Anua Azelaic Acid serum review: buy the serum for azelaic acid, the pad for dryness
Updated October 22, 2026
Anua Azelaic Hyaluron Soothing Serum is the one to buy if you want azelaic acid in your routine: a light, fragrance-free leave-on serum with a stated 10% azelaic acid for the look of blemishes and visible redness, which Anua says is designed with oily and sensitive skin in mind. The Azelaic 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Pads are a different product, a hydrating toner pad for redness that comes from dryness, with azelaic acid as a minor ingredient, so buy those for comfort rather than for a dose of azelaic acid.
Both cost $15.99 at Sleepy Hello. If you pick the serum, start slowly: Anua's own directions begin at one or two uses a week and build toward twice a day only as your skin allows.
This is a researched review of current US brand and retailer information, checked October 2026. We haven't worn or tested either product; texture descriptions are Anua's, and the buying advice comes from comparing formulas, directions, sizes and prices.
What's in Anua Azelaic Hyaluron Soothing Serum?
The is built around one active. Azelaic acid is a dicarboxylic acid, meaning an acid with two acid groups, that occurs naturally in grains such as wheat and barley. In skincare it's used for blemish-prone skin, the look of redness and the uneven-looking tone breakouts leave behind. Anua prints 10% on the label and repeats it in the product FAQ. For context, US prescription azelaic acid products come in 15% and 20% strengths; this is a cosmetic serum at 10%.
The first ten ingredients are water, azelaic acid, propylene glycol, sodium hydroxide, dipropylene glycol, 1,2-hexanediol, panthenol, hydroxyethylcellulose, betaine salicylate and glycerin. In plain terms:
Propylene glycol and dipropylene glycol are solvents and humectants. Azelaic acid doesn't dissolve easily in water alone, and glycols are a common way to carry it.
Sodium hydroxide is a pH adjuster. Anua doesn't publish the serum's pH.
Panthenol (pro-vitamin B5) and glycerin are humectants, ingredients that draw water into the skin's surface layer.
Hydroxyethylcellulose is a thickener.
Betaine salicylate is a salicylic-acid-derived ingredient usually described as a gentle BHA exfoliant. Its amount isn't published, and it sits behind the thickener on the list, so it's a supporting player.
Further down the list you'll find allantoin, dipotassium glycyrrhizate (from licorice root), neem leaf and flower extracts, green tea leaf water, sodium hyaluronate, niacinamide, aloe juice, beta-glucan, a centella group (centella extract, leaf and root extracts, madecassoside, asiaticoside, asiatic acid and madecassic acid), squalane, zinc PCA and ceramide NP. Niacinamide is listed without a percentage.
The ingredient list includes no fragrance and no drying alcohol such as alcohol denat. Anua describes the texture as lightweight, fresh and non-greasy, notes that a slightly tacky feel can vary with the amount you use and what's underneath, and says the green tint is naturally derived, with no artificial color. It also labels the serum non-comedogenic, which is the brand's claim rather than a guarantee.
Anua publishes a four-week consumer self-assessment in which 90% of participants agreed their redness looked reduced. That's the brand's own panel, so read it as a sign of what the formula is designed for, not a promise.
The price is $15.99 for 30 ml (1.01 fl oz) at Sleepy Hello, checked October 2026, or about 53 cents per ml.
How do you use Anua azelaic acid serum?
Apply it after cleansing and toner and before moisturizer, starting once or twice a week. Anua's directions, in order:
After cleansing and toner, apply one to two drops to dry or slightly damp skin. If your skin is sensitive or you're new to azelaic acid, Anua says to start on dry skin.
Spread it over your face, let it absorb and leave it on.
Follow with moisturizer.
Begin one to two times a week, then increase gradually according to tolerance, up to five drops per use and as often as twice a day.
In the daytime, finish with SPF 30 or higher.
The dry-skin advice is worth following: damp skin can make a leave-on acid feel stronger, so wait a minute or two after toner.
A sensible first month, in our view: two evenings a week for two weeks, then every other evening, then nightly if your skin stays comfortable. Change one product at a time, so you know what caused any stinging.
Brief tingling is commonly described when people start azelaic acid. Burning that lingers, itching, flaking or a rash is your cue to drop back to fewer nights a week, or stop.
Anua azelaic acid serum vs pad: which should you buy?
Buy the serum if azelaic acid is the reason you're shopping; buy the pads if your skin looks red because it's dry and you want a hydrating toner or quick mask step. Despite the shared name, they're built for different jobs.
The Anua Azelaic 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Pads, 90 pads are stretchable fabric pads soaked in 230 ml of liquid. The first ten ingredients are water, butylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, propanediol, glycerin, betaine, diglycerin, methylpropanediol, hydroxyethyl urea and 1,2-hexanediol. That's almost entirely humectants and solvents. By our count the list also includes nine forms of hyaluronic acid, a seven-part centella complex, ceramide NP, squalane, panthenol, bisabolol and tea tree leaf water. Anua says the pads are made without artificial fragrance or color, and the list shows no fragrance.
The "10" in the name can read like a percentage, but neither our product page nor Anua's own pad page states one, and Anua doesn't explain the number. The ingredient order points to a much smaller amount: azelaic acid appears after xanthan gum and disodium EDTA, two ingredients normally used at well under 1%. Anua frames the pads around redness from dryness, and its footnote says the redness claim refers to dryness, not to any skin condition.
The directions differ too. Anua says to place a pad on the area of concern for 10 to 20 minutes like a mask, remove it, then wipe it across your face, and that the pads can be used every day, morning and evening. The serum, by contrast, starts at one or two uses a week.
The price is the same: $15.99 for 90 pads (about 18 cents a pad) or for 30 ml of serum at Sleepy Hello, checked October 2026.
Pick the serum if:
You want a stated 10% azelaic acid in a leave-on step.
Your skin is oily or combination and blemish-prone, and the look of redness and post-blemish marks is your main concern.
Pick the pads if:
Your skin looks red and feels tight, mainly from dryness.
You want a daily toner step or a 10-minute mask for cheeks or chin.
You're not ready for an acid serum yet.
Want both? Anua's pad page suggests pairing the serum with the pad. Use a pad first as your toner step, let your skin dry, then apply the serum and moisturizer. Start the pads first and add the serum a couple of weeks later, rather than both on the same night.
Can you use Anua azelaic acid with niacinamide?
Yes. Azelaic acid and niacinamide are commonly used together, and the azelaic serum already lists niacinamide in its own formula. Anua doesn't publish directions for combining the two serums on the pages we checked, so introduce them one at a time.
If you're looking at the Anua Niacinamide 10% + TXA 4% Dark Spot Correcting Serum, 30 ml, the split of jobs is fairly clean. The azelaic serum is aimed at blemishes and the look of redness. The niacinamide serum, with a stated 10% niacinamide, 4% tranexamic acid (TXA) and 2% arbutin, is aimed at the look of dark spots, dullness and uneven tone. Anua describes its texture as watery and lightweight, the ingredient list includes no fragrance, and it costs $23.99 for 30 ml at Sleepy Hello, checked October 2026.
One detail matters when you combine them: both formulas list betaine salicylate, so layering them means two sources of that mild exfoliant, and neither label gives an amount.
The simplest plan is to get comfortable with the azelaic serum at night for a few weeks, then add the niacinamide serum in the morning under moisturizer and SPF 30 or higher. Once both feel fine, you can layer them in one routine: azelaic serum first, let it absorb, then the niacinamide serum, then moisturizer. If dark spots bother you more than redness or blemishes, the niacinamide serum may be the better first buy; our Anua Niacinamide TXA serum review covers it in detail.
Hold off on stacking either one with other exfoliating acids, such as glycolic, lactic or salicylic toners and pads, or with retinoids, until you know how your skin handles azelaic acid on its own.
Does Anua azelaic acid cause purging?
Not usually: a few extra spots in the first weeks are possible, but irritation is the more common early reaction. Anua doesn't mention purging. Purging is the word for a short-lived rise in breakouts when an ingredient speeds up how quickly skin sheds, as retinoids and exfoliating acids do. Azelaic acid has a mild exfoliating effect and this serum also contains betaine salicylate, but the reactions more commonly described when people start azelaic acid are tingling, stinging, itching and dryness.
A practical way to tell them apart:
Small breakouts in the places you usually break out, which come and go and settle within a few weeks, fit the purging pattern.
New bumps where you don't normally get them, stinging that doesn't fade, itching or a rash suggest the product doesn't suit you. Stop using it.
Tightness and flaking usually mean you're using it too often. Drop back to two nights a week and use a richer moisturizer.
Don't push through irritation in the hope that it's purging. If breakouts are painful, widespread or leaving marks, a dermatologist can offer prescription options that a cosmetic serum doesn't replace. Our Korean skincare for acne guide shows where a serum like this fits in a blemish-prone routine.
Who should buy it, and who should skip it?
Our take: the serum earns a place on the shortlist for oily, combination or blemish-prone skin that wants a light, fragrance-free azelaic acid step at a modest price. Easily irritated skin can try it with the slow start; our Korean skincare for sensitive skin guide covers gentler options if you'd rather wait.
Skip it, or check with your clinician first, if you already use a prescription azelaic acid, a retinoid or another prescription acne product, or if your skin is currently broken, raw or sunburned. Doubling up azelaic acid from two products adds irritation risk without a clear reason. If your main concern is dryness rather than blemishes, the pads or a good moisturizer are the better spend.
Where to buy, prices at Sleepy Hello checked October 2026:
Yes, once your skin is used to it. Anua's directions start at one or two uses a week and allow up to twice a day, increased gradually according to tolerance, so daily use is the goal rather than the starting point. The pads are different: Anua says they can be used every day, morning and evening.
Can I use Anua azelaic acid in the morning?
Yes. Anua allows use up to twice a day and says to finish with SPF 30 or higher when you use the serum during the day. Start at night, where it's easier to judge how your skin reacts, and add mornings once nightly use is comfortable.
Is Anua Azelaic Hyaluron Soothing Serum fragrance-free?
Yes. Anua describes it as fragrance-free with no added fragrance, and the ingredient list includes no fragrance or essential oils. The brand says its green tint is naturally derived.
Does Anua azelaic acid help with acne marks?
Anua says the serum may visibly improve the look of post-acne marks over time and isn't intended for deep or permanent scarring. If flat dark marks are your main concern, compare it with the niacinamide and TXA serum.
How to use azelaic acid: apply after toner on dry skin, start once or twice a week and finish with SPF. Compare Anua, Medicube and Centellian24 10% serums.
