The ideal step should be to apply the acne treatment before putting on the moisturizers. This is especially true if you are using something in liquid or serum form. So, to answer the question, it should be before the moisturizer. Topical acne medications can be very confusing. It is always confusing as to which product should come first. The confusion does not end there. There is also the question of which products still to use. Other people use serums on top of their basic regimen. Aside from the serums, there are also other additional acne medications. But at the very least, one would be using topical acne cream. A moisturizer then follows this. Then comes the sunscreen. It is thus important to understand the order by which one applies acne products. For you to get the maximized results from each product, you should be familiar with this order. Topical Acne Medications This should always come first. The topical acne medications have to be applied directly to your clean and dry skin. When we say dry, we don’t mean dehydrated. We hope that’s clear enough. Anyway, putting this step first would allow the medications to be first absorbed by the skin. This way, the medication’s effect is maximized. There is, however, one exception to this rule. And that is with the use of retinoids. Retinoids can sometimes come first after the moisturizer. This is for the reason that we need to prevent the development of dryness in the skin. This is also another way to avoid skin irritation. Save for the retinoids; the acne medication should come first. Apply the Moisturizer After the topical acne medications, the moisturizer should come next. This should be something you apply to allow the acne medications to get into the skin first. The moisturizer also has another role to play. And that is that it prevents the medications from drying out the skin. Sunscreen Finally, we have sunscreen. This should be the last that you apply to your skin. And this should only come in after the acne medications and the moisturizer. It is of great importance to have the moisturizer come with a lot of protection. This means that sunscreen should be able to protect your skin against both UVA and UVB rays. Choose a sunscreen that comes with an SPF 30 or more. That should be enough to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. In general, there is one rule that you need to follow. And this is something that is easier to remember. The rule here when it comes to the order is to apply the thinnest first. The application should be from the thinnest to the thickest when it comes to consistency. This would allow all creams to penetrate the skin first before the thicker one is then slathered.