Tretinoin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Tretinoin is a retinoid sold in the U.S. under 7 brand and generic names, for acne vulgaris, facial dermatoses and acute promyelocytic leukemia. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Retinoid
- Treats (across its forms)
- Acne Vulgaris, Facial Dermatoses and Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
- Available as
- Topical · Capsule
- Sold as
- 7 products — Avita, Retin-A and Tretinoin, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $1 per gm — not your price
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How tretinoin is dosed
From the FDA label for Tretinoin (application ANDA218245). Other tretinoin products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Tretinoin gel should be applied once a day, before retiring, to the skin where acne lesions appear, using enough to cover the entire affected area lightly. Excessive application results in “pilling” of the gel, which minimizes the likelihood of overapplication by the patient. Application may cause a transitory feeling of warmth or slight stinging. In cases where it has been necessary to temporarily discontinue therapy or to reduce the frequency of application, therapy may be resumed or frequency of application increased when the patients become able to tolerate the treatment. Alterations of vehicle, drug concentration, or dose frequency should be closely monitored by careful observation of the clinical therapeutic response and skin tolerance. During the early weeks of therapy, an apparent exacerbation of inflammatory lesions may occur. This is due to the action of the medication on deep, previously unseen lesions and should not be considered a reason to discontinue therapy. Therapeutic results should be noticed after 2 to 3 weeks but more than 6 weeks of therapy may be required before definite beneficial effects are seen. Once the acne lesions have responded satisfactorily, it may be possible to maintain the improvement with less frequent applications, or other dosage forms. Patients treated with tretinoin gel acne treatment may use cosmetics, but the area to be treated should…
Tretinoin side effects
The skin of certain sensitive individuals may become excessively red, edematous, blistered, or crusted. If these effects occur, the medication should either be discontinued until the integrity of the skin is restored, or the medication should be adjusted to a level the patient can tolerate. True contact allergy to topical tretinoin is rarely encountered. Temporary hyper- or hypopigmentation has been reported with repeated application of tretinoin. Some individuals have been reported to have heightened susceptibility to sunlight while under treatment with tretinoin. To date, all adverse effects of tretinoin have been reversible upon discontinuance of therapy (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. at 1-866-850-2876 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
Who shouldn’t take tretinoin
Use of the product should be discontinued if hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients is noted.
Tretinoin drug interactions
Concomitant topical medication, medicated or abrasive soaps and cleansers, soaps and cosmetics that have a strong drying effect, and products with high concentrations of alcohol, astringents, spices or lime should be used with caution because of possible interaction with tretinoin. Particular caution should be exercised in using preparations containing sulfur, resorcinol, or salicylic acid with tretinoin. It also is advisable to “rest” a patient’s skin until the effects of such preparations subside before use of tretinoin is begun.
Every tretinoin product we track (7)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72/100 | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $1 | View → | |
| 2 | 70/100 | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $1 | View → | |
| 3 | 68/100 | Prescription | Capsule | Generic | $1 | View → | |
| 4 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $1 | View → | |
| 5 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $1 | View → | |
| 6 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | Generic | $1 | View → | |
| 7 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Capsule | Generic | $1 | View → |
What tretinoin pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
| Imprint | Strength | Colour | Shape | Maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TR | 10 mg | yellow, brown | capsule | — |
| TR | 10 mg | yellow, brown | capsule | — |
Combination products containing tretinoin
A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.
Can you crush or split tretinoin?
At least one tretinoinproduct is labelled to be swallowed whole — crushing an extended-release tablet releases the whole day’s dose at once. Which applies depends on the form you were given.
What each tretinoin label says about crushing, splitting and chewingHow long tretinoin keeps
No tretinoin 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 tretinoin expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labelsTretinoin and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for tretinoin: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadTretinoin has not been studied during breastfeeding. Breastfeeding should be avoided during oral use and for 1 week after the last dose. Because it is poorly absorbed after topical application, it is considered a low risk to the nursing infant. Do not apply tretinoin directly to the nipple and areola and ensure that the infant's skin does not come into direct contact with the areas of skin that have been treated.
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 tretinoin
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 6,837 reports naming tretinoin, and the FDA flagged 63% 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:
- vomiting432 reports
- paraesthesia354 reports
- rash350 reports
- nausea348 reports
- maternal exposure during pregnancy347 reports
- abdominal pain upper334 reports
- headache326 reports
- diarrhoea325 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean tretinoin 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 tretinoin?
Tretinoin is a retinoid used to treat Acne Vulgaris, Facial Dermatoses, Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, Hyperpigmentation.
What kind of drug is tretinoin?
The FDA classifies tretinoin 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 tretinoin 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 tretinoin 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 tretinoin sold under?
We track 7 tretinoin-containing products in the U.S.: Avita, Retin-A, Tretinoin, Atralin, Renova, Retin-A-Micro and Vesanoid. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does tretinoin come in?
Across the brands we track, tretinoin is currently marketed as topical and capsule, 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 tretinoin?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic tretinoin 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). Tretinoin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/tretinoin
- MLA
- “Tretinoin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/tretinoin.
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 tretinoin on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.