Skin Care Review: Tazorac

I was placed on Tazorac after about 2 months of acne treatment (oral antiobiotic, antiobiotic day gel) after using Differin for about 1 month did not yield satisfactory results. The Tazorac is powerful stuff, which is why I was switched to it after Differin had minimal effect on my acne.

Tazorac basically peels your skin. It actually caused a burning sensation for me which only subsided after I had gone to bed. It also seems almost *oily*. However, in the morning my skin would be matte, soft, and for some reason *pale*. Which is good in that there was little to no *redness* -- and an acne face has a LOT of redness normally.

Tazorac also severely dries out your skin for the first few weeks of usage. Make-up and moisturizer do not cover it up -- in fact make-up EXACERBATES the flaking. If you can stand this, then you will be very happy with the final results.

After steady usage of Tazorac for a little under 2 months, in addition to 3 microdermabrasion treatments I found that my acne condition had subsided to the point where I no longer use ANY of the acne treatments proscribed to my by my doctor. I am wary of recurring break-outs, so when I still use Tazorac and the other gels I was proscribed occassionally. I found that if I had a blemish forming, applying Tazorac overnight would really make the blemish subside significantly.

Tazorac really WORKS. However, it works because it is VERY strong (it is usually prescribed for psoriasis and basically greatly accelerates the skin's peeling process). Sensitive skins probably cannot handle Tazorac and people with very low discomfort/pain thresholds or who make a living off of their appearance and cannot afford a few weeks worth of noticeable flaking should not take Tazorac.

Tazorac is my official 'secret weapon' in my war against acne!