The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%

Editor's Take

For budget azelaic acid, this earns its shelf space: 10% active plus Dimethyl Isosorbide means serious treatment, though the silicone-heavy base is hardly clean-beauty material.

Four-pillar formula scores

• Performance: 8.5 / 10
• Innovative Ingredients: 6.8 / 10
• Clean Standards: 3.3 / 10
• Formula Sustainability: 5.0 / 10

The Verdict

At 10%, Azelaic Acid sits at a clinically relevant level, while Dimethyl Isosorbide and Ethoxydiglycol help deliver this stubborn active effectively. Dimethicone and Polysilicone-11 keep it stable and provide an instant blurred finish, but they also weaken its environmental profile. Its low clean fit reflects a thoroughly synthetic base, including conventional preservatives and a pH adjuster with a contamination-management concern, not proof that the finished product is inherently unsafe. For affordable brightening and calming care, it remains one of the sharper buys in its aisle.

Is The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% clean?

DARE scores The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% by The Ordinary 3.3 / 10 on Clean Standards, the human-health pillar of the Formulation Architecture Model™. That reading comes from the published INCI list read as a system — preservative, fragrance and surfactant choices in context — not from flagging single ingredients in isolation.

What are the key ingredients in The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%?

The formula leads with Aqua, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Dimethicone, Azelaic Acid, Dimethicone/Bis-Isobutyl Ppg-20 Crosspolymer, Dimethyl Isosorbide. DARE reads the full INCI list below in order, so position and pairing shape how each ingredient contributes under Performance and Innovative Ingredients.

How does DARE score The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%?

Under the Formulation Architecture Model™, The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% by The Ordinary scores Performance 8.5 / 10, Clean Standards 3.3 / 10, Innovative Ingredients 6.8 / 10, and Formula Sustainability 5.0 / 10. Each pillar is scored from the finished formula rather than from isolated ingredient flags.

Read the Formulation Architecture Model™ →

DARE vs single-ingredient apps like Yuka →

Full INCI list

Aqua (Water), Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Dimethicone, Azelaic Acid, Dimethicone/Bis-Isobutyl Ppg-20 Crosspolymer, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysilicone-11, Isohexadecane, Tocopherol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Isoceteth-20, Polysorbate 60, Triethanolamine, Ethoxydiglycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin