All scans / Serums / Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05%
Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05% ingredients: is it worth it?
Powerful, evidence-backed prescription treatment—but the basic cream base is comedogenic and irritation-prone.
Powerful, evidence-backed prescription treatment—but the basic cream base is comedogenic and irritation-prone.
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The 5.0/5 efficacy score comes from 0.05% tretinoin, which is the active retinoic-acid form and does not require conversion; the other ingredients mainly create the vehicle and add little treatment benefit. The 2.8/5 safety score reflects common retinoid irritation, the lack of barrier-support ingredients, and isopropyl myristate, which may worsen congestion for acne-prone users. No fragrance is listed in the official formula. Apply at night, begin gradually if prescribed, and use sunscreen during the day.
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DemythSkin rates Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05% 4.9/5 for efficacy and 4.0/5 for safety.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS BY TIER
Gold Standards
High clinical proof | Skin-transformativeReliable
Proven resultsPotent
Developing evidenceOverhyped | Marketing
Hype | Limited dataDocumented Irritants
Evidence-backed flagFORMULATION BASE (6)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Tretinoin 0.05%, Butylated Hydroxytoluene, Isopropyl Myristate, Polyoxyl Stearate Type II, Purified Water, Sorbic Acid, Stearic Acid, Stearyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (9)⌄
- Tretinoin
- Prescription retinoic acid treatment
- Butylated Hydroxytoluene
- Formula antioxidant stabilizer
- Isopropyl Myristate
- Emollient and texture enhancer
- Polyoxyl Stearate Type II
- Nonionic emulsifying surfactant
- Purified Water
- Aqueous solvent phase
- Sorbic Acid
- Preservative system component
- Stearic Acid
- Fatty acid consistency agent
- Stearyl Alcohol
- Fatty alcohol emollient thickener
- Xanthan Gum
- Viscosity and suspension agent
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Tretinoin: Taro prescribing information identifies tretinoin 0.05% as the active ingredient and specifies topical acne treatment.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05%: common questions
Is Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05% worth it?
Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05% scores 4.9 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Gold Standard) and 4.0 out of 5.0 for safety (Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. Powerful, evidence-backed prescription treatment—but the basic cream base is comedogenic and irritation-prone.
What are the key active ingredients in Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05%?
Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05% contains these gold-standard actives with strong clinical evidence: Tretinoin.
Does Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05% contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin's analysis found no flagged irritants in Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05%. It scores 4.0 out of 5.0 for safety.
How is Taro Tretinoin Cream USP 0.05% scored?
DemythSkin grades every product on two independent scores: efficacy (whether the ingredients have clinical evidence of working) and safety (irritation and sensitisation risk). Ingredients are graded S through D against a database of over 3,000 compounds. Brand and price are not part of the score, and no brand pays for one.
Free scores for every product in the database, or see them on Sephora, Ulta and Amazon with the Chrome extension.