CORN STARCH
Scientific name: Zea mays
Family: Poaceae
Origin: Mesoamerica
Form: wet-milled powder
Parts: kernels
GOOD FOR ALL SKIN TYPES
Ingredient Features
- skin protectant
User Benefits
- silky but dry feel
Function in Products
- thickener
- base
- absorbant
Starch obtained from corn and sometimes used as an absorbent in cosmetics instead of or alongside talc. Generally, in powders corn starch lends a silky but dry feel and some find it is better at absorbing excess oil without looking cakey than pure talc-based powders. Cornstarch is also used as a thickening agent in skin-care products.
About ZEA MAYS (CORN) STARCH: Zea Mays (Corn) Starch is a starch obtained from corn.
Function(s): Abrasive; Absorbent; Skin Protectant; Viscosity Increasing Agent - Aqueous
Synoym(s): OPICAL STARCH; STARCH, CORN; STARCH, ZEA MAYS; ZEA MAYS STARCH
Corn starch, cornstarch, cornflour or maize starch is the starch derived from the corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel. Corn starch is a popular food ingredient used in thickening sauces or soups, and is used in making corn syrup and other sugars.
The corn is steeped for 30 to 48 hours, which ferments it slightly. The germ is separated from the endosperm and those two components are ground separately (still soaked). Next the starch is removed from each by washing. The starch is separated from the corn steep liquor, the cereal germ, the fibers and the corn gluten mostly in hydrocyclones and centrifuges, and then dried. (The residue from every stage is used in animal feed and to make corn oil or other applications.) This process is called wet milling. Finally, the starch may be modified for specific purposes.