Treclin Gel

Order Treclin Gel Online UK

By Clinical Pharmacist Hywel McGlinchy

You can request to order Treclin Gel from our UK registered online doctor and pharmacy service. As part of your order, we ask that you complete an online consultation form for our doctors to review. If your order is approved, a prescription is sent to our pharmacy team. From here, your medicine will be dispensed and dispatched to your chosen delivery address. 

What is Treclin Gel?

Treclin Gel is a topical treatment prescribed to patients with acne. It contains two active ingredients: tretinoin and clindamycin. Tretinoin is a type of medicine called a retinoid and clindamycin is an antibiotic.

Each gram of gel contains 10 mg (1%) clindamycin (as clindamycin phosphate) and 0.25 mg (0.025%) tretinoin. For this reason, Treclin Gel is sometimes referred to as Treclin 1%/0.025% Gel. It may also be incorrectly referred to as ‘Treclin cream’, but the gel is the only formulation currently available.

You should avoid using this to treat specific forms of acne characterized by pustular and deep cystic nodular acne lesions (acne conglobata and acne fulminans).

How does Treclin Gel work?

Both active ingredients are effective at treating acne. However, they are more effective when combined than when used separately. Clindamycin is an antibiotic and it works to limit the growth of bacteria associated with acne and inflammation.

Tretinoin helps to normalise the growth of skin cells at the surface of the skin. This improves the shedding of the dead skin cells that clog the hair follicles in acne. By preventing the clogging of hair follicles, this exfoliating action prevents the build-up of sebum and the formation of early acne lesions.

Duration of treatment

When using Treclin Gel, you should use it as prescribed and not stop using it as soon as your acne improves. Usually, it can take several weeks for the gel to have its full effect. This may take longer for some people, up to 12 weeks in some cases. If you have used Treclin for more than 12 weeks with no improvement in your acne, contact your doctor for advice.

Continuous treatment should not be longer than 12 weeks (3 months) without being evaluated by your doctor. 

Treclin Gel alternatives

There are many treatments available to treat acne. Treatments will have different results for different people, so if you find a treatment is ineffective, you should speak to your doctor to discuss using a different treatment. You should keep this in mind when reading Treclin Gel reviews, or looking at Treclin Gel before and after pictures online.

Other topical treatments include Duac Gel (clindamycin and benzoyl peroxide),  Zineryt Solution (contains erythromycin and zinc), Epiduo Gel (adapalene and benzoyl peroxide) and Differin Gel (adapalene).

For some people, oral antibiotics are effective such as lymecycline, doxycycline, or oxytetracycline. Another oral medicine that’s used to treat severe acne is isotretinoin (Roaccutane). This can be very effective but can have serious side effects. For this reason, it can only be prescribed by a specialist doctor.

Treclin Gel summary

What is Treclin Gel used for?

Treclin Gel is used to treat acne that’s causing comedones, papules and pustules. It should not be used for acne that’s causing pustular and deep cystic nodular lesions. See this Acne Support page for details on different types of acne. 

How long does Treclin Gel take to work?

For most people, it can take several weeks of use before the full beneficial effect becomes apparent. Although for some people, it can take up to 12 weeks. How well a treatment works can vary from person to person. You should keep this in mind if you read Treclin reviews online.

How long should you use Treclin Gel?

You should not use Treclin Gel continuously for longer than 12 weeks (3 months) without being evaluated by your doctor.

Is Treclin Gel a retinoid?

Treclin Gel contains a retinoid and an antibiotic. The retinoid ingredient is tretinoin. Each gram of Treclin Gel contains 0.25mg of tretinoin.

Apart from Treclin Gel, there is no licensed tretinoin cream in the UK and you are unable to buy tretinoin in the UK as a separate ingredient. We do not recommend that you buy tretinoin online because there is no licensed treatment that only contains tretinoin in the UK.

Can I buy Treclin Gel over the counter?

Treclin, in the UK, is only available on prescription. This means that you cannot buy Treclin Gel at your local pharmacy. However, you can request to buy Treclin online from certain UK registered online pharmacies, like Simple Online Pharmacy. As part of your order, we ask that you complete an assessment form for our doctors to review.

You can also get Treclin Gel on the NHS if your GP has prescribed it for you.

Treclin Gel Side Effects

Like all medicines, Treclin Gel can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. Uncommon side effects include dry skin, redness of the skin, acne, increased sebum production, itching, rash, sunburn, and scaling of the skin. These side effects are uncommon and can affect up to 1 in 100 people. 

For a complete list of side effects, including rarer side effects, see section 4 of the patient information leaflet.

How to use Treclin Gel

A pea-sized amount of gel should be applied once daily at bedtime. Before applying the gel, wash your face gently with mild soap and warm water and pat your skin dry with a towel. Avoid contact with the mouth, eyes and mucous membranes. Do not use more of the gel or use it more frequently because this can irritate the skin, and will not give faster or better results.

Read the patient information leaflet for further detail on applying the gel.

Warnings

Treclin Gel is not suitable for everyone to use. People who should not use this medicine include pregnant women, women planning to become pregnant, people with chronic inflammatory bowel disease, and people with a personal or family history of skin cancer. It should also not be used by anyone with an allergy to tretinoin, clindamycin, lincomycin, or any of the other ingredients in the gel. 

It should also not be used for other skin conditions such as rosacea, acute eczema and perioral dermatitis. You should avoid using this to treat specific forms of acne characterized by pustular and deep cystic nodular acne lesions (acne conglobata and acne fulminans).

See section 2 of the patient information leaflet for further information.

Treclin Ingredients

One gram of gel contains 10 mg (1%) clindamycin (as clindamycin phosphate) and 0.25 mg (0.025%) tretinoin. 

The other ingredients are purified water, glycerol, carbomers, methyl parahydroxybenzoate

(E 218), polysorbate 80, disodium edetate, anhydrous citric acid, propyl parahydroxybenzoate (E 216), butyl hydroxytoluene (E321), trometamol.