cornstarch?

[some ftm guy]

so i just got my first packer yesterday, which is an stp fitz YAY!! i can't really tell you if it works well yet, I'll get back with you guys again after a few days of practice but first is my kind of urgent question. I've read this before on a trans guy forum here or somewhere so it wasn't a huge surprise but now it's a problem: it says to increase longevity i have to give it a light dusting with cornstarch but i don't know what cornstarch is. i assume it's some sort of powder if you dust with it but where would i get that a grocery store? i don't even know what it looks like. i know i need to do that to sorta smooth it out, more importantly i only wore it about an hour last night before going to bed and i already noticed a little piece of "skin" layer that's been torn off at the tip of the shaft a few minutes ago during first practice that i should have done in the bath tub because i let go of the nipple too soon and sorta peed a little on the back of the testicles and down my inner thighs lol. maybe i didnt have it centered exactly right. but that bit of a tear really shocks me. what will it look like after a whole days wear? i really don't want to have to buy a new one every 3 months. 52 dollars is a lot for me. i can't just spend that much money often and 3 months is not that long at all. gaaaah i don't even have a strap yet. crud.

so that's my urgent question: what is cornstarch? where do i get it? what does it look like in said stores? so i know what to look for.
please and thanks guys!

[Janet_Girl]

Cornstarch is in the baking isle at the grocerie store.

[LordKAT]

some feel that potato starch is better but don't use talc or baby powder thinking that it will do the same thing. It won't.

[some ftm guy]

ok will look for corn or potato starch then whenever I'm at a store next. probably can go tomorrow and hope it's at the corner store down the street. if they don't have it I'm stuck waiting til saturday morning when i get a ride to walmart and that'll be awkward explaining why i have something like that when i never bake but oh well.

[emil]

some feel that potato starch is better but don't use talc or baby powder thinking that it will do the same thing. It won't.

i've always used baby powder....it seemed to work better than starch

[Arch]

I don't know if baby powder works as well as corn starch, but I do know that some sites approve talc-free baby powder. Talcum powder has been linked to cervical cancer.

I use corn starch, myself, but that's because I happen to have a box of it in the kitchen.

[Andy]

I'll totally vouch for the cornstarch, no baby powder, etc. Don't be shy, use a fair amount and it really makes it feel much better. Repeat as needed, especially after washing. I figured out a way to have a little travel bottle of the cornstarch in backpack or whatever, to use on the fly. Like buy a little travel size something and replace it with c s. Very helpful!

[Nygeel]

I use corn starch to make gravy. OR! You can mix a lot of corn starch with water and make a funky substance that becomes "solid" when you hit it hard. When you dip your hand it's a thick liquid. It does some crazy stuff like dancing on speakers.
Awesomeness seen here:

While you're out getting corn starch, get some ziplock bags so you can put a little bit of corn starch in a baggie then put the packer in there and do the shake n bake...but without baking.

[Arch]

While you're out getting corn starch, get some ziplock bags so you can put a little bit of corn starch in a baggie then put the packer in there and do the shake n bake...but without baking.

Ah, but can you do it without shaking?

[Nygeel]

Ah, but can you do it without shaking?

Probably but it's much more fun to shake.

[some ftm guy]

@ arch and Nygeel lol am i even needed in this conversation?

i got the corn starch last night, it happened to be the same brand in the pic Janet Lynn posted and it did work really well, soo much smoother, it was starting to get sticky in one area. i didn't think to just stick in a sandwich bag and shake it around in there heh heh I'll do that next time thanks dude Nygeel, i might have to in a week or so, the super smoothness didn't last that long now it's sorta like it was before i did it maybe cuz i put it back on right after? kinda funny maybe the cashier thought it odd of someone to be buying just corn starch and that's it. and my mom was at the back of the line, saw my bag and never asked me what was in there, i just didn't want to talk to her about it, that's just not something to talk about with a parent ya know? "oh it's just corn starch to smooth over this prosthetic penis i bought last week to make it feel smoother like real skin and make it last longer." i can just imagine lol good thing she didn't actually ask me.

[Arch]

Well, I'm glad she didn't quiz you about your, uh, package. But you could always tell her it's for a little science fun. In a way, it is. Tell her about the cool speaker trick, I don't know.

So I guess I'm going to try the Shake-N-No-Bake method next time and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip, Nygeel. I've been using a make-up brush that I bought specially; you should have seen me scowling in the make-up aisle. I had no idea what I was doing...

[tekla]

You can get 25lbs of it for like $113.
http://www.amazon.com/Bulk-Cornstarch-CERTIFIED-ORGANIC-lb/dp/B0012BQK6Y

[Arch]

You can get 25lbs of it for like $113.

...for those of you with REALLY HUGE packers.

[Andy]

Yes, the Shake-n-Bake method is great, I forgot to mention that.  Made me remember another tip: I keep the box of c s
IN a ziplock bag, under the sink in the bathroom. It can be messy and it's good to keep it under control in a plastic bag. Also, makes it neater if you ever have to put it in a suitcase or something for those spontaneous roadtrips!

[some ftm guy]

i tried that a couple hours ago and not only did it make a horrible mess, the bag wasn't closed when i thought it was since it's one of those zip closed..that doesn't work and I'll hopefully get that huge spot of cs off my comforter, but i think that's waaaaaaay too much cs to put on it. i was like holy crap i have to get this off, it had the same sound walking in fresh powdery snow does when i grabbed it and pulled it out of the bag i thought i ruined it like it was going to be stuck with an ich of powder on it. took it to the bathroom, washed it off, then it was sticky again (mostly the reason i dusted it again in the first place) and i put what i could back in the plastic container and grabbed some out of the bag on my fingers and put the stuff on meh junk that way. that was plenty enough cs to use at once i think i won't be trying the shake and bake method ever again that's just wasting a lot of it. unless i put way less in and it's a new smaller sandwich bag that actually closes. maybe Nygeel meant for regular packers that weren't stps... and no mom hasn't asked yet, if she does I'll say science experiment or I'm pretending to be a cop, dusting for prints ha. naw I'll probably just tell her and she might be grossed out but whatever I'm a grown man.

[xAndrewx]

Thanks for posting this Noah, I had no clue about using corn starch on my packer.

naw I'll probably just tell her and she might be grossed out but whatever I'm a grown man.

Yeah, when my mom asked why I needed a medicine spoon I told her the truth and she shut up real quick. Didn't want to know anymore after that.

[JosephKT]

Okay, I've only ever stuffed with socks before so this is all new to me.  What the heck are packers made of that require so much care?

Also, like I said I've never used a store bought packer, but this corn starch business sounds really similar to "talcing" sticky or porous items in a two part sand mold.  So I'd imagine if you put the corn starch in an old thin sock, dress sock or best bottom part of a thicker lady's stocking and tied the open open you can dab at the sticky parts of the packer with the sock and it will get a nice even coating on.  Seems easier than loose cornstarch in a zip-lock, though I imagine you'd carry the sock in some kind of container.  Or am I completely wrong and that would not work for reasons unbeknown to me?  I genuinely curious.

[Andy]

Didn't mean to give advice that made a mess! Like everything else,  it takes practice. It doesn't take that much c s, but I find a little bit applied often seems to work well (not a whole bunch all at once). If you are actually wearing packer, it's just as easy to just put your fingertips into c s and then apply directly with your hand down into your shorts. NOT dunking the whole thing! This is the neatest, quickest way, IMHO.

Half the fun is getting there!

[emil]

maybe try to get a bottle like this for the cornstarch:

http://blogs.smarter.com/blogs/baby%20powder.jpg