Azelaic Acid is primarily used for either cosmetics and soft care where is it used as an acne treatment and in the production of polymers/plastics. In Cosmetics and Pharmaceutical Azelaic acid is used to treat mild to moderate acne, including comedonal acne and inflammatory acne. This dicarboxylic acid works by killing acne bacteria that infect skin pores and decreases the production of keratin. Azelaic acid is also used topically to treat rosacea, due to its anti-inflammatory ability, clearing bumps and swelling caused by rosacea. Azelaic acid has been used to treat skin pigmentation issues including melasma and postinflammatory hyperpigmentation in darker skin types. Sometimes it is also recommended as an alternative to hydroquinone as it reduces synthesis of melanin. In industrial, esters of Azelaic Acid have applications in lubrication and plasticizers. In lubricant industries it can be used in lithium complex grease as a thickening agent. In plastics, it can be used to form Nylon-6,9 with hexamethylenediamine.