MALTOSE
Maltose is a disaccharide: a sugar made from two linked glucose units. On an ingredient list, the name therefore identifies a specific substance rather than a cereal extract or a blend of sugars with variable composition.
MALTOSE: what it is
Maltose is a disaccharide: a sugar made from two linked glucose units. On an ingredient list, the name therefore identifies a specific substance rather than a cereal extract or a blend of sugars with variable composition.
Maltose is familiar in chemistry and food as malt sugar, but that association does not automatically reveal the raw material or production route used for every cosmetic product. It differs from ingredients that merely contain malt-derived or fermented materials: MALTOSE names the sugar itself, not a complex plant fraction.
MALTOSE: what it does in cosmetics
In cosmetics, maltose may contribute to a fragrance profile and can also be used for moisturising and skin-conditioning purposes. In everyday terms, the latter functions relate to a formula intended to support a soft, comfortable skin feel; they do not make maltose a treatment for dryness or for a skin condition.
Clinical research has examined a maltose-based microneedle patch used with an anaesthetic before intravenous cannulation in children. That was a medical device used with an anaesthetic and a procedure, not a cream or serum, so the result does not demonstrate a cosmetic effect of maltose alone in daily-use products.
Products containing this ingredient
See which products include it and the name used in each composition.
