Paula's Choice BOOST 10% Azelaic Acid Booster
Real 10% azelaic acid in a texture that works, at three times The Ordinary's price.
Number of Ingredients
More ingredients can mean more potential irritants, but a long list is not automatically worse.
This product: 21 ingredients
Price per Ounce
This compares similar product types using the price and size listed in Airtable.
This product: $35.64 per ounce
Dermatologist’s verdict
Mixed
Real azelaic acid in a gel-cream that spreads without grit or pilling. Watch the 0.5% salicylic acid alongside it — a bonus for acne, an extra irritant for rosacea, which is where azelaic acid has its best evidence. If rosacea is your reason, buy a plain azelaic acid.
What it is
Paula's Choice BOOST 10% Azelaic Acid Booster is a fragrance-free gel-cream in a 30 ml tube, about $36 to $38. It is a leave-on treatment for redness, acne and uneven tone — not a moisturizer, and not a scrub.
The formula is azelaic acid at 10 percent, with 0.5 percent salicylic acid alongside. Licorice root and bisabolol are there to calm. It costs roughly three times The Ordinary's version because of the base — methyl glucose sesquistearate and dimethicone hold the azelaic acid in solution, so it spreads as a smooth cream, not a gritty suspension.
What it does
Azelaic acid is found in wheat, rye and barley, and it works on three problems at once. It slows the growth of Cutibacterium acnes inside the pore, damps down the inflammation that turns a blocked pore red and sore, and slows tyrosinase, the enzyme that makes pigment. That last effect is stronger on overactive pigment cells, so it fades marks without bleaching the skin around them.
This is real azelaic acid, not a derivative, and the achievement is the texture. It is a gritty powder that does not want to dissolve, and cheaper products leave it suspended, which is why they pill.
Two limits. The trials that built its reputation used 15 or 20 percent, and there is nothing published at 10 percent. And the 0.5 percent salicylic acid that helps acne works against rosacea.
What it treats
## Acne | Moderate Azelaic acid does three things at once in a spot. It kills Cutibacterium acnes, calms the inflammation around it, and thins the plug of dead cells blocking the opening. This one adds 0.5 percent salicylic acid, which can get inside the pore itself. For acne, that pairing is a bonus.
## Rosacea | Moderate Rosacea is where azelaic acid has its best evidence, and a Cochrane review graded that evidence high quality. The catch is the added salicylic acid, a second irritant on skin that already flushes easily. If rosacea is why you are buying azelaic acid, Peach Slices sells 10 percent with no second acid in it.
## Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation | Moderate The brown mark left after a spot heals is pigment made during the inflammation. Azelaic acid slows tyrosinase, the enzyme that produces it, and it acts harder on overactive pigment cells than normal ones. It can also lighten deeper skin tones further than intended — watch the treated area against the skin around it.
Best for
**The price is about three times cheaper options:** $38 for 30 ml, three times The Ordinary's price for the same 10% of the same molecule. You are paying for the texture, and for some people that is worth $26.
**The added salicylic acid works against rosacea:** it also contains 0.5% salicylic acid, and that cuts both ways. For acne it is a bonus. For rosacea it is an extra irritant — and rosacea is the condition azelaic acid has the best evidence for. Buying it for rosacea means the added acid works against you.
**The strength is below the studied dose:** the trials that made azelaic acid's name used 15% or 20%. There are no good studies at 10%.
**May sting for the first few weeks:** expect stinging early on.
**May lighten deeper skin tones:** it can lighten deeper skin tones.
Texture
Gel It is a smooth gel-cream that spreads like a light moisturizer and absorbs cleanly.
No grit and no white film, which is why it costs more than the suspension versions. It sits under sunscreen and makeup without rolling.
It is fragrance-free. Expect a warm sting for the first few weeks, strongest around the nose and mouth.
How to use it
## How to use it How much: A pea-sized amount for the whole face, before moisturizer. You can mix it into your moisturizer to soften it. Careful: Expect stinging for the first two to four weeks, and patch test first. The 0.5 percent salicylic acid is an exfoliant, so wear sunscreen every day. Do not stack it with a retinoid or another acid while you are building up. Watch out: Azelaic acid can lighten skin, and on deeper skin tones it can go further than you wanted. Stop and reassess if the treated area looks paler than the skin around it. What to expect: Redness and small spots settle over four to eight weeks. Pigment takes longer, often three months. It does not usually purge, and stinging in the first fortnight is normal.
Full ingredient list
Water, Azelaic Acid, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Salicylic Acid, Adenosine, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract, Allantoin, Bisabolol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Xanthan Gum, Sclerotium Gum, Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol
The rest of the line
AXIS: Calms redness and bumps | Brightens
BOOST is the Paula's Choice range of single-active concentrates, used alone or stirred into a moisturizer, so you add one active at a time.
**BOOST 10% Azelaic Acid Booster (this one)** — Azelaic acid with a little salicylic acid, in a gel-cream. For rosacea, bumps and uneven tone together.
**BOOST 10% Niacinamide Booster | paulas-choice-10-niacinamide-booster** — The oil and pore option. Milder, and easier to use every day.
**BOOST C15 Super Booster | paulas-choice-boost-c15-super-booster** — Vitamin C in a small dropper bottle, for mornings. The brightening end of the range.
Similar products
Options for the same strength for less, or no added salicylic acid for rosacea.
Peach Slices Azelaic Acid | more | Real 10% azelaic acid for $13 to $16, with no added salicylic acid. The better fit if you are treating rosacea. Facetheory Blemicalm Azelaic Acid 10% Clarifying Serum | same | Dissolved 10% azelaic acid with colloidal oatmeal, $20 to $26. Ships from the UK and often sold out. The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% | same | The same 10% of the same molecule for about $12, no added acid. The texture is gritty and it pills.
Key facts
Key active: Azelaic acid 10% + salicylic acid 0.5% Texture: Smooth gel-cream Best for: Rosacea, acne, uneven tone Approximate price: $36–$38 Fragrance: Fragrance free Size: 1.01 oz Price: $42.00 Type: Exfoliant
Questions patients ask
Is Paula's Choice BOOST 10% Azelaic Acid Booster real azelaic acid? Yes, at 10%, not a derivative.
How is Paula's Choice BOOST 10% Azelaic Acid Booster different from The Ordinary? Same strength, smoother texture, three times the price.
Is Paula's Choice BOOST 10% Azelaic Acid Booster good for rosacea? Azelaic acid is. The added salicylic acid may irritate it.
Is Paula's Choice BOOST 10% Azelaic Acid Booster fragrance-free? Yes.
Will Paula's Choice BOOST 10% Azelaic Acid Booster sting? Common early on. It can also lighten deeper skin tones.
References
1. Interventions for rosacea (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6481562/) — This Cochrane systematic review (van Zuuren et al., 2015) rated topical azelaic acid's rosacea evidence as high quality while rating topical metronidazole only moderate quality, backing the page's claim that a major Cochrane review graded azelaic acid high quality and stronger than the drug it is usually compared with. 2. Interventions for Rosacea (JAMA clinical evidence synopsis) (https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.15287) — This JAMA synopsis of the Cochrane review confirms there is high-quality evidence that topical azelaic acid improves rosacea, versus lower-quality evidence for topical metronidazole, supporting the claim that azelaic acid's rosacea evidence is excellent. 3. A comparison of topical azelaic acid 20% cream and topical metronidazole 0.75% cream in the treatment of patients with papulopustular rosacea (https://doi.org/10.1016/s0190-9622(99)70085-x) — This double-blind randomized split-face trial found azelaic acid at least as effective as metronidazole for papulopustular rosacea, with a significantly higher physician-rated global improvement, supporting the claim that azelaic acid compares favorably to the topical drug it is usually compared with (metronidazole).