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Tazarotene: uses, dosing, side effects & brands

Tazarotene is a retinoid sold in the U.S. under 5 brand and generic names, for acne vulgaris and psoriasis. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.

By the pharmaranks editorial teamReviewed against the FDA (openFDA label, NDC Directory & Enforcement) sourcesUpdated Jul 24, 2026How we research

Key facts

Drug class
Retinoid
Treats (across its forms)
Acne Vulgaris and Psoriasis
Available as
Spray/Inhaler · Topical
Sold as
5 products — Fabior, Tazarotene and Arazlo, and others
Prescription?
Prescription only
Generic available?
Yes
What the pharmacy pays
about $7 per gm — not your price

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How tazarotene is dosed

From the FDA label for Fabior (application NDA202428). Other tazarotene products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.

Tazarotene Foam is for topical use only. Tazarotene Foam is not for oral, ophthalmic, or intravaginal use. Tazarotene Foam should be applied once daily in the evening after washing with a mild cleanser and fully drying the affected area. Dispense a small amount of foam into the palm of the hand. Using fingertips, apply only enough foam to lightly cover the entire affected areas of the face and/or upper trunk with a thin layer; gently massage the foam into the skin until the foam disappears. Avoid the eyes, lips, and mucous membranes. Wash hands after application. Patients may use moisturizer as needed. If undue irritation (redness, peeling, or discomfort) occurs, patients should reduce frequency of application or temporarily interrupt treatment. Treatment may be resumed once irritation subsides. Treatment should be discontinued if irritation persists. Apply a thin layer to the entire affected areas of the face and/or upper trunk once daily in the evening. Avoid the eyes, lips, and mucous membranes. Wash hands after application. ( 2 )

Tazarotene side effects

Most common adverse reactions reported at an incidence ≥6% are application site irritation, application site dryness, application site erythema, and application site exfoliation. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Mayne Pharma at 1-844-825-8500 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared with rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. The safety data reflect exposure to Tazarotene Foam in 744 subjects with acne vulgaris. Subjects were aged 12 to 45 years and were treated once daily in the evening for 12 weeks. Adverse reactions reported in ≥ 1% of subjects treated with Tazarotene Foam are presented in Table 1. Most adverse reactions were mild to moderate in severity. Severe adverse reactions represented 3.0% of the subjects treated. Overall, 2.7% (20/744) of subjects discontinued Tazarotene Foam because of local skin reactions. Table 1. Incidence of Adverse Reactions in ≥1 % of Subjects Treated with Tazarotene Foam Tazarotene Foam N = 744 Vehicle Foam N = 741 Patients with any adverse reaction, n (%) 163 (22) 19 (3) Application site irritation 107 (14) 9 (1) Application site dryness 50 (7) 8 (1) Application…

Who shouldn’t take tazarotene

Tazarotene Foam is contraindicated in pregnancy. Tazarotene Foam may cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Tazarotene elicits teratogenic and developmental effects associated with retinoids after topical or systemic administration in rats and rabbits [see Use in Specific Populations (8.1 , 8.3) ]. If this drug is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while taking this drug, treatment should be discontinued and the patient apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) , Use in Specific Populations (8.1 , 8.3) ]. Pregnancy. ( 4 , 8.1 )

Tazarotene drug interactions

No formal drug-drug interaction studies were conducted with Tazarotene Foam. Concomitant dermatologic medications and cosmetics that have a strong drying effect should be avoided. It is recommended to postpone treatment until the effects of these products subside before use of Tazarotene Foam is started. Concomitant use with oxidizing agents, such as benzoyl peroxide, may cause degradation of tazarotene and may reduce the clinical efficacy of tazarotene. If combination therapy is required, they should be applied at different times of the day (e.g., one in the morning and the other in the evening). The impact of tazarotene on the pharmacokinetics of progestin-only oral contraceptives (i.e., minipills) has not been evaluated. In a trial of 27 healthy female subjects between the ages of 20 to 55 years receiving a combination oral contraceptive tablet containing 1 mg norethindrone and 35 mcg ethinyl estradiol, concomitant use of tazarotene did not affect the pharmacokinetics of norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol over a complete cycle. Avoid concomitant dermatologic medications and cosmetics that have a strong drying effect. ( 7 )

Every tazarotene product we track (5)

Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.

Tazarotene products
#DrugRatingPharmacy pays
170/100$7View →
270/100$7View →
3Not yet rated$7View →
4Not yet rated$7View →
5Not yet rated$7View →

How long tazarotene keeps

No tazarotene label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.

Does tazarotene expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labels

Tazarotene and breastfeeding

From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.

Topical tazarotene has not been studied during breastfeeding. Some experts feel it should not be used on a large surface area (perhaps greater than 20% of body surface area) while nursing because of possible absorption. Others recommend that it not be used during breastfeeding because of its suspected mutagenic properties. If tazarotene is used, ensure that the infant's skin does not come into direct contact with the areas of maternal skin that have been treated and the infant does not ingest the product from the mother's skin.

Full LactMed record for tazarotene: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider instead

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised October 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.

What people report to the FDA about tazarotene

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 348 reports naming tazarotene, and the FDA flagged 37% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:

  • nausea21 reports
  • headache18 reports
  • skin exfoliation18 reports
  • application site erythema16 reports
  • diarrhoea15 reports
  • erythema15 reports
  • pruritus15 reports
  • psoriasis15 reports

Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean tazarotene caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.

Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 26, 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

What is tazarotene?

Fabior (Tazarotene) is a retinoid used to treat Acne Vulgaris, Psoriasis.

What kind of drug is tazarotene?

The FDA classifies tazarotene as a retinoid. Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives that enter skin cells and switch on retinoic acid receptors in the nucleus, which changes how genes are read. This normalizes how skin cells grow and shed, unclogs pores, calms inflammation, and over time boosts collagen production. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.

Can you take tazarotene with other medicines?

It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run tazarotene against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.

What brand names is tazarotene sold under?

We track 5 tazarotene-containing products in the U.S.: Fabior, Tazarotene, Arazlo, Avage and Tazorac. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.

What forms does tazarotene come in?

Across the brands we track, tazarotene is currently marketed as spray/inhaler and topical, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.

Is there a generic tazarotene?

Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic tazarotene product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.

Cite this page
APA
pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Tazarotene: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/tazarotene
MLA
“Tazarotene: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/tazarotene.

We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.

Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.

Read the full FDA label for tazarotene on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.