA+ - BEST FACIAL SKINCARE POWERED BY OMEGA FATTY ACIDS

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What Is Salicylic Acid and What Does Salicylic Acid Do to Your Face?

According to the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team, Salicylic Acid is among the best ingredients for promoting skin health and for the maintenance of oily, acne-prone skin:

“Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid, or BHA, which is a desmolytic ingredient. That means it targets certain protein bonds in skin, known as desmosomes, that keep dead cells clinging to skin instead of sloughing off. Skin’s natural shedding process can become faulty due to age, sun damage, and problems like acne and excess oil. Exfoliating helps restore this natural ability.
“Salicylic acid is unique because it not only loosens the bonds between dead skin on the surface but also deep in the pore lining, where spent cells mix with oil and debris, becoming trapped below the surface. Left unchecked, all this buildup leads to dull, rough skin and clogged pores, setting the stage for blackheads and bumps.
“Compared to water-soluble alpha hydroxy acids, this type of acid is oil soluble, so it’s able to get through the oil, thinning it so it can flow freely to skin’s surface where your cleanser washes it away. Its oil-soluble nature makes it preferred for oily, breakout-prone skin, and it’s why medicated salicylic acid products for acne work so well; however, all skin types can benefit from this ingredient.”

Paula's Choice says that the 10% Azelaic Acid Booster is “a potent azelaic-and-salicylic-acid cream that dramatically and visibly clarifies uneven skin tone, fades acne marks, and reduces redness.”

There’s also a healthy dose of brightening Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, as well as two known skin soothers beyond skin-calming Azelaic Acid in the form of Allantoin and Bisabolol — the active component of chamomile.

What does 10% Azelaic Acid Booster do exactly? A lot! With the combination of Azelaic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Licorice Root Extract and soothing actives, the Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster helps to minimize the look of blemished skin, smooths a rough, bumpy texture, calms irritation and redness and helps to brighten skin and minimize the visible appearance of post-acne marks.

With a super light creamy lotion texture, it’s easily layerable into any skincare routine.

SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster for $36 here.

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