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.
Used Tazarotene? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
May 19, 2016
Has it's pros and cons for acne
I use Tazorac Gel .1 Tazorac is a tricky product. I have been on Tazorac for over 2 years now and it's sometimes a love/hate relationship. I will say it is EXCELLENT at helping get rid of scaring and hyper pigmentation. HOWEVER, if you use too much of it you will regret it. If not used in just the right amount for your skin it will cause your skin to dry, crack, peel, turn red and unfortunately for me caused me to break out more because my skin was so irritated. I have learned through trial and error that the best way for me to use Tazorac is to wash my face in the evening with VANICREAM, let dry, apply VANICREAM moisturizer, let dry, and then apply the smallest amount (less than a pea size) to the back of my hand. Then using my fingertips I dot the Tazorac on the problem areas of my face and smooth product out to the other areas. Avoid lip and eye areas. It takes about 2-3 months for the skin to really get used to this product. When first using the product, my skin went through a very sunburned looking, dry and ugly PURGING period that was disheartening. However, I do believe my skin is better off with the product now. The key is to use it every day at night before bed and ONLY as directed. Don't be slack about using it because if you start and stop your face will hate you for it. An extra perk about this product is that it also helps with aging and sun spots. I know I have said a lot of negative things about Tazorac but all in all it is a very good acne product when used correctly. It's just one of those things that takes time and a lot of patience to see results.
February 3, 2016
One Month
I am 16 years old and have had pretty mild consistent acne since I was about 12. In the last few months my acne has gotten worse. My forehead was mostly consistent of small bumps that could be covered up but were incredibly annoying. Also I occasionally got more red pimples around my Tzone, but nothing too extreme. After being done with my bumps I went to the my dermatologist and she prescribed Tazorac and Yaz birth control for my acne on my chest, back, and face.
I have been using the combined products for over a month and my skin on my face had never been worse. The first few weeks were the worst, my face was incredibly dry but now I use cetaphil daily moisturizer from the jar and my face is never dry anymore. Not only was my face bumpy but I had started to get acne on my cheek and chin, which never happened before. But I am expiriencing better skin on my chest. I'm hoping this is just simply the purging process and my face will clear up soon.
January 13, 2016
Very drying!!!
I am an 18 year old female & I've had pretty moderate acne since I was about 13. I feel like I've tried so many things but I haven't gotten on an actual skincare regime until about a month and a half ago. I cleanse my face with Murad Clarifying Cleanser, tone with witch hazel in the morning (at night I use Mario Badescau glycolic acid toner) follow with aczone, and then apply CeraVe moisturizer. I am also on Solodyn. This combination of things has kept the acne at bay, but I still occasionally got breakouts and I have very bad hyper pigmentation that was not fading. I went to the dermatologist and she gave me this to use at night. Within three nights it managed to wreck complete havoc on my skin!! It is extremely dry, painful, and red. I can't cover it with makeup and I'm embarrassed to even leave the house. My skin has never felt this awful. I've heard good things about Taz, and I want to give it another shot once my face heals, however I will use a very very small amount next time. To anyone looking to use this, be careful with how much you use! A little goes a long way, DO NOT just slather it on your face, especially if you have dry skin to begin with like I did.
February 6, 2016
I had the same expirience I am noes string coconut oil on my dry-ass, red face. I was so try I couldn't even move my face, it looked like I aged 50 years! My mother should have given my more instructions when she suggested it for me, she just said "just put it on there!!!!" And I got to much gel
July 8, 2016
Did you try .1 gel /cream or 0.05 gel /cream? I've tried the .1 gel and Lord have mercy the side effects were awful..skin burn, severe dryness..and I was using it for 6 months without any improvement. However, when I switched to 0.05, my skin cleared up within a good 2 weeks. I was very surprised. Try the 0.05 gel or cream if you haven't. My skin glows now ! The gel is for oily skin( it'll dry out your skin whereas the cream is for dry skin, it won't be as drying. Good luck!
April 18, 2015
First few weeks on Tazorac suck
I'm 15 years old and have been using acanya and Tazorac for about 2 weeks. My acne isn't that bad but it still bothers me since I'm the only one of my friends who has acne. I've had acne for a little over a year now and I've been to three different dermatologist which nothing they gave me helped. When I first started to use Tazorac and acanya I only had acne on my left cheek and tiny bumps on my forehead. The first few days I saw improvement but now after using this product for 2 weeks I've gotten more acne all the right side of my face!! And I'm so angry about it!! And it keeps on getting worse each day. So far these products have done nothing but dry out my skin and cause more acne in places I've never had it. My dermatologist did say it will get worse before it gets better so maybe this is just the "purging phase" everyone's talking about. When I read other reviews , people saw improvement right away which really disappointed me when the same didn't happen to me. If you want to see improvement in your skin fast, I wouldn't recommend either of these products.
July 13, 2015
They say that it gets worse before it gets better for some.
February 2, 2015
Hoping it will get better..
I've been using tazorac for almost 2 weeks now and my skin has only gotten worse. My back is absolutely disgusting and covered with breakouts, when before treatment it was not even that noticeable. Also, my skin has been itchy and dry and flaky, too. My face has broken out more than usual, especially my forehead. I am really hoping that this "purge" will not last much longer and my acne will start to clear up soon! I had been on over three different prescription medications.
June 26, 2014
First 3 months horrible, last 3 months great, afterward horrible
I am a female with moderately severe acne, and I used Tazorac for 6 months when I was around 17 years old. I am 19 years old today. The first few months, my acne got a lot worse (purging), and I also suffered from very flaky, irritated skin. (I was using it with moisturizer, too!) In fact, I would carry a bottle of moisturizer with me, and I asked my friends to point out any flakiness so that I could whip out my bottle of moisturizer to use on the spot. Some days, I would use moisturizer about 6 times an hour. However, around months 5 to 6, my acne got a whole lot better. (I remember getting a lot of compliments on my skin around this time.) Also, in the areas that the acne healed, my skin was completely smooth and had no scarring or hyperpigmentation. (I still deal with hyperpigmentation of my skin after the acne lesions heal on benzoyl peroxide these days.) However, after month 6 on Tazorac, I recall my acne getting a lot worse (almost as bad as the purging months of Tazorac). After that, I stopped using Tazorac and began using benzoyl peroxide, where I noticed a noticeable improvement. However, I feel like the overall effect of Tazorac on my skin has been more negative than positive: I ended up with acne in spots I usually wouldn't get acne. Even then, though, I believe Tazorac helped immensely with my forehead acne (or perhaps that was due to puberty). These days, though I am on benzoyl peroxide, it seems like my acne is getting out of hand again and resisting its treatment. I am not sure what to do at this point because benzoyl peroxide is what is recommended by this site. Most of my severe acne is around my mouth area (between my nose and mouth, and on my chin). It has even started spreading outward to my cheeks, where I have never had acne before. :( Anyway, I hope this review has been helpful. Good luck!
November 23, 2013
spot treat only!!
Cons:
dries out skin
leaves skin red
I have moderately severe acne, which had been (mostly) taken care of by some bactrim and spironolactone, but now that I'm in grad school and stressed, it's back. I use tazorac sometimes to spot treat deep acne. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If I spot treat for more than a few days I will get really ugly dry skin lines around where I put it on. I recently made the mistake of putting it all over my chin and nose area (the gel seemed to be less harsh than the cream) and did that for a few days and yesterday my face was dry and peeling and red. I tried putting on some sensitive skin lotion and it BURNED like CRAZY I had to wash it off right away. Back to very small area spot treatments for me...
May 15, 2013
Pros:
the tube will last a long time
Cons:
expensive
been 4 weeks and havent yet seen any amazing results
I am currently on my 4th week (middle of 4th week) of my Taz (.1 cream) journey. Im not quite sure what I think of the medication just yet. I have rated it 3 stars and have indicated that I recommend it, but simply because I want to remain hopeful. I dont believe I have had a particularly large increase in acne, but I dont think Im seeing any major improvement either. I dont think I've gone through the purging period either. I've read that some people have experienced the purging period around the 5th-6th week (and sometimes later), so Im a little scared of what the next couple of weeks may bring. I am committed to stick with this product for the 12 weeks given that many posts Ive read encourage you to stick with it. I have used retin-A in the past and perhaps thats the reason that my skin has not reacted as badly (thus far) to this medication as other posts Ive read. I have not experienced heavy itchiness, redness, flakiness and Im wondering whether that's due to my skin's prior experience with retin-A. I am hoping that by week 6 I can see something I can rave about. My goal is to be able to walk out of my house sans makeup and feel totally comfortable doing so.
April 22, 2016
I actually had a lot of improvement until this week. I don't know if it's stress from finals or what but I am at that 5th week period and my skin is getting a lot worse. I am starting back on the antibiotics to hopefully get the swelling down. I'm glad I'm not the only one that has seen this "purging" happen around the 5th-6th week...I just gotta tough it out
December 10, 2012
Pros:
clears skin (for a long while)
Cons:
have to stay on it to get results
my acne came back for no reason after years
I had mod to severe cystic acne and this cleared me completely and left me clear for 5 1/2 years. I had beautiful skin, I mean perfect with nothing but some microscopic blackheads no one but me could see. Then, overnight literally I got the worst acne I have ever had in my life. Definitely very severe. Not sure if this made my acne stronger while it was working or what. On accutane now at age 29....
January 28, 2012
Pros:
CLEARS SKIN AFTER THREE MONTHS
MAKES COMPLEXION FLAWLESS
LIKE YOUR WEARING MAKE UP EXCEPT FOR PARTS THAT ARE PIGMENTED
Cons:
STOPS WORKING AFTER 9 MONTHS
PURGING PERIOD SUCKS
EXPENSIVE W/OUT INSURANCE
NO GENERIC
I LOVED THIS PRODUCT AS SOON AS IT FINALLY BEGAN TO WORK. MY DOC GAVE IT TO ME WHEN I HAD LIKE 4 HUGE I MEAN ENORMOUS CYSTS SEPT. 2010. THE CYSTS TOOK A COUPLE MONTHS TO CLEAR UP THEY WERE SO BAD BUT THE REST OF MY SKIN WAS REALLY NICE AFTER ABOUT A MONTH OF USING THE PRODUCT IN COMBINATION WITH ORAL ANTIBIOTIC AND CLINDYMAYCIN LOTION WHICH IS AN EXTERNAL ANTIBIOTIC. IT WORKED AMAZING FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS BUT THEN MY ACNE BEGAN TO FLARE UP GRADUALLY STARTING IN JULY 2011 AND BECAME MORE WORSE UNTIL I JUST ENTIRELY STOPPED USING IT IN OCTOBER 2011. I ALSO CHANGED MY FACE WASH FROM AVEENO TO MURAD BIGGEST MISTAKE WHICH COULD OF WORSENED MY ACNE TOO AT THE TIME OF SEPTEMBER 2011. IM DISAPPOINTED TAZORAC STOPPED WORKING. IF I DIDN'T LOSE MY INSURANCE I WOULD SWITCH TO .1% FROM .05% WHICH WAS THE TAZORAC I INITIALLY USED TO CLEAR UP. NATURALLY I BUILD TOLERANCE AND I WOULD DEFINITLY STAY WITH THIS BRAND IF I UPGRADED THE DOSAGE BUT RIGHT NOW I CANT
Pros:
helps deep acne