Does Tazorac help with acne scars?
Can Tazorac gel or cream be used to treat pitted acne scars?
Tazorac cream and Tazorac (tazarotene) gel do NOT have acne scar treatment as an FDA approved indication.
Tazarotene gel 0.1% has successfully treated atrophic post acne scarring in a small clinical trial using microneedling as an active control. An active control trial is when you are testing to find out if the test treatment (eg. tazarotene gel) is as good as a known effective treatment (eg. microneedling).
The conclusion of the trial using subjective scoring by the independent dermatologist showed that acne scarring improved by:
- 45% with tazarotene gel 0.1% treatment
- 55% with microneedling therapy
Both treatment options successfully reduced acne scarring, with the difference between each treatment option being not clinically relevant or statistically significant.
Tazarotene gel 0.1% is a home based topical treatment making it accessible to more patients, compared to microneedling which is an office based procedure.
Bottom line:
- Tazorac cream and Tazorac gel do NOT have post acne scar treatment as an FDA approved indication.
- Tazarotene gel 0.1% has been used for atrophic post acne scar treatment in a small clinical study.
- In this one study, using subjective scoring by the independent dermatologist, atrophic post acne scarring improved by 45%.
References
- Tazorac Gel Drugs.com: https://www.drugs.com/pro/tazorac-gel.html
- Topical Tazarotene Gel, 0.1%, as a Novel Treatment Approach for Atrophic Postacne Scars: A Randomized Active-Controlled Clinical Trial: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/30452511#qoi180033r13
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Is tazarotene better than tretinoin?
Tazarotene and tretinoin work about the same when applied to the skin to treat acne, but Tazarotene works faster and in one study worked more effectively for some signs of sun damaged skin and the signs of aging. They are also similar in terms of the side effects they cause, although tazarotene may cause more irritation when treatment is first started. Tretinoin tends to be cheaper than tazarotene Continue reading
Is Tazorac the same as Retin-A?
No, Tazorac (tazarotene) and Retin-A (tretinoin, all-trans retinoic acid) are not the same, but they do belong to the same class or group of drugs known as retinoids.
Retin-A is a first-generation retinoid and was the first topical retinoid to be developed. Tazorac, on the other hand, is a third-generation retinoid. A key difference between Tazorac and Retin-A is that they have different chemical structures.
Tazorac and Retin-A work about the same when used to treat acne and are also similar in terms of the side effects they produce.
Continue reading
How long does it take Tazorac to work?
There is little information available from clinical trials as to how soon Tazorac cream starts working for acne. The full positive effect of Tazorac cream on acne may not be seen for a number of weeks and in some cases acne may get worse before it gets better. Continue reading
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Drug information
- Tazorac Information for Consumers
- Tazorac prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side Effects of Tazorac (detailed)
Related support groups
- Tazorac (9 questions, 15 members)