Topical Retinoid
Reviews
3.4
969 Reviews
Topical Retinoid
Efficacy
51%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
1
2
3
4
5
Topical Retinoid
Side Effects
Low-Medium
Topical Retinoid
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Produces similar results to the two other topical retinoids, tretinoin and adapalene, which means only partial clearing, and comes with far more sensitivity and side effects when you first start using it. It probably won’t be a total game changer and don’t be surprised if it’s too much for your skin to take.
Topical Retinoid
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Read All About Tazarotene
Compare To Other Treatments
5
18.7%
4
32.9%
3
25.3%
2
13.9%
1
9.2%

Used Tazarotene? Rate It:

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April 15, 2010

Pros:

No strong scent, absorbs quickly, dries out pimples, leaves skin softer, evens out skin tone.

Cons:

Very drying, can cause peeling, redness, itching, stings a little bit, makes skin more sensitive to sunlight.

My dermatologist gave me Tazorac to replace my Retin-A Micro. Tazorac is similar to RAM, but this is a synthetic retinoid, as opposed to RAM which is naturally derived from Vitamin A. Essentially, both work similarly. When I first started using this, I definitely felt it burn/sting a little on my face. Some people might prefer building up their retinoid tolerance... rather than using this every day/night, use it a couple of times a week, and then gradually work your way up so that you can get used to it. My skin was pretty clear when I was put on this, but I think some people might experience purging, which is common for most new acne meds (I experienced this with Benzaclin). But I'll definitely be sticking to this. It's done a great job of helping me maintain a clear complexion. If you use it during the day, you MUST wear a sunscreen.
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July 28, 2010

Pros:

-reduces acne over the period of about 2-3 months
-reduces scars like no other product i used
-tightens pores
-reduces pigmentation and any other imperfections

Cons:

-causes lots of redness and irritation if USED INCORRECTLLY!!!
-you will brake out and purge A LOT in the beggining months
-peeling (until skin adjusts to cream)

I'm an aesthetician who was suffering with acne and acne scarring for bout 3 years now. It is horrible to have acne overall but imagine giving people advices about their skin when your own looks like complete crap :) I tried everything, and when i say everything i mean EVERYTHING, all the over the counter products, proffesional-expensive products, microdermabrasion (for my scars when my acne was not active), chemical peels (glycolic, PCA, salycilic...) antibiotics which helped for the months that i was using and after stopping i went back to my "normal" face + the added problems with my stomach. This product is trully AMAZING!!! You will purge like crazy for the first couple of months, and to me, personally, thats better than stuffing everything back in with Proactiv and its just a matter of time when it all will come out. You have to use this cream/gel with moisturizer thats a must! You either need to dilute the product or apply moist. and apply tazorac after 15-30min, increase dossage sparinglly! I know, i know when you see something working you wanna bathe in that cream, but this product works in steps. Just when your skin starts to get used to dossage, increase it. Thats how you exfoliate the top layers of your skin revieling babys butt skin underneath. Use SPF, otherwise you will get pigmentation and be patiente, you will peel, you will brake out, you will probablly hate your skin during the first couple of months but it will be worth it in the long run :) use mild cleansers, because your skin will get more sensitive and DO NOT spot treat your pimples with this! My skin is looking about 80% better already , i have been useing it for about 3 months and i looove how wonderful my skin is looking! Listen to your DERMATOLOGIST, educated ones will tell you to not use it everyday, and how to do right dossage and after how many weeks to increase it. good luck!
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May 24, 2010

Pros:

Beautiful Skin, helps with wrinkles, reduces severity of acne

Cons:

Expensive, takes a long time to see good results, when first taking it the cream can be very drying to skin

I've had severe acne since I was 13. I'm 26 now and it's still a daily battle. After trying everything under the sun my dermo decided tazorac would be the way to go. He gave me several samples of retinol products that progressively got stronger, I used one for a week before moving up to the next strength, after six weeks he had me on tazorac .05% then on the seventh week I was on .1%. This helped reduce the drying effects as my skin got used to it gradually. Granted my acne was so bad at the time even flaking peeling skin wouldn't have made much of a difference. Once I was on the tazorac my skin gradually improved. My skin had never looked so good! Now a year later I'm starting to develop cysts again. It's like my skin has built up a tolerance to it. But I started the BP during the day and the tazorac at night (don't use at the same time! They do not go well together). I am also exfoliating a couple times a week with an aspirin mask the moisturizing with either almond or jojoba oil. The combination is working really well for me. I have very insensitive skin, so if that could be why the heavy duty stuff seems to work for me and not cause problems. Tazorac can be tricky to apply, try dotting it over your face and gently rubbing it, then apply a heavy moisturizer over top. Or if that doesn't work, apply the moisturizer first, let it sit for an hour then apply the tazorac. And with tazorac less is more. A pea sized amount is all you need, any more and it's a waste and doesn't seem to work as well for some reason.
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January 7, 2010

Pros:

Clear, smooth skin!

Cons:

It will make your skin oily... and it will peel at first!

It works people!! I wrote about a year ago and had moderately severe acne, I had some cysts and pimples everywhere! But after about 3 good months of using it I had my skin back! I was FINALLY getting asked out by cute guys and getting out more! A year later I still have good skin, and I actually only spot treat about once a week now on problem areas, I don't use it everyday anymore! I am actually doing a Skin Culture 4000 Peel to get rid of my red marks that are still left and will write a review on that in a couple days!
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July 11, 2011

Pros:

-cleared up most acne
-skin soft
-improves skin over time
-acne scars fading

Cons:

-takes a very long time to work(3months)
-bad initial breakout
-breakouts kept coming
-very dry skin
-sensitive to the sun

finally my 3 month trial of .1% tazorac is done and i can actually look in the mirror again!! I started back in april and within a week my acne got worse and it kept getting worse for 2 months. but when the last month came my acne started to decrease (but i still had a bunch of breakouts including new acne scars). so basically in 12 weeks my acne is almost gone:) i do have like 1 new active pimple but its small and my acne scars are fading now and i am pretty sure by August my acne and scars will fade. I was also taking solodyn 88mg and aczone. i used solodyn everyday and i seriously don't think it worked or helped at all. i don't like the side effects of this pill because if you don't take it for 3 days your face gets all this red swollen bumps and those pimples hurt and lasts for a whole week!. so basically i do not recommend solodyn because your acne becomes dependent on this. I also used aczone like for a month and off and on. i dont think this worked much either. So basically i just woke up in the morning and washed my face with a dove soap and moisturize my skin with aveeno ultra calming lotion (great lotion it help a lot with the dried out skin). and at night washed my face again and put some more lotion then after 15 min. i used tazorac every night. My overall experience with this medicine is that you have to be really patient and accept the bad breakouts. For 3 months i ran away from pictures and had to listen to random people telling me how to treat my skin. it was embarrassing and annoying! but dont worry just let time pass. But don't let acne ruin your life!!!!! it is so much easier to say this now that my acne is almost gone but just hang in there:) and good luck!!!!
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March 22, 2010

Pros:

softenes skin, gets rid of small pimples fast

Cons:

takes soooooo long

i'm on week 8, still having breakouts, first cyst im my life which is awful, still having around 15 pimples and bumps on each cheek, hope to get some results in the next month was prescribed with doxycicline and 5% panoxyl bar which didn't use that regularly, but now getting back to it, so hopefully will see some results i don't know if to recommend it or no yet
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January 8, 2010

Pros:

Clears white heads and smaller pimples first.

Cons:

Makes you skin sensitive and flaky. & it could be a lot of money if your insurance doesn't cover it.

Its a good product and it cleared my whole forehead but I'm still waiting on the cheek area. But I'm keeping my head up high. (:
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August 13, 2010

Pros:

none

Cons:

left me with oily skin
oily skin led to whiteheads

I thought this cream was supposed to dry out your skin and clear up your acne. All it does for me is give me really oily skin and leaves my face feeling greasy. I was told by my derm to apply it to the red bumps every night but I can't take it any more. Every morning I wake up with new bumps and whiteheads on the area where the cream was applied. I've been using tazoraz for 4 months now and it only makes my skin break out even more.
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December 23, 2009

Pros:

only thing in the book(and trust me i've tried EVERYTHING) that cleared up my skin

Cons:

can be irritating. peeling, redness, burning

my dermatologist warned me that at first my acne will get worse before it can get better. she said since i have sensitive skin, to apply the medicine for ten minutes than rinse it off for the first few days and gradually leave it on longer until i could do it over night. because of this technique, i got clear skin minus so much of the irritation she said this cream works for before with smaller bumps like white heads and stuff ^.^
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July 5, 2011

Pros:

Works wonders,
Rednes goes away
Acne has been erased from face
Scars are mostly gone
Gotten huge compliments about skin
Contact me for entire routine, dint fit in the bottom line area, am always on email

Cons:

Face red at times
Flaking pealing and burning
Oily face
Takes long time

This cream is a cream that will change lifes for people with acne, am 17 and I started getting acne at the age of 13 and it only got worse leaving dark spots (scars) all over my face, I felt horrible and at times never wanted to leave the house, I feel really bad saying this but at times I felt like vomiting suicide, my skin was covered with acne and full of dark scars, I remember I saw a pic from a wedding I went and that was when I realized my face was so bad and scared, that was when I told my mom I wanted to go to the derm and he was so quick on looking at my skin and then gave me a routine to to fallow, I was scared to use this cream because I never heard of this cream before, I tought he was going to give retina~a or accutane but never this cream , I was scared, then when to google and found positive and negetive reviews, this cream takes a while to work it's wonderful magic, my face got red the first months and the initial breAkout was noticible but not bad! My face got really flaky, after that went away then came burning, while sleeping I would awake with a burning sensation on my face and I quickly aplyed moisturizer (cetaphil-doesn't break me out) then in the morning I saw the burn and then it turned rock hard and looked really bad, but 3 days later the part of the skin that got burned healed it left it sooo soft and pimple free :) this burning happened 5 or 6 times, I discovered that I was using way to much, since I got a new tazorac tube every month( insurance) , so I tought " oh I have to use all the cream all in one month, and my acne might go away faster" using slot of this cream can be bad so I dont recommend it, u might hear this slot but trust me only use a PEA size amount, it been almost 7 month and am 99% clear, acne in gone , I will never be perfect on god is, my skin has gotten so much smother and clear, I dint realize how good my skin got until my uncle and mom told me that my skin looked like baby skin, routine? Contact me stivenvoice@[li
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Finding a Doctor

The right dermatologist can make a big difference to your patient experience and the success of your acne treatment plan. Here are the steps to find a dermatologist who is a good fit:

  1. Use the search feature on the American Academy of Dermatology website to look for board-certified dermatologists in your area, and filter the search results for doctors with a special interest in treating acne.
  2. Read online patient reviews of any dermatologists you are considering and ask people you know whether they have any experience with these dermatologists.
  3. Do your research and go to your first appointment with questions prepared.
  4. Listen to what your gut feeling tells you once you see a dermatologist in person. If you are not completely comfortable, try a different dermatologist.

Finding a Doctor

Only a select few plastic surgeons specialize in acne scar revision surgery. Be certain to find a provider who specializes in acne scar repair and who is passionate and experienced in this area.

Be sure to:

  • Look at before and after photos, the more the better, especially patients with similar scarring to your own.
  • Be realistic about results. Look for improvement, not a cure.

Questions to ask a potential scar revision specialist:

  • Are you board certified? Be certain that they are board certified.
  • How long have you been performing these procedures? Normally, the more experience the better, however, some younger surgeons may be more on top of the latest procedures.
  • Can I speak to some of your other patients? Ask for references for several patients who had similar scarring and speak to them about the process and their satisfaction with results.

Red flags:

  • Their story changes: As you discuss different treatment options, if they tend to change their mind easily, or agree with whatever you say, consider this a red flag. A confident, experienced surgeon will possess strong, unwavering opinions.
  • Your gut tells you "no": Trust your gut. If you just don't feel that the doctor is the right fit, trust that and move on. On the other hand, if you feel they are the perfect specialist for you, trust that feeling.