Tazorac... IT WORKS! my story (kinda long) - Acne Tips Message Board

VA 17 · 11-15-2006, 02:12 PM

hey everyone, about... 10 weeks ago, i posted a thread asking about tazorac and asking to see how it helps and if it works or not... and i posted after tazorac gave me a HUGE initial breakout that made my face look about 10x worse than it was before.. i was covered in pimples, etc for a good 2-4 weeks and i felt that it was doing NOTHING at all but hindering my progress towards making my face better

BUT

ive stuck with it for a good 10 weeks with only a few days far and in between where i didnt take it at the recommended nightly.. and YES my face has DRASTICALLY improved.. i no longer am breaking out with pimples every day, now, i get freaked out if i get a pimple every couple days (this IS A GOOD THING! it means that im not expecting to get a pimple) and these are even quickly diminished by tazorac, i still have 2/3 weeks of use left till its supposed to show its FULL wonders, yet even my family members and friends have all told me about how much my face has cleared up since the beginning of the schoool year and have been asking what i've been using as they have a couple pimples as well

I HIGHLY recommend Tazorac (.05 or .1% , i used .05%) if you want to get rid of your acne... i know that i stil have some ways to go till i am FULLY clear , but it feels SOOO GOOD to be able to run a hand over my face and not hit 1000 pimples and actually have a smooth face

there will be some depressing moments as Tazorac does pull everything out to the surface and you most likely WILL have worse acne than previously for about 2 -4 weeks, but this means that tazorac is working its wonders! i wanted to seriusly stay at home and cover my face up and not want to talk to anyone for those couple weeks, but now i am not as ashamed as i was before... IF you can get through those weeks, you WILL be a MUCH happier person in the end

one thing to remember.... do NOT PICK your acne... i learned this the hard way as i do have a number of dark brown spots that i need to get rid of )

Sue21 · 11-15-2006, 07:25 PM

I completely agree--Tazorac is awesome!

When you say you have dark brown spots, you mean the left-over reddish marks left behind from a pimple? I get them, too. Once the pimple goes away, that "stain" remains.

Some doctors will offer to laser them away for you, but I do NOT recommend that. At least wait. They take approx. 6 months to 1 year to fade completedly. Trust me, I know this from experience. They do eventually fade if you give it a good year of waiting.

If you want something to lessen them faster, ask your doctor for either Azelex or Finacea. They are the same active ingredient (a plant extract), but Azelex is a 20% strenth in a cream, while Finacea is 15% in a gel.

I started out with the Azelex, but then switched to Finacea (even though it's a lesser strength, I think it works the same.) I switched because gels are generally more drying than creams, and I actually need something drying because I am extremely oily.

Azelex and Finacea are marketed for rosacea I think (to get rid of the redness) but many derms are now prescribing them for acne.

Best of luck!