STARCH
Distarch Phosphate
- starch
A modified starch. It soaks up oil and water and leaves a dry, slightly grippy feel, which is what puts starches in dry shampoos and texture products.
- products in our library
- 11
- of researched products
- 0.2%
- on the label, in our dry shampoos
- usually #5
- most common in
- Dry shampoo
- in water
- Insoluble
At a glance
Four things worth knowing about how this ingredient behaves on hair.
How much of it is left on hair between washes.
What it takes to get it off the hair again.
What the polymer class can do, not what any bottle claims.
How well the film survives damp air, as a class.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a real cleanser | 5 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Removed mechanically | 1 of 5 |
| Hold | Soft | 3 of 5 |
| Humidity resistance | Low | 1 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Distarch Phosphate does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
A dry powder that takes up oil and leaves texture behind.
Included to reduce a greasy feel rather than to condition.
It dissolves in neither water nor oil, so it is removed by washing or brushing.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Does not dissolve in water or oil. It sits on the surface and is removed mechanically or by cleansing.
Where it appears
Where it appears
One row per product category in our library: how many products list it, what share of that category that is, and where it typically sits on the label.
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Dry shampoo
4 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Conditioner
3 products
|
supporting · #4 | |
Styler: volumizer
2 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Mask / treatment
1 product
|
supporting · #4 | |
Scalp treatment
1 product
|
leading · #1 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry shampoo | 4 | 3% | 5 | 3 | supporting |
| Conditioner | 3 | 0% | 4 | 4 | supporting |
| Styler: volumizer | 2 | 1% | 10 | 4 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 1 | 0% | 4 | 4 | supporting |
| Scalp treatment | 1 | 0% | 1 | 1 | leading |
We have not researched differences by product type yet. The reading below comes from where it sits on the labels in our library.
Position footprint
Every listing in our library, by position on the label.
| Positions | Zone | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Leading | 2 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 7 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 1 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 1 |
| 26+ | Trace | 0 |
How to read this
US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order.
So position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
Who should pay attention
Formulation guidance for specific hair conditions, limited to the label positions where it applies. It is not a conclusion about any finished product, or about you.
Adds grip and body with no oil attached, which is what lifts fine hair at the root instead of weighing it down.
Starch gives texture and grip rather than a set film; firm hold usually needs a polymer alongside it.
Read from this ingredient’s chemical class. Where we have researched the ingredient itself, that reading replaces the class one.
Why it matters to shoppers
What seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- dry texture without oil
- oil absorption
- a visible surface effect
- body without weight on fine hair
- an exact safety score (we do not publish one for any ingredient)
- how a finished product performs, which depends on the whole formula, not one line of it
- the exact percentage in a bottle, because label position never converts into a number
- a supporting powder alongside the main ingredients in our dry shampoos
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- that a product is right or wrong for you
We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
Commonly paired with
The ingredients that most often appear alongside this one in our library. We leave out the near-universal ones, because they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Rice Starch · 4
- Isopropyl Alcohol · 4
- Propylene Glycol · 4
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 4
- Peg-150/Decyl Alcohol/Smdi Copolymer · 3
- Steareth-6 · 3
- Chlorhexidine Digluconate · 3
- Quaternium-87 · 3
- PEG-100 Stearate · 3
- Butane · 3
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to give the formula body and hold, carry the formula and let it dry, and improve feel after rinsing.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Act+Acre · Scalp treatment
Clarifying Hard Water Scalp + Hair Treatment
#1 on the label · $26.95/oz
Maria Nila · Dry shampoo
Cleansing Powder
#3 on the label · $11.91/oz
Davines · Dry shampoo
This is an Invisible Dry Shampoo
#4 on the label · $4.73/oz
Kenra · Styler
Volumizing Powder 14
#4 on the label · $60.00/oz
Kerastase · Conditioner
Première Fondant Repairing Conditioner
#4 on the label · $7.69/oz
L'Oreal Paris · Conditioner
Elvive Hyaluron + Pure 72H Rehydrating Conditioner
#4 on the label · $0.38/oz
L'Oreal Professionnel · Mask / treatment
Serie Expert Absolut Repair Molecular Mask
#4 on the label · $4.29/oz
Ceremonia · Dry shampoo
Dry Shampoo con Arrowroot
#5 on the label · $80.00/oz
No Nothing · Dry shampoo
Sensitive Dry Shampoo Foam
#5 on the label · $4.08/oz
Biolage · Conditioner
Full Rescue Conditioner
#9 on the label · $1.64/oz
IGK · Styler
Turn It Up Hair Thickening Instant Volume Spray
#16 on the label
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Distarch Phosphate
- absorbent
- distarch phosphate
For your hair?
Whether Distarch Phosphate matters for your hair depends on your hair.
11 products in our library list itWhat this ingredient does, and where it sits on the labels we have researched.
A verdict on any product that contains it, and never a safety grade.
We do not physically test your hair. Everything above comes from the ingredient lists in our library and from published references. The consultation is what turns it into a plan.
References
Seed entry, sourcing in progress Written from our reference work; primary sourcing is still being attached.
No published source is attached to this entry yet.
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library: 11 of 6816 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are levels, not scores. Each one comes from what kind of ingredient it is (its chemical class, charge and solubility) or from where it sits on the labels we have.
- US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order. Position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
- The prominence bands (leading, supporting, secondary) are the same ones the product pages use to read a single label, applied here to the median position across a category.
- We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
- Identifiers and references appear only when a published source is attached to this entry. Without one, we leave the row out rather than fill it in.
- This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
- Entry last updated 2026-09-22. Product-page methodology: the product library.
