Learn About Azelaic Acid
Azelaic acid is a common prescription. This one's topical, and it's offered as a gel, foam, and cream. The one you use, ladies, depends on your condition! Most of you need to use it twice a day. Apply it in a thin layer, both times. Ladies, expect results in 1 to 3 months. Call your doctor if this doesn't happen. Of course, they will ask for follow-up appointments to keep an eye on your progress.
Expect to see azelaic acid as a prescription acne treatment. It's very helpful as a treatment for acne scars too! That said, this one's not the only treatment for acne. Antibiotics for acne, even home remedies for acne, work too! Azelaic acid's also more than helpful as a rosacea treatment. Of course, ladies, you have to know how it works first!
How It Works
Ladies, azelaic acid's a dicarboxylic acid. That means this medication's going to lower how much keratin you make! This is very important. There's lots of research that says keratin helps acne-causing bacteria grow! It's also important to know this medication stops hyperactive protease action. This will stop cathelicidin from changing to LL-37. That's a skin peptide! The result of this is less swelling from rosacea. Azelaic acid helps with discolored skin too. It works best on hyperpigmentation spots. It does this, ladies, as a common tyrosinase inhibitor, which is how it lowers melanin synthesis. Your dark spots will go away fairly quickly with this medication.
Uses
Ladies, azelaic acid works great on mild and moderate acne! It lowers the inflammation very well. This helps it get rid of the redness and irritation. The result is acne becoming harder to see! You won't see acne as often either, since it also gets rid of the bacteria in your pores that cause it. However, that's not all. Azelaic acid works away on acne scars, thanks to making your skin cells turn over and heal much faster.
This medication's also great for treating rosacea. You will have less swelling and your blood vessels are going to be harder to spot too! Ladies, you can use this medication for melasma and hyperpigmentation too. It's a great alternative to hydroquinone. That said, talk about azelaic acid with your doctor first!
Side Effects
Of course, this medication has a few side effects! Ladies, the most common involve your skin. Most of the time, it will be a bit itchy, dry, and red at first. Sometimes your skin's going to tingle or feel like it's burning after applying this medication. Peeling skin is another side effect, but it's not as common as the others! Keep your doctor up to date on these side effects. Less common ones include skin flaking, swelling, blisters, sore skin, and lots of redness. Your skin rarely lightens where you apply this medication. That said, tell your doctor right away if it does. You will likely have to stop using azelaic acid because of this!
Allergies happen too, and they mean stopping this medication! Ladies, the signs of a reaction having trouble breathing, hives, and swelling around your lips, tongue, and face. You need emergency attention for this allergy! This kind of attention is important for rare side effects too. These ones are chest tightness, eye swelling, joint pain, and fever. A high heart rate and a hoarse voice are 2 more.
Precautions
Azelaic acid isn't the right choice for everyone. Ladies, it's unsafe for some of you! That's why you need to go over your medical history with your doctor. One example is when you have asthma. This medication makes those symptoms worse! You will still be able to use it sometimes, but you need more monitoring if you do. When you're using this medication, you have to avoid some skincare products. Don't use anything with the same side effects as azelaic acid. This means things with alcohol in them, like astringents and some cleansers! When you're using the foam or gel, you can't have chemical peels or use anything abrasive.
The foam form isn't safe for open flames or smoke. Apply it away from both! Ladies, applying makeup after is fine. Just make sure it's dry first. Don't use a bandage, though, unless your doctor says so! Avoiding spicy foods, alcohol, and hot drinks is a good idea for some of you. Talk about this with your doctor!
Medication Interactions
Here's some good news: there aren't major interactions with azelaic acid. That said, there are mild ones! Ladies, you will need to list every medication, supplement, and skin product you use. Your doctor still needs to know. This is how you avoid more side effects like dry, red, and peeling skin. These side effects are much more common if you're also taking isotretinoin. Doctors don't recommend using both at the same time because of this! You will have to adjust when you're using other skincare products too, since some make your side effects worse. Lower doses of some supplements help as well. Go over anything you're not sure about with your doctor!