[0002] The present invention relates to a composition and method for protecting both natural and artificial hair color from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation and other environmental insults. The composition includes melanin, an ultraviolet absorber, and a cationic surfactant.

[0003] The market for hair coloring products is one of the fastest growing markets in the hair care industry today. Human hair fibers are subject to continuous environmental insults including ultraviolet (UV) light. Exposure to UV-B radiation causes the disulfide bonds to photodegrade, resulting in a loss of tensile strength, an increase in the porosity of the hair, and roughening of the cuticle. While UV-B rays damage the cuticle area, UV-A radiation goes deep inside the hair to damage the cortex. One indication of such damage is the disappearance of natural melanin which provides color to the hair. As a result, there is a need for a product that protects artificial, as well as natural hair color.

[0004] It has been suggested that melanin and certain benzotriazoles play photoprotective roles (U. S. Pat. Nos. 4,806, 344 and 4, 668, 235), and that quaternary ammonium compounds have UV-absorbing properties (U. S. Pat. No. 5,601, 811).

While each of these products, individually, may address some of the problems resulting from environmental insults, there is still a need for an effective hair care protectant. The composition of the present invention addresses that need by providing a composition that is believed to have a beneficial protective effect that is greater than the effects of its individual components.

SUMMARY [0005] In general, the composition of the present invention includes from about 0. 001% to about 0. 5% melanin, from about 0. 001% to about 10% ultraviolet absorber, from about 0. 001% to about 10% cationic surfactant, or any combination of the above. The combination of these components results in substantially improved color retention for both natural and artificial hair color.

[0006] In one embodiment, the present composition includes, in a cosmetically acceptable vehicle, effective amounts of soluble melanin, a benzotriazole derivative, and a cinnamate derivative. The composition may also include other ingredients, such as additional cationic surfactants, hair conditioning agents, dispersing agents, rheology modifiers, emulsifiers, antioxidants, film formers, and water.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method of protecting natural and artificial hair color from environmental insults including ultraviolet light damage. In this aspect, a composition generally including from about 0. 001% to about 0.5% melanin, from about 0. 001% to about 10% ultraviolet absorber, and from about 0. 001% to about 10% cationic surfactant is applied to the hair to achieve the desired effects.

[0008] All percentages set forth in the following specification and appended claims are by weight unless otherwise noted.

DESCRIPTION [0009] The present invention provides a composition and a method for protecting both natural and artificial hair color from damage from ultraviolet radiation.

The composition of the present invention includes melanin, an ultraviolet absorber, and a cationic surfactant. In one embodiment, the composition includes from about 0. 001% to about 0. 5% melanin, from about 0. 001% to about 10% ultraviolet absorber, from about 0. 001% to about 10% cationic surfactant, or any combination of the above. One embodiment of the present invention includes from about 0. 01% to about 0. 1% soluble melanin, from about 0. 01% to about 3% aryl sulfonate benzotriazole, and from about 0. 01% to about 3% quaternary ammonium compound.

[0010] In another embodiment, the melanin in the present invention comprises a soluble melanin derived from sunflower seed, the ultraviolet absorber comprises a benzotriazole derivative, and the cationic surfactant comprises a quaternized UV absorbing compound. The method of the present invention involves applying an effective amount of the composition of the present invention to hair to achieve the desired effect of protecting both natural and artificial hair color from environmental insults, including ultraviolet radiation.

[0011] Melanin is a natural pigment that determines the color of human hair, skin, and eyes. Melanin absorbs ultraviolet light, and this photoprotective role of melanin is related to its physical and biochemical properties. Melanin scatters and degrades radiation to heat, absorbs the radiation and promotes immediate oxidation reaction, and quenches free radicals generated by ultraviolet radiation. Upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation, melanin quenchs the formation of damaging free radicals. A general discussion of melanins may be found in Prota, G. ,"Progress in the Chemistry of Melanins and Related Metabolites,"Med. Res. Reviews, 8: 525-56 (1988).

[0012] Because of the photoprotective properties of melanin, the use of melanin in the present composition contributes to the overall effectiveness of the composition. Further, unlike known sun protectant compositions, the present invention does not require that melanin be combined with ferric chloride and triethanolamine. In one embodiment of the present invention, the melanin comprises a soluble melanin derived from sunflower seed. This type of melanin is commercially available from Zylepsis (Ashford, Kent, UK) under the trade name of MELANEZE.

[0013] Melanin is present in an amount from about 0. 001% to about 0.5% by weight of the present composition, desirably from about 0.005% to about 0.2%, and even more desirably from about 0. 01 % to about 0. 1%. In one embodiment, the composition includes from about 0. 03% to about 0.04% melanin.

[0014] Ultraviolet-absorbing compounds are commonly used in products such as sunscreens and tanning lotions. Ultraviolet absorbers may also be used to absorb the ultraviolet rays that damage natural and artificial hair color. Typical examples of ultraviolet absorbers include benzotriazole derivatives, benzophenone derivatives, triazine derivatives, and certain polyoxyalkylenated methine-based compounds, such as those using vanillin and resorcinol as starting materials. A benzotriazole is a compound that has the following structure: where each R can independently be a hydrogen, a straight alkyl or alkenyl radical group, a branched alkyl or alkenyl radical group, hydroxyl, sulfonate, phosphate, sulfate, alkoxy, carboxylate, or nitro group. Additional ultraviolet absorbers are described in"Sunscreens, "Eds. N. J. Lowe, N. A. Shaath, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York and Basel.

[0015] Examples of ultraviolet absorbers for use in the present invention may include benzotriazole derivatives, including aryl sulfonated benzotriazole. A suitable ultraviolet absorber comprises sodium benzotriazolyl butylphenol sulfonate.

Sodium benzotriazolyl butylphenol sulfonate is commercially available from Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation (High Point, North Caroiina) under the trade name TINOGARD HS.

[0016] In the present invention, the addition of an effective amount of ultraviolet absorber contributes to the protection of both natural and artificial hair from ultraviolet radiation. Unlike known compositions that contain benzotriazole sulfonates, the composition of the present invention does not require that the treatment of hair with benzotriazole sulfonate be under acidic conditions obtained by adjustment with sulfuric acid.

[0017] Ultraviolet absorbers comprise from about 0. 001% to about 10% of the present composition, desirably from about 0.005% to about 6%, and even more desirably from about 0. 01 % to about 3%. In one embodiment, the present invention includes from about 0. 1% to about 0. 15% ultraviolet absorber.

[0018] Surfactants are widely used because of their ability to reduce surface tension. Cationic surfactants are characterized by the presence of at least one hydrophobic alkyl chain and a positively charged hydrophilic group. They are typically used in products such as hair conditioners and fabric softeners as antistatic agents or softening/conditioning agents. Two common types of cationic surfactants are'long chain amines and quaternary ammonium salts. Quaternary ammonium salts have four substituents on the nitrogen atom and are stable even under extremely basic or acidic conditions.

[0019] Specific non-limiting examples of cationic surfactants that may be used in the present invention include cinnamate derivatives, long chain amines, cationic alkyl ammonium salts, and quaternized UV absorbing compounds, including quaternary ammonium compounds such as alkyl quaternary ammonium salts. A suitable cationic surfactant comprises cinnamidopropyltrimonium chloride, which may also perform as a hair conditioner. Cinnamidopropyltrimonium chloride is commercially available from Croda (Parsippany, New Jersey) under the trade name INCROQUAT UV-283. In the present invention, the addition of an effective amount of cationic surfactant to effective amounts of ultraviolet absorber and melanin provides a particularly advantageous composition that unexpectedly and surprisingly improves the protection of natural and artificial hair color from ultraviolet radiation.

[0020] Cationic surfactants comprise from about 0. 001 % to about 10% of the present composition, desirably from about 0.005% to about 6%, and even more desirably from about 0. 01 % to about 3%. In one embodiment, the present invention includes about 1 % to about 1.5%.

[0021] The novel composition of the present invention may also contain optional hair care benefit ingredients. For example, additional cationic surfactants, hair conditioning agents, dispersing agents, rheology modifiers, emulsions, antioxidants, film formers, and water may also be added to the hair protecting composition.

[0022] A suitable antioxidant is a liquid sunflower extract in butylen glycol (25% active). This extract is commercially available from Sederma (Parsippany, New Jersey) under the trade name HELIOGENOL. Such additives aid in protecting hair color from fading.

[0023] Other examples of optional ingredients include : cinnamidopropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride in dipropylene glycol ; lanolinamidopropyl dimethyl ammonium ethosulfate in aqueous butylen glycol ; dimethicone copolyol meadowfoamate, commercially available from Fanning Corp. (Chicago, Illinois) under the trade name FANCORSIL LIM-3, which forms dispersions in water and builds viscosity; or cationic emulsions of amine functional silicone polymers, commercially available from Dow Corning (Midland, Michigan) under the trade name Dow Corning 929 Cationic Emulsion, which have film forming properties and improve wet and dry combing ease.

[0024] Another aspect of the invention provides a method of protecting natural and artificial hair color from environmental insults such as damage caused by ultraviolet light. The method includes applying an effective amount of the composition of the present invention to hair. In one embodiment, the method comprises applying to hair an effective amount of a composition comprising melanin, an ultraviolet absorber, and a cationic surfactant. The compositional and quantitative variations described above may also be applied to natural or artificial hair to achieve the desired result of protecting the hair from ultraviolet light damage.

[0025] The following examples illustrate, but do not limit, the present invention.

EXAMPLE 1 [0026] The composition of Table 1 was applied to a hair tress with natural color.

TABLE 1 Ingredient Amount melanin (MELANEZE (0. 50% in propylene glycol)) 7. 58% (0. 038% active) UV absorber (TINOGARD HS (0. 50% in but lene ! col 22.73% (0. 11 % active) cationic surfactant (INCROQUAT UV-283) 1. 52% dimethicone copolyol meadowfoamate FANCORSIL LIM-3) 2.27% cationic emulsion of aminefunctional silicone polymers (DOW 2.27% CORNING 929 Emulsion) Water Q. S.

A control composition containing only FANCORSIL LIM-3 and DOW CORNING 929 Emulsion in the same percentages as in the test composition, with the balance being water, was applied to a hair tress with natural color.

[0027] Each hair tress was continuously exposed to ultraviolet light for ten days. Surprisingly, the hair tress, to which the composition of Table 1 was applied, exhibited 27% less color fading than the hair tress to which the control composition was applied.

EXAMPLE 2 [0028] The composition of Table 2 was applied to a hair tress with artificial color.

TABLE 2 Ingredient Amount melanin (MELANEZE (1% in propylene glycol)) 3.00% (0.03% active) UV absorber (TINOGARD HS (4.44% in butylen glycol)) 3. 00% (0.13% active) cinnamidopropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride in dipropylene 3. 00% (0.96% glycol (18.6%) and lanolinamidopropyl dimethyl ammonium active) ethosulfate in aqueous butylen glycol (13. 4%) in butylen glycol dimethicone copolyol meadowfoamate (FANCORSIL LIM-3) 3.50% Water Q. S.

A control composition containing FANCORSIL LIM-3 in the same percentage as in the test composition, with the balance being water, was applied to a hair tress with artificial color.

[0029] Each hair tress was continuously exposed to ultraviolet light for 9.5 days. Surprisingly, the hair tress, to which the composition of the present invention (Table 2) was applied, exhibited 18% less color fading than the hair tress to which the control composition was applied.

EXAMPLE 3 [0030] The composition of Table 2 was modified by replacing the melanin with water and adding 0.60% sunflower extract in butylen glycol (HELIOGENOL).

This composition was applied to a hair tress with artificial color. The control composition of Example 2 was applied to a hair tress with artificial color.

[0031] The hair tress was continuously exposed to ultraviolet light for 9.5 days. The result showed a color retention of only five to six percent more than the control composition. In contrast, as shown in Example 2, the composition according to the present invention exhibited 18% less color fading than did the control composition.

[0032] Of course, it should be understood that a wide range of changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described above. It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.