Starch is a polysaccharide polymer. These polysaccharides can be linear (amylose) or branched (amylopectin). As a botanical source for their starch range, Cargill Beauty sources as the type of corn, waxy maize, because it has 99% amylopectin which contributes to maintaining the stability of the native starch.

Native starches are basically pure forms of starch. They can be obtained from sources such as corn, wheat, potato, rice, cassava and tapioca. These long-chain carbohydrates are insoluble in cold water and swell to different degrees, depending on type and temperature. Native starches have been used for decades in the food industry, but because of limitations such as breaking down when reheated or in acidic environments, some food manufacturers moved to use food starches which have been physically, chemically or enzymatically modified. The beauty and personal care industry has followed these trends.

Cargill Beauty proposes different modified starches in their portfolio derived from physical and/or chemical treatments of native starches. These modifications contribute to giving native starches performance and innovative specific functionalities. Modified starches are cold processable, resistant to pH, shear and temperature, have improved textural aspects (smoothness, creaminess, body..) and increased stability and freeze-thaw stability.

Discover Cargill Beauty’s innovative range of modified starches texturizers, emulsifiers and sensory enhancers.

StarDesign™ Care: The natural thickener for cocooning creaminess

StarDesign™ Care is derived natural, cold processable instantaneous thickening agent derived from waxy corn. Waxy corn is the type of corn selected as a source because it has 99% amylopectin which contributes to maintaining the stability of the native starch.

It is sourced through the Waxy Corn Promise™, a sustainability farming program launched in 2018, verified externally and benchmarked Silver against the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform.

StarDesign™ Care is an easily cold processable, slightly anionic thickener and consistency agent that confers to emulsions a distinctive creaminess, richness and cocooning skin feel. It is a very efficient consistency agent that will improve the body and viscosity of your cosmetic product without inducing a soaping effect. It reduces the soaping effect in formulations containing fatty alcohols because it allows decreasing their quantity. It has a high absorption capacity of water and oils and confers emulsions a great pickup and fast penetration onto the skin. In hair care products it has been shown to have a synergy with xanthan gum to increase foam quality & quantity.

It has a broad compatibility profile and can be used in cold or hot conditions, a broad pH range (4-9), in the presence of electrolytes (<3%), low alcohol content (<15%) and in the presence of anionic, non-ionic and cationic surfactants.

It may also be used in aqueous formulations at a dose of use between 6-8% to provide texture and a smooth, rich skin feel.