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Side Effects
Tazarotene is a vitamin A derivative called a topical retinoid. It helps clear acne by promoting skin cell turnover and reducing inflammation in the skin.
Tazarotene is usually applied once a day around bedtime.
Used Tazarotene? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
February 14, 2011
Cons:
Clears Skin
Very effective
Prevents Aging/wrinkles
So, this cleared my skin. The important thing is to use it consistently and to moisturize. I also recommend using water only to wash your face or using a VERY gentle cleanser. You cannot use a harsh cleanser or bar soap with this. Be prepared to get flaky. This is how the medicine works, it makes your cell production speed up. But on the plus side, this also prevents wrinkles from forming. People who use this WILL look younger longer (look into the science, it's basically an anti-aging treatment). So you have to moisturize. Once you use this for awhile, everyday, the flakiness kind of calms down. But if you skip some days it gets pretty bad. It took 2 weeks for this to work and now my skin is clear. A 30gram bottle can last me 2 months. Use a PEA sized amount. I personally use the gel, I can't comment on the efficacy of the cream. My study plan covers this, but I believe it's 60$/tube without insurance, at least in canada. Totally worth it though.
December 14, 2011
Pros:
Gets RID of pimples, sometimes overnight
Works way faster than anything I've tried
makes scars fade faster
reduces swelling and pain
shrinks pores
Cons:
makes me peely and flakey if I use it more than one night in a row
makes my skin ashy, so putting on powder makes my skin look extremely dry
During the first few weeks the drying is intense
I have had moderate acne since I was 13 and I am now 21. I get swollen, pussy ones on my cheeks and jawline and I have countless tiny flesh-colored bumps all over my forehead. I also have fairly large pores. I've been using this stuff on and off for about three years. I've used essentially every other prescription topical they can give you for acne. Benzol peroxide in particular wouldn't work, no matter how persistent I was with it, so I was extremely frustrated and having this work for me was a huge relief. There was no intitial break-out. It worked as well for me on day 1 as it did on any other day. The only real issue I have with it is it takes your skin a long time to adjust to it, and until then it will be intensely drying. Flaking, peeling, stinging dry. Once you persists for about 1 - 2 months, it will stop making you dry and it will just destroy your pimples. This is the ONLY one that worked for me, and it works really well. If I put it on a big, swollen, inflamed pimple at night, it will often be completely gone the next morning with just the red mark that goes away gradually. It makes them stop hurting overnight, unless they're really big. No other product actually makes the pus go away from within. Other products bring the gross stuff to the surface, while this actually gets rid of it. And if I don't pop, there's no scarring. This is MAGIC cream. I love it. I sometimes get my friends to spot-treat with it when they complain about having a really bad pimple, and all of them have been blown away. It is absolutely 100% worth dealing with the dryness to get the satisfaction of obliterating painful pimples in a night. If you really slather on moisturizer on top of the medicine, it can often prevent the dryness and it still works just as well. It's absolutely worth a try, if it means it might work as well for you as it did for me. Note: If you're a girl, I highly recommend spironolactone pills as well.
June 18, 2011
Pros:
Great exfoliant
Helps reduce the problem of acne
Has helped clear me up
Helps acne reduction which is a HUGE pro
Cons:
Cost depending on insurance
Does cause an initial breakout
Can make you peel frequently
Does not work well with moisture
Creates sun sensitivity
Tazorac is one of those products people may hate because of its unfun start. It will most likely cause people to shed for the first few weeks to possibly a month. I reccomend getting the gel and NOT the cream. The gel will dry people out more, but the cream is designed for people fighting wrinkles and not acne. Retinoids are great for exfoliating the skin and reducing the amount of oil production in the skin. For products like Benzoyl peroxide or any acne medication for that matter.... it is important that they penetrate the skin, into the deepest layers of your epidermis. Tazorac, since it is a chemical exfoliant, sheds away all of the dead skin so that acne medications can penetrate better.
I do not believe using tazorac alone will clear up acne since it doesnt exactly "treat" acne itself, so you really need to be put on either a topical antibiotic, benzoyl peroxide, or both (Acanya contains clindamycin phosphate and BP 2.5%) If going on all these products it is best to use taz every other night or every two nights cause the over exfoliation will make your skin extremely irritated. I love this combination and am 100% clear after 10 years of having persistant cystic acne.
February 18, 2011
Pros:
Softer skin
Smaller pores
Acne seems to be inproving
Cons:
Can cause additional breakouts
Dry flakes/redness
I have only been using this medication for about 2 weeks and things seem to be improving already. The first week I did experience an increase in breakouts and dry skin, however this seems to have calmed down. I believe the key to this medication is to use it exactly as the directions instruct...wash with a cleanser, apply a moisturizer and then a pea size amount of the Taz. Since I have super oily skin I was given the Taz 0.1 gel. I'm hoping with some patience this will help clear up the acne I have been experiencing for some time now. I will post an update after another 2 weeks.
October 14, 2009
Pros:
Gets rid of minor blemishes quickly; even better, it also treats and clears cystic acne and post-cystic scars/marks.
Cons:
severe skin peeling, increased redness, face/skin feels raw, tender to the touch, burning skin, chapped lips, dryness.
if you have sensitive skin or oily/dry combination skin, tazorac can feel like it's burning your face off, even if you use a very very small amount (I use 1/2 pea, which is 1/2 a dosage). my entire face peels off every week, which is embarrassing and tough to cover up. after it peels, it feels raw and burns a lot, so much so that it's difficult to even moisturize with a dermatologist recommended facial lotion. still, it has cleared very painful cystic acne...although i'm not sure which is worse''molting face or acne face...
May 7, 2009
Pros:
i DO NOT have acne anymore. i can go out without makeup.
Cons:
the initial breakout was horrible, peeling before my skin got used to it. i had a case of eczema on my face & my derm told me to stop using the taz for a few days so that i could apply eczema medication & i got two cysts, so you can't stop using it.
STICK WITH THIS STUFF! my IB was so bad i would cry in the shower but now my skin is smooth & gorgeous! i also use a very gentle regimen along with it: AM wash with an aloe cleanser, apply shea butter, PM oil cleansing method, apply coconut oil, apply tazorac
April 24, 2009
Pros:
cleared up skin almost completley
Cons:
unsightly peeling, reddening of face, at first made acne worse
patience is really the key for this product. the way it works is it 'reprograms' your skin to slough off faster. thats why you peel alot. itll look like dry skin but its not that bad. also at the beginnin, my face was a bit pinker than normal... also it made me break out alot more for the first while. but once you've been on this for a few months your skin will clear up, cuz i had horrendous acne.... now i only get a few zits during the time of the month lol.
i rly recommend taking it, itll be well worthit!
November 24, 2015
Tazorac is LIQUID GOLD for my skin......
I have been using Tazorac for about 2-3 years now and I absolutely love this stuff. I had tried retin A's in the past with laziness and didn't follow through it all until I got a hold of this stuff from my team of guru dermatologists. I was desperate for an acne cure after Proactiv so badly damaged my complexion with congested pores all over my face, countless cysts, blackheads, whiteheads, I had them all. I was extremely depressed about my skin. I felt, ugly, My skin was bumpy and horrible in true light that no amount of make up could cover it at all. I was embarrassed than I was when I was a teenager with pimples. This was adult acne at it's worst. My derm gave me Tazorac explaining to me that this will help clear up the congestion I had due to it's effects to speed up cell turnover essentially exfoliating skin making it radiant and smooth at the same time helping with wrinkles. I began using it at night mixed with my moisturizer in small pea sizes and I noticed the feel of my skin was getting smoother, more supple. The texture of my skin fully changed and began to clear up my congestion completely. My forehead has never been clear until I started using this magical stuff. Tazoraz is a god send to my acne skin. I have glowing, acne-free, wrinkle-free skin. When I get facials, estheticians always compliment my skin of which I never had before either. For stubborn acne, this really is the mother of all retin A's to go to.... what my derm says, "We are pulling out the big guns here"
May 6, 2016
What strength did you use and how much applied. I feel a pea size is not enough. Great review , I like tazorac over tretinoin to!
July 24, 2015
Saved my skin
After accutane failed, I was miserable and desperate. I tried other topicals, two other anti biotics, and birth control. I am convinced that tazorac is what saved my face. The first two weeks were terrible. My skin was dry, hurt, and peeled under my makeup. Stick with it yall. I'm about a month in and I haven't broken out in three days, which is a record for me. I use a moisturizer twice a day which helps the dryness.
June 11, 2015
Taz is my bf
I love this stuff...its a miracle in a tube. I cant even describe how much. So a little background story... I am 30 years old now and probably got my first pimple in like 4th grade...so I became more diligent about washing my face twice a day with a bar soap for acne prone skin. My face got worse when I began middle school and no one wants any extra attention when you're already in the awkward dorky stage....so my mom took me to my pediatrician lol. He recommended Benzamycin topical gel which did wonders for my face. I religiously used my Benzamycin (and ruined lots of pillowcases and towels in the process) :(...combined with hormonal b.c. my face looked awesome throughout high school and college. But then (grrr) I started getting closed comedones (which are the devil btw) on my forehead and cheeks. l admit I do pick and I try not to but its hard. Anyway as soon as I would clear them, they would come back. Unfortunately my trusty Benzamycin was not working on this kind of adult? acne so I went to my dermatologist and was prescribed Differin. Differin helped a little bit but not completely. I used that for a year and went to a different derm. She introduced me to Tazorac gel and gave me an oral antibiotic to take once a day. I have been using the gel once a night paired with the oral antibiotic and the bumps are completely gone after 2.5 months. I did not experience a purging phase (which I am super thankful for) and no bad side effects. My skin is glowy and the very slight marks from picking have diminished. Now if I can only make a Tazorac spray for body breakouts....
Pros:
Makes you more prone to flaking
Stings/irritating esp when you first start