Application Routine

Moisturizer

• Moisturizer will not reduce the effectiveness of retinoids ¹.
• Moisturizer can help reduce irritation and dryness ^{2 3}.

General Tips

Use tretinoin in the evening, because exposure to light degrades it ⁴. Tazarotene on the other hand is considered to be photostable ⁵, so it can be used during the day.

• Always cleanse your face with a gentle cleanser and pat dry before application.
• Wait until your skin is completely dry before applying tretinoin.
• Apply a pea-sized amount in a thin layer over your entire face.
• Mild dryness or peeling can happen while your skin adjusts. Help this process along by keeping your skin well moisturized.
• If using tazarotene during the day, let it dry before applying sunscreen over it.

Application Area

Avoid the eyes, lips, corners of the nose, and broken or sunburned skin. Some people find in helpful to apply vaseline, or other occlusive, especially around the eyes, to prevent tretinoin from migrating there.

(Sorry for the AI generated image)

Routine Options

Listed in order of potentially least irritating to most irritating.

Most people are probably fine starting with Option 2.

Option 1: Short Contact Therapy

Yes, this method works ⁶.

1. Wait for your skin to completely dry after cleansing.
2. Apply tretinoin.
3. Wait for five.
4. Wash off tretinoin with water.
5. Immediately apply moisturizer.

You’ll want to leave the tretinoin on your face for longer periods night after night:

1. 5 minutes
2. 10 minutes
3. 30 minutes
4. 1 hour
5. 1.5 hours
6. 2 hours

If you find that your skin is not irritated the next day after a 2 hour application, you can leave the tretinoin on your skin overnight.

Option 2: The Sandwich Method

1. Apply moisturizer to damp skin after cleansing.
2. Wait for your skin to dry.
3. Apply tretinoin.
4. Apply more moisturizer.

Option 3: The Moisture Blanket Method

1. Wait for your skin to dry after cleansing.
2. Apply tretinoin.
3. Wait for tretinoin to dry, approximately five minutes.
4. Apply moisturizer.

Option 4: The Moisture Buffer Method

1. Apply moisturizer to damp skin after cleansing.
2. Wait for your skin to dry.
3. Apply tretinoin.

Option 5: No Buffering Method

1. Wait until your skin is completely dry after cleansing.
2. Apply tretinoin.

Footnotes

1. Moisturizer Use Enhances Facial Tolerability of Tazarotene 0.1% Cream Without Compromising Efficacy in Patients With Acne Vulgaris ↩

2. Adjunctive use of a facial moisturizer SPF 30 containing ceramide precursor improves tolerability of topical tretinoin 0.05%: a randomized, investigator-blinded, split-face study ↩

3. Effect of Aloe vera topical gel combined with tretinoin in treatment of mild and moderate acne vulgaris: a randomized, double-blind, prospective trial ↩

4. UVA is the major contributor to the photodegradation of tretinoin and isotretinoin: Implications for development of improved pharmaceutical formulations ↩

5. Photostability Testing of a Third-Generation Retinoid—Tazarotene in the Presence of UV Absorbers ↩

6. Successful Treatment of Acne Vulgaris Using a New MethodResults of a Randomized Vehicle-Controlled Trial of Short-Contact Therapy With 0.1% Tazarotene Gel ↩