[Acne] Azelaic acid while acid mantle is broken/dehydrated skin?

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Hi folks, I've been been lurking this subreddit for the past little bit and only yesterday have I realized that my skin would be considered dehydrated and that my acid mantle have been destroyed over months of improper use of a harsh cleansers (making my skin feel so dry afterwards, which I thought was a good thing) and tactupump forte twice a day. As a 20 year old man, I feel my skin should not be this wrinkly and dull all over which leaves me to think my skin is definitely dehydrated. I've read that to allow your acid mantle to repair itself, you need to stop using exfoliants and actives. I'm currently just using my cleanser (hada labo tokyo hydrating facial cleanser) and a moisturizer (benton aloe propolis soothing gel) and azeleic acid. Additionally, I notice that my face will get shiny oily by afternoon when I'm using my current moisturizer that was designed for dry skin. If I use any moisturizer that made for oily skin, my skin would turn into an oil field by noon. Should I continue using the current moisturizer (which although I feel doesn't really provide that much moisture, it really controls my oil production ) or switch to a greasier one to allow my mantle to properly heal and moisturize? My skin is very sensitive and extremely acne prone. I get cystic acne and pimples only on my cheeks due to how oily it on my cheeks and barely anything in my T-Zone due to basically no oil production there. I'm really desperate for my skin to get better at this point as my checks are covered in dark spots from the old acne and hyper pigmentation and I still get new pimples and cystic acne every few days. (Also can't use any of the cetaphil or cerave products from breaking out) Questions: - Will I need to cut out the azeleic acid in order for my acid mantle to heal properly? I read that the pH of the acid is around 4.9, so the face can properly absorb the acid and still heal from dehydrated skin but I'm not sure. Does anyone know? - Should I continue using the current moisturizer (which although I feel doesn't really provide that much moisture, it really controls my oil production ) or switch to a greasier one to allow my mantle to properly heal and moisturize?
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Submitted by thunderingoatmeal