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Tazarotene in skincare
Prescription synthetic retinoid; most potent topical retinoid available; for severe acne and psoriasis.
PM use ONLY. Prescription retinoid. More potent and more irritating than adapalene or tretinoin. Requires dermatologist supervision. Apply to dry skin at night. Mandatory SPF 30+ every morning.
What it is
Tazarotene is a third-generation acetylenic retinoid that selectively binds RARβ and RARγ. FDA-approved for acne vulgaris and psoriasis. More potent than tretinoin and adapalene but also more irritating. Available in 0.05% and 0.1% formulations. Category X in pregnancy. Used for resistant acne, photoaging, and plaque psoriasis.
The facts
| Category | Synthetic Retinoid (3rd Generation) |
| Typical use | Evening |
| Concentration YARAI treats as a full dose | 0.1% |
| Also listed as | tazarotenic acid |
Why the amount matters, not just the presence
Most ingredient checkers tell you whether something is in the bottle. That is a smaller question than it sounds. Tazarotene at 0.1% and tazarotene at a trace level are not the same ingredient in any way that affects your skin.
An ingredient list is ordered by quantity, so position carries real information. YARAI reads that position and scores accordingly, which is why the same ingredient can land differently in two different products.
The honest limit: a list gives order, not percentages. Estimating concentration from position is an estimate. It is a better estimate than ignoring position, and it is still an estimate. We would rather tell you that than let a number look more certain than it is.
Using it with something else
Tazarotene appears in 5 of the pairs YARAI checks. Each page gives the severity, the chemical mechanism, the evidence tier and the source:
- Can you use retinol and glycolic acid together?
- Can you use retinol and salicylic acid together?
- Can you use retinol and lactic acid together?
- Can you use retinol and mandelic acid together?
- Can you use benzoyl peroxide and retinol together?
Common questions
What does tazarotene do in a skincare product?
Prescription synthetic retinoid; most potent topical retinoid available; for severe acne and psoriasis.
How much tazarotene should a product contain?
YARAI treats 0.1% as a full dose for this ingredient. Below that, the ingredient is present but is scored as contributing less. An ingredient list gives you the order of ingredients, not their percentages, so this is an estimate read from position rather than a measurement.
When should I use tazarotene?
PM use ONLY. Prescription retinoid. More potent and more irritating than adapalene or tretinoin. Requires dermatologist supervision. Apply to dry skin at night. Mandatory SPF 30+ every morning.
Check your own products
Point your camera at a product. YARAI identifies it from the label, finds that product's full ingredient list from published sources, and scores it. No barcode and no box needed, which is how it handles imported and small-brand products.
Concern level, category and thresholds on this page are read directly from the same data the YARAI app scores with, so this page and the app cannot disagree. EU figures cite Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Last built 2026-10-12. Nothing here is medical advice.