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Azelaic acid is a chemical compound naturally found in wheat, rye, and barley. It has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, which make it useful in the treatment of various skin diseases. It’s fairly gentle and can be used up to twice a day.
Azelaic acid can clean your pores of bacteria, therefore curing acne, and preventing future outbreaks from occurring. It helps the skin heal faster, which means it can reduce the occurrence of pimples and blackheads. Plus, it has skin-lightening abilities, which make it effective at treating blotchy areas of skin. Azelaic acid is used topically to treat acne and rosacea, among other conditions.
It can cause several side-effects, including a burning or tingling sensation, peeling skin at the site of application, dry skin, and skin redness. You may also experience blistering, irritation, swelling, and hives, although these are rare. Make sure you wear sunscreen before you go outside, as your skin will be more vulnerable to the sun’s UV radiation.
Oily skin occurs when the sebaceous glands in the pores are producing more oil, or sebum, than necessary. Sebum is natural in all skin as it keeps the skin moist and healthy. Over production of sebum can be caused by hormones, genetics or could even be a result of dry skin over-compensating by producing extra oil, in order to retain some measure of moisture.
Oily skin can also be caused by using the wrong products for your skin type. For example, if you are using overly drying soaps and astringents for your skin type, your skin may respond by over producing oil to compensate, as mentioned above. This can create an unfortunate cycle of using harsh soaps to eliminate oils, but instead exacerbating the problem.
On the other hand, overly oily makeup and products can also cause oily skin.
Ingredients that help exfoliate dead skin cells to keep pores unclogged and increase new skin cell production, such as Vitamin A/Retinol, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid, are good for treating acne as well. Benzoyl peroxide is a topical agent for fighting bacteria and unclogging pores. It is one of the longest-used medications to keep oily pores clean and healthy. Jojoba oil is also good for fighting bacteria trapped in oily skin and maintaining a moisture barrier to prevent over-production of sebum.
azelaic acid may be effective for oily skin, but there are many other factors that may affect whether this ingredient would work on your skin or if there are better ingredients that may work for you. Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skincare routine.
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