Corn Starch

[rayne]

Have any of you heard of using corn starch to prevent chaffing? I used to use it on my babies to prevent diaper rash and in later years have used a little of it myself to stay dry.

 

[beckyv1265]

Corn starch is very good because it absorbs moisture that causes irritation from chaffing as well as inhibiting yeast by not providing a moist invironement.

 

[HealthyS7]

I have heard of using corn starch, but I would afraid of startchy clumping. haha I have heard from some of my hair stylist friends that you can use corn starch as a dry shampoo.

 

[Carolynn]

As long as you don't use a ton of it you shouldn't have any issues with clumping. I have used it for myself in the summertime and for my kids to prevent diaper rash.

 

[Sage]

I found an organic powder that was made of corn starch. It had lavender in it for the scent. It was recommended as an alternative to talc powder.

 

[Greenwoman]

I haven't quite used straight corn starch, but I have used general baby powder. Why not baby powder instead of corn starch though? Every time I think of corn starch, I think of pudding and soups.

 

[freshfoodie]

I have used it to absorb sweat when it is super hot outside and I know my friend uses it on her son to prevent diaper rash. I would think that as long as you use a light dusting and not a thick coating you won't have any clumping.

 

[Aletha]

I used to use it, but now that I'm a bit older I don't really sweat as much as I used to. It was a great substitute for talc and it was much less irritating than talc and unscented as well which was nice since I have a allergy to many man made scents.

 

[catevanne]

I have heard of cornstarch for babies as an agent to prevent chafed skin. It's one of those great, multi-purpose household remedies that has been hanging around for years and is mostly ignored. I'm sure it has uses we don't know about today, but our grandmothers probably knew them all.

 

[aphil]

I have begun to use cornstarch in my effort to stop using talc. Here is an article about the dangers of talc. I investigated some recipes for natural baby pwder and here is one I found:
one half cup tapioca starch
one half cup arrowroot powder
one cup cornstarch
one tablespoon ground lavendar
You can also add the essential oil of your choice, by soaking a cotton ball with the oil and then leaving the cotton ball in the powder for 24 hours. It doesn't cause clumping. The mixture of the different powders creates a smooth powder, and you can make adjustments to your liking. If you want more of a dusting powder, you add a small amount of baking soda.
I know these ingredients seem strange and just for cooking, but they are free of chemicals and the things you eat are the things safe to enter your skin pores as well.

 

[bettyblue]

I never used any baby powder for my kids. I preferred oils or creams in case of diaper rash. My friend's baby had a terrible diaper rash and it got infected with yeast. She said that corn starch made it even worse and later she read that yeast feed on corn starch, so it's not always the best solution.