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N-Acetyl Glucosamine (NAG)
INCI: N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine
What is it?
N-Acetyl Glucosamine is made from chitin, the material in crustacean shells, broken down and modified using acids, enzymes, or engineered microbes, depending on the manufacturer. It brightens skin by interfering with how the enzyme tyrosinase gets activated in the first place, blocking a processing step called glyco...
How is it used?
Add it to the water phase. If you're pairing it with niacinamide, formulators commonly settle on a finished pH around 5.5 to 6, low enough to avoid niacinamide converting to niacin (which happens below pH 5) while still keeping NAG comfortable.
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