Versus

The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% Versus Dr. Althea 345 Relief Cream

Serum
General Moisturizer
Canadian Brand Canada
Korean Brand South Korea

Updated on April 29, 2025

Overview

What they are

These products are both vegan, cruelty-free, and reef safe . They have a total of 3 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain Vitamin E

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, anti aging, dry skin, sensitive skin, reducing pores, scar healing and dark spots

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, fragrances, oils, parabens or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain silicones

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

What's inside (and what isn't)

What's inside (and what isn't)

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products
345 Relief Cream

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Antioxidant, Masking, Skin Conditioning

Tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.

Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.

Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.

You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.

There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.

Learn more about Tocopherol
Preservative

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

When to use

2,910 Routines
42% use in am
58% use in pm
86% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
3,664 Routines
46% use in am
54% use in pm
97% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% 17 ingredients

2.9 /5
from 36 ratings
Pilling (16) Great Value (14) Works Well (12)
Elapidae's avatar

Ela

3 months ago
Review

It’s a great starter product with azelic acid.
The price is relatively cheap, the tube will last you long time and it delivers what it should - azelic acid.
However, despite people’s suggestions here I personally would not use it as last step. It does not say it on their homepage but azelic acid has usually low ph. Thus adding it as last step might cause damaged skin barrier on a long run! Show more

#great value
#drying
#works well
anniec's avatar

anniec

1 year ago
Review

Hate
I have rosacea and perioral dermatitis so I thought this would heal my skin but I HATE it. It’s silicone based so it dries matte and you can’t apply sunscreen or any makeup on top. You also can’t reapply because it’ll start pilling. Don’t even think about touching your face after putting this on because it’ll pill. It also stings really bad which is the opposite of what you need for rosacea Show more

#irritating
#heavy
#pilling

Dr. Althea 345 Relief Cream 38 ingredients

2.9 /5
from 63 ratings
Absorbs Well (27) Light (25) Broke Me Out (24)
dajannamata's avatar

Dajanna Mata

8 months ago
Review

I wish I would have installed skinsort sooner to know what products I shouldn’t have wasted on. This product did zero difference, worst of all, not fungal acne safe(which is what I’m mainly looking for in a product). The good part is that It did not burn my skin, also like the cream’s texture. I bought this because there were so many people saying good things about this product that it will get Show more

#expensive
#broke me out
#no scent
lingling's avatar

Ling ling

8 months ago
Review

This product helped my skin heal a bit until I started to see tiny bumps on my face. I notice it clogged my pores and had to stop using it.

#hydrating
#sticky