Hydroxyethyl cellulose, Niacinamide and NAG Serum Test – What the HEC?

Hey curlyteas! For the past few days I’ve been testing hydroxyethyl cellulose aka “hydroxyethylcellulose” (HEC). As part of that testing, I thought it’d be nice to create a serum with the amazing slip of HEC but also with the benefits of powerful ingredients to help with skin tone.

In other words, I wanted to create something with the similar slip of a snail toner, but with the power of a combination of Niacinamide (B3) and N-acetyl glucosamine (NAG). While I’m still on that DIY journey, I wanted to post about what I’ve done so far and what I plan to do in the future.

It’s in the H₂0 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯

Let’s talk about water. Because I don’t want any foolery with water possibly affecting pH, I’m using distilled water. I use distilled water when I’m making a test for someone else. I’m using distilled water here with pH sensitive ingredients I haven’t worked with before so as to not accidentally blame an ingredient for any possible foolishness with the product.

Best formulating practices is to use distilled water anyway. When I’m on formula number 6 (or something) and the product is for my own personal use, I’m fine with using purified water. You, fellow curlies, are never to use purified water if you will be giving your product away or selling it. Only distilled or deionized water will do.

Hydrating HEC (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

The first hurdle to using HEC is to hydrate it. The grade of HEC you have apparently will determine the steps you need to take in order to hydrate it. There are different grades of hydroxyethylcellulose.

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