Finacea : Azelaic Acid (15%) Gel

I have used Finacea as part of my morning regimen for about a year. I love it!! My breakouts clear much more quickly, it smooths out my skin tone, and eases redness from current breakouts. One of my favorite parts--it wears fantastically under makeup! Other topicals I have used in the morning look greasy, cause peeling, or make my make up look just plain gross. But I have found that finacea works somewhat like a makeup primer as far as smoothing out skin and giving a good canvas for foundation application, it controls oiliness due to its matte finish, and it fights acne at the same time so its a win-win in my book. Even after a year of use, my face does sometimes itch for a few minutes after application, but it is very bearable and worth it. That is the only side effect--no peeling, red, raw feeling skin like some of the harsher topicals cause. I have found that it works best on the smaller pimples and does not do too much for cysts. However, I generally have many small pimples and only 1-2 cysts a month that clear somewhat quickly, so it is a great product for me. I have very problematic skin and moderate acne, so even though it has not completely cleared my skin or anything, I am very pleased with the results and would hate to see my skin without it!

I have only used this cream for about 4 days (just at night), but already I can see it working! I was really worried that it would exacerbate my redness from rosacea, but it really didn't. I didn't experience any burning, just some itching around where I have pimples. I now have a few big pimples on my cheeks, but from what I've read, these should go away as my skin adjusts to the Finacea. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I kind of feel like they're the last few that the Finacea is purging my skin of. I have extremely fair skin, and any pimples that I have (whether I pop them or not) leave bright red or pink marks. Subsequently, my face looks red all the time, which isn't helped by my rosacea. In fact, the hyperpigmentation makes the rosacea look a lot worse. As I said, I've only been using this cream for about 4 nights, but already I can see the marks fading! It also seems to be helping to limit my flushing from rosacea - although I have just cut back from two 50mg minocycline tablets a day to one (and some people find this medication to cause flushing, so it could be this that's helping rather than the Finacea). At night, after I wash with Cetaphil, I leave my skin for about 5 minutes. Then I dab little dots of the Finacea all over my face and gently rub it in. Then I leave it for another 5 minutes before putting Cetaphil moisturising lotion over the top. This system seems to be working well. I would definitely recommend giving this product a try - I am so sick of these pimples and red marks!

I started using Finacea last night and a HUGE patch of hyper-pigmentation has pretty dramatically toned down. It has amazing ant-inflammatory properties AND is an anti-bacterial. It will itch at first, but it has not flaked/irritated my horribly sensitive skin. In fact, after I apply it my skin calms down in minutes. If you are worried about buying a whole bottle's worth of this stuff, ask you derm for samples! That's what I did, and I'm hooked! I also want to mention that tretenoin (.025%) destroys my skin, causes inflamed purging, and even makes me red. This is what I will use now, and only use the retinol once or twice a week.

I'm one of those "tried absolutely everything you can think of" acne sufferers, and just began Finacea several days ago after seeing another dermatologist. It seems to clear up cystic pimples and whiteheads pretty quickly overnight, but I still have bad hyper-pigmentation and many blackheads under the skin. I'm hoping it will help but not sure of the best cleanser to use with this or any other tips... the dermo I went to said no cleanser (unrealistic considering I'm a chick and need to wear makeup to cover these mounds) and just SPF protection. It burns and stings a little after a minute of being on your skin but will go away in about 5 minutes or so, and worth it for the morning.

This product was amazing. I used it for quite a long time (mid-2008 to summer of 2010) and while it was for rosacea, it combatted my acne better than any other product. Unfortunately, it is a bit expensive as well as a prescription, and preserving the medication takes a bit of effort because it is sensitive to temperatures and needs to be kept chilled. This was not practical for my life longterm, but I have yet to find a product that works better.

On its own is not enough to cure acne, but as a complementary treatment either for acne or acne scars is very good and not-irritating. In one month you'll see a clear difference. It is the only treatment by prescription I use on my skin and I am acne-free. Give it a try!

I have had mild acne since I was 11 years old (I'm now 17 years old), and that has ruined so much for me, even though it isn't "that bad" - small bumps and pimples on my forehead and blackheads on my nose and chin. Until August 2014 I lived on the countryside where the air was fresh and not as polluted as it is in a city, and when I moved to a city, my skin reacted immediately. Before the move my skin type was normal to dry, which was way easier to cope with than the oily skin that I now have. I think it has something to do with the polluted air, because when I go back to the countryside it always gets better. Anyway, I got Finacea prescribed for me four months ago and I can definitely say that it has made a difference. Almost all the pimples and bumps on my forehead are gone! Still not completely smooth and clear, somehow, but I'm very pleased with the results. The blackheads are still there on my nose and chin, though. The doctor who prescribed it for me suggested that I should use it until September this year, so maybe the skin on my forehead will look even clearer then. It took me a while to figure out how to use it, though - for the first two months I just washed my face with water before I put the gel on (I thought washing it with a cleanser would be too harsh for my skin), and that didn't do much, but then I started washing it with a cleanser instead and I think that is what made the difference. It is a little harsh, but it's okay. However, it makes my skin very dry and sometimes even a little itchy, if I use it in the morning and before I go to bed every day for more than one week. I have tried to put on more moisturizer and I have tried taking short breaks from it, but the moisturizer that I'm currently using doesn't seem to make a difference and in that short time of the break I will get bumps and pimples, and that worries me a bit, thinking about when I will stop using the gel entirely, but I will talk to my doctor about that next time I have an appointment. I will change the cleanser and see what happens.

good for closed comedones, bad for inflammatory acne