Anua Azelaic Acid vs Niacinamide Serum: azelaic for redness, niacinamide for dark spots
Updated October 22, 2026
Pick the Anua Azelaic Hyaluron Soothing Serum if visible redness and blemishes that come and go are your main concern. Pick the Niacinamide 10% + TXA 4% Dark Spot Correcting Serum if your breakouts have settled and what bothers you now is brown marks, dullness and uneven tone.
If you have both concerns, split them: azelaic acid in the evening on Anua's slow start-up schedule, niacinamide in the morning under sunscreen. The azelaic serum is also cheaper, $15.99 against $23.99 for the same 30 ml.
This is a researched comparison of current US brand and retailer information, checked October 2026. We haven't worn or tested either serum; texture descriptions are Anua's, and the buying advice comes from comparing the two ingredient lists, directions, sizes and prices.
What is the difference between azelaic acid and niacinamide?
Azelaic acid is aimed mainly at the look of redness and blemishes, while niacinamide targets uneven tone, shine and pores. Azelaic acid is a dicarboxylic acid found naturally in grains such as wheat and barley, also used for post-breakout marks. Niacinamide is vitamin B3, a water-soluble vitamin that also supports the skin's moisture barrier. They overlap on oil and marks, and niacinamide is usually paired with other tone ingredients. That is how Anua built these two bottles:
Anua Azelaic Hyaluron Soothing Serum, 30 ml opens with water, azelaic acid, propylene glycol, sodium hydroxide, dipropylene glycol, 1,2-hexanediol, panthenol, hydroxyethylcellulose, betaine salicylate and glycerin. Anua states 10% azelaic acid. Propylene glycol and dipropylene glycol are solvents that help carry azelaic acid, which dissolves poorly in water; sodium hydroxide adjusts acidity; hydroxyethylcellulose thickens. Further down sit sodium hyaluronate (the "hyaluron" in the name), a small amount of niacinamide, a centella complex, squalane, zinc PCA and ceramide NP.
Anua Niacinamide 10% + TXA 4% Dark Spot Correcting Serum, 30 ml opens with water, glycerin, niacinamide, tranexamic acid, butylene glycol, diethoxyethyl succinate, 1,2-hexanediol, arbutin, sodium hyaluronate and alpha-arbutin. Anua states 10% niacinamide, 4% tranexamic acid (TXA, an amino-acid derivative used in tone-focused formulas) and 2% arbutin. Later come small amounts of plant oils (macadamia, olive, jojoba, grape seed), betaine salicylate, panthenol, a vitamin C derivative (3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid), polyglutamic acid, ceramide NP and a long run of hyaluronic acid forms.
Neither ingredient list includes added fragrance or alcohol (ethanol), and Anua calls both fragrance-free. Both also contain betaine salicylate, a mild relative of salicylic acid, which is worth knowing if you already use a BHA toner or pad.
Which Anua serum is better for redness, and which for dark spots?
The azelaic serum is the one for redness; the Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 serum is the one for dark spots. Anua positions the azelaic formula for the look of redness, blemishes and excess oil, designed with oily and sensitive skin in mind. The niacinamide serum is positioned for dark spots, post-breakout marks, dullness and uneven tone.
A practical way to choose is by the color of the marks you're looking at. Pink or red marks around blemishes that are still coming and going point to the azelaic serum, which Anua says may also improve the look of post-acne marks over time. Flat brown marks left after breakouts have calmed, or patchy tone and dullness, point to the niacinamide serum, which stacks three tone ingredients in one bottle. Anua says the azelaic serum isn't intended for deep or permanent scarring; the niacinamide serum isn't positioned for scarring either.
Texture, as Anua describes it: the azelaic serum is lightweight and fresh with a naturally derived green tint, and can feel slightly tacky depending on how much you use. The niacinamide serum is watery and absorbs without a greasy finish. Anua confirms the niacinamide serum for normal and dry skin, while the azelaic serum leans toward oily skin, helping balance shine without a heavy layer.
Directions differ too. The azelaic serum starts at 1 to 2 drops once or twice a week, building up to as many as 5 drops twice daily as your skin tolerates it. The niacinamide serum starts as a small amount on the areas you're targeting, then works up to a few drops morning and evening, before oils and moisturizer. Both labels ask for SPF 30 or higher during the day.
Is Anua's azelaic serum or the Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 serum better for sensitive skin?
Anua pitches the azelaic serum at sensitive skin, but both bottles call for a gradual start if your skin is easily irritated. The azelaic serum's directions build that caution in: begin on dry rather than damp skin if you're sensitive or new to azelaic acid, and use it only once or twice a week at first. Anua's own serum guide frames the approach as gradual: if your skin already stings after cleansing, it says to repair your basic cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen routine first, then add the serum.
The niacinamide serum isn't marketed for sensitive skin, and it pairs 10% niacinamide with 4% TXA and 2% arbutin. Its ingredient list is also longer, with plant oils, botanical extracts and a vitamin C derivative. If a 10% niacinamide serum has left your face flushed or warm before, the azelaic serum is the more cautious label, though it still contains a little niacinamide.
Our take: for easily irritated skin, start with one serum on Anua's slow schedule for several weeks before deciding whether you need the other. If redness persists or keeps getting worse, that's a question for a dermatologist rather than for a new serum.
Can you use Anua azelaic acid serum and niacinamide serum together?
Yes, the two can share a routine, although Anua doesn't publish directions for combining them. Azelaic acid and niacinamide aren't a known clash; the practical risk is doing too much at once, since together they put azelaic acid, niacinamide, TXA, arbutin and betaine salicylate on your face.
The easiest routine splits them by time of day:
Morning: cleanse, toner, a few drops of the Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 serum, moisturizer, then SPF 30 or higher.
Evening: cleanse, toner, let your skin dry, 1 to 2 drops of the Azelaic Hyaluron Soothing Serum, then moisturizer.
First few weeks: use the azelaic serum only one or two evenings a week and add nights while your skin stays comfortable, which matches the example routine in Anua's guide.
If you'd rather use both at night, apply the azelaic serum first on dry skin, let it absorb, pat in the niacinamide serum, and finish with moisturizer. Anua's guide calls azelaic acid with retinol a combination that isn't for beginners, so if a retinoid is already in your evenings, keep it and the azelaic serum on alternate nights.
Are the Anua azelaic and niacinamide pads the same as the serums?
No. Both pads use their own formulas, built as hydrating toner pads that double as short masks, so think of them as gentler companions rather than a pad version of each serum.
Anua Azelaic 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Pads, 90 pads (230 ml) open with water plus five humectants (butylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, propanediol, glycerin and betaine). Azelaic acid appears well down the list, after the thickeners, plant extracts and the first hyaluronic acid forms. Anua doesn't publish the pad's azelaic acid percentage, so don't assume it matches the serum's 10%. Anua pitches the pads at redness caused by dryness: lay one on the area for 10 to 20 minutes, then wipe it over the rest of your face, daily, morning or evening.
Anua Niacinamide 5 + TXA Brightening Pad, 60 pads (210 ml) are half-moon pads cut to sit under the eye and along the cheekbone, worn for 10 to 20 minutes and then swept across the face. The ingredient list on our product page opens with water, butylene glycol, glycereth-26, niacinamide, glycerin and hydroxyethyl urea, the same opening as Anua's US page. Anua doesn't publish the pad's niacinamide or TXA percentages, and the list we checked doesn't name tranexamic acid, so read the box if TXA is your reason for buying.
Choose a pad for a hydrating mask-style step on one focus area; choose a serum if you want the active at its stated strength.
Price per ml, and which one to buy
Current prices at Sleepy Hello, checked October 2026:
Pick the azelaic serum if redness and blemishes that come and go are your main concern, your skin runs oily and you want a light layer, and you're happy to start slowly at once or twice a week.
Pick the Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 serum if your breakouts have mostly settled and brown marks or uneven tone are what's left, your skin is normal to dry, or you want one bottle with several tone ingredients rather than building a routine from separate ones.
Azelaic acid goes first if you use both in one routine. Anua's directions ask for the azelaic serum on dry skin and it's the active you're building up slowly, so apply it, let it absorb, then follow with the niacinamide serum and moisturizer.
Can you use the azelaic serum in the morning?
Yes, once your skin is used to it. Anua allows up to twice daily once your skin tolerates it, and asks for SPF 30 or higher whenever you wear it during the day.
Does either of these serums contain fragrance?
No. Neither ingredient list includes added fragrance, and Anua describes both serums as fragrance-free.
Can the niacinamide serum be used on the body?
Anua says yes, as an optional step on rough or dull-looking areas such as elbows, knees and hands.
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.
