Do You Use Corn Starch? Nope!
Why don't you use corn starch?
There is nothing wrong with corn starch per se. It's just preference for D.Sherell Soaps &
More products to exclude this ingredient. Our reasoning is simple. As the owner and formulator of products, I want to make sure that ingredients to which people may have a sensitivity are not used in our products. Our binding agent is tapioca starch. We already use tapioca starch in our liquid powder and as a stabilizing ingredient in our whipped body oils. We have the ingredient on hand, so it makes sense to use it our bombs and soon to be available fizzing bath powder.
Put simply, we won't be using any ingredient we wouldn't use on our bodies, whether it's because of preference or medical necessity. And while we do not make medical products, we do attempt to stay abreast of the things our customers are telling us is an issue for their skin. Corn starch is one such ingredient which several of our customers have asked whether or not it's included in our formulas.
There are some positives to cornstarch. Corn starch is beneficial for skin that's prone to what we like to call "teen face." It absorbs excess oil from the skin. The application of corn starch helps to remove impurities from the pores such as dirt, dust, oil, filth, and so on. It's an inexpensive ingredient to include in recipes/formulas, but again, it's not the one we prefer. We get the same, and oftentimes better, results from tapioca starch and/or arrowroot powder. It's preference, ease of use, desired results, and formula stability that are foremost in our minds when we create our recipes for our products.
Why use any kind of starch in bombs and fizzing bath powders?
Starches are binding agents. They bind to the baking soda and citric acid and slows down their reaction. If we didn't use some type of starch, the bombs would disenegrate almost instantly. Where would be the enjoyment in that? Another reason to use starch is to trap oils, so that as the bombs disenegrate, skin loving oils are released into the bath. That's it!