CONSUMER SELF-ASSESSMENT PROOF STRIP FOR EVALUATING SKIN

LIGHTENING PROGRESS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention concerns a packaged skin lightening product with an associated proof strip for a consumer to self-assess progress of the cosmetic treatment over time and also the proof strip in an unpackaged format.

The Related Art Improved skin fairness is sought by many young women. Romance and marriage are important driving forces. Other persons see blemishes and dark spots as imperfections on their complexion. These needs have established a market for facial lightening products.

Many products promise but few deliver. Disappointment at ineffective results is an often heard complaint. Some disappointment arises from excess expectation. In part, disappointment may arise from a consumer's inability to monitor the before and after facial shade as treatment progresses over time. Clearly there is a need for a method to evaluate progress.

US 5 924 426 (Galazin) reports a method for aiding personal color selection amongst facial cosmetics. A personal color direction chart is described which correlates facial values and hues to the desired personal colors.

US 2004/0261280 A1 (Znaiden et al.) reports a product system which includes a cosmetic composition for skin lightening and a color ruler device packaged with the composition. The ruler is utilized to assess skin color attributes on a scale, for evaluating progress of skin lightening occurring over a period of time against an area of skin being monitored. A mirrored or other reflective surface is fashioned alongside an elongate set of color shade panels.

Color rulers have also been packaged with a number of commercial skin lightening products. For instance, a Fairness Meter is distributed with Fair & Lovely® Cream and similar rulers are found with Gamier® and Olay® products.

AII the known color rulers are single or double rowed elongate sheets with numbered boxes, each box having a shade progressively lighter or darker from one end to the other of the ruler. Consumers often find it difficult to match their skin shade with that depicted. Moreover, it is difficult to correlate over a multi week treatment whether their initial shade match has progressed upwards in lightness. Simply stated there is no side-by-side comparative mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A packaged topical cosmetic product is provided which includes:

(i) a topical cosmetic composition comprising an effective amount of a skin lightening agent and a carrier;

(ii) a package for receiving the cosmetic composition; and

(iii) a color evaluator proof strip inserted within the package or forming one or more panels of the package, the strip including: a substrate; and indicia placed onto the substrate, the indicia including two adjacent columns with each column having a plurality of bordered areas each covered with a skin color shade, darkness of color shade increasing from one bordered area to a next bordered area, a first of the two columns presenting initial color shades before treatment with the composition, and a second of the two columns presenting post-treatment color shades, a person's initial color shade being in a bordered area juxtaposed to a post-treatment bordered area, the latter being colored with an expected color shade after treatment with the composition.

Further, the present invention provides a color evaluator proof strip to monitor efficacy of a skin lightening composition. The strip is as described above with regards to the packaged cosmetic product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Advantages and features of the present invention will more fully be explained through consideration of the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a first embodiment of a color evaluator proof strip; Figure 2 is a folded version of the strip described in figure 1 ; and Figure 3 is a second embodiment of a color evaluator proof strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Now there has been found a home-diagnostic enabling consumers to ascertain facial color as they track effectiveness of a skin lightening cosmetic. The colour evaluator proof strip has a first set of bordered areas with a starting color shade for the consumer to match at beginning of usage of the cosmetic composition. There is also present on the strip a second set of bordered areas with resultant color shades achievable after treatment. In pre-program fashion, a resultant color shade bordered area is placed adjacent a respective initial color shade bordered area corresponding to a calculated end result based on expected efficacy of the cosmetic skin lightening composition. Optionally, a reflective strip can be placed between the before and after shade to allow a user to better evaluate the colors.

Basis for the plurality of initial color shades according to this invention are photographs taken of 750 women in China, India and Thailand. These digitial pictures were then batched into shades through computer transformations. Of the 750 photographs, 17 were selected. Each represented a step change in both color shade and skin texture. These 17 run the gamut from very dark to relatively light skin. The batches can either be further segmented or consolidated. This means that one could have more or less than 17 different color shades and textures. In addition, the colors may be fine-tuned to match local populations and to achieve accurate reproduction.

Another important aspect of this invention is that the consumer averaged photographic captured shade batches were not merely color measurements. Skin evenness including tone, fine lines and spots were all included in creation of each bordered area color shade. Thus, the colour evaluator proof strip communicates benefit of an applied cosmetic composition in two dimensions. The first dimension is that of color (L ^* , a ^* ) based on the L ^* a ^* b ^* system known as the Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage (CIE) color system. The second dimension is that of evenness as provided by digital manipulation of the red- green-blue color spectrum values of the images. Through use of photographs of real skin rather than simply a change of color, the present invention provides visualization of complicated and desirable changes to the appearance of real skin that may be accomplished by the cosmetic composition.

Figure 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a color evaluator proof strip. The strip can form one or more panels of an outer package. Alternatively as shown in figure 2, the strip can be

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folded so as to be insertable into an outer package (e.g. carton) within which a jar, flexible tube, spray bottle, pen or other container holds the cosmetic composition.

A plastic or cellulosic (e.g. cardboard) can serve as a substrate of the strip. Print is placed onto the substrate. Normally the print will be combinations of colored ink, and ordinarily a four color process. The printing procedure is not critical. Typical processes include lithography, gravure, flexography, letterpress and screen processes. Of particular usefulness are thermal printing, electrophotography and inkjet printing. The inks are normally formed of a colored pigment, resin binder and, most frequently, a volatile solvent.

Strip 2 is printed with two adjacent columns 4 and 6. First column 4 presents a series of bordered areas 4a through 4f having different color shades. Progressively these areas become lighter in shade from left to right. Thus, area 4a is dark brown, area 4b is brown, area 4c is light brown, area 4d is dark tan, area 4e is tan, and area 4f is light tan. First column 4 represents the initial facial skin shade of a consumer.

Second column 6 likewise has a series of areas bordered each decreasing in shade darkness from left to right. Thus, area 6a is brown, area 6b is light brown, area 6c is dark tan, area 6d is tan, area 6e is light tan and area 6f is pinkish white. A portion 8 of each area within the column 6 grouping of areas is cut-out to provide an aperture in the cardboard. Alternatively, portion 8 is not cut-out but is simply non-colored. Normally portion 8 is white (i.e. unprinted) when not cut-out. One purpose of portion 8 is to provide an indicia that second column 6 is different from that of first column 4 and that the former represents transformation shades resulting from the skin lightening treatment of the cosmetic composition. Embodiments with the aperture allow a consumer to hold the cardboard to their face in front of a mirror. Their actual facial coloration can then be compared to the predicted shade surrounding the aperture.

Shade areas 4a-f of this invention are not merely depictions of different color hues. These areas are also printed for skin textural visualization. The printed shade areas are replications of forehead images from actual real skin of different model women. Transformed areas 6a-f are computer generated expected results of treatment with the topical cosmetic composition. Not only will there be color lightening but the proof strip will factor texture improvement from moisturizing and anti-aging ingredients of the composition.

A light reflective band 10 is arranged alongside an edge of the first and second columns. More particularly, the light reflective band separates column 4 from column 6. Light reflectance of the band must be sufficient to image a person's face to an extent that skin shade can be evaluated.

The number of shade areas in each of the first and second columns may range from 4 to 25, more preferably from 5 to 10, and optimally 6 areas with different shades on each column.

Panels 12 and 14 are arranged at opposite ends of the strip. These panels allow for brand identification and also instructions on the method a consumer is to use for proofing efficacy of the topical skin lightener.

A series of fold lines 16 and 18 separate the end panels and also one shade area from another. The fold lines may be used to create outer packaging or to assist in sizing the proof strip for accommodation within a package. Figure 2 illustrates one measure of how the proof strip is folded.

Figure 3 represents a second embodiment of the present invention. Here the color evaluator proof strip 200 is arranged in a fan-shape. An arc of the first column 204 is arranged along an upper crown. Within column 204 are a series of initial shade areas 204a through 204f.

Post treatment shades are shown in the second column 206. Likewise this column has a series of shade areas 206a through 206f which decrease in shade darkness from left to right.

The fan shaped proof strip 200 can be sized for accommodation within a package through folding along fold lines 218 (other fold lines not numerically identified). Brand identification and instructions for use of the proof strip may be printed along a bottom area 214.

A light reflective band 210 separates the first and second columns. Similar to the first embodiment, the light reflective band preferably is a metallized plastic foil.

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the most effective light reflective bands. A series of reflective materials were examined to determine which were capable of reflecting the highest amount of incoming light. Non-distortion of a consumer's skin image is directly correlated with capability of reflecting incoming light. Table I reports reflectances measured

by a Minolta Spectrophotometer as a function of incoming light. Reflectances at 400, 550 and 700 nm are reported. These wave lengths are representative of the more than 30 measurements taken along the visible light spectrum.

TABLE

The best performance was exhibited by the metallized polyester strip as evidenced by the essentially flat reflection spectrum at the very high level of 80%. This performance was equivalent to an ordinary silvered mirror. Reflectance was much better than the 45-68% for an aluminized surface or a chromed surface.

Packaged cosmetic products of the present invention include a colour evaluator proof strip for a purchasing consumer to evaluate efficacy of the skin lightening cosmetic composition. The method involves placing the strip opposite the face prior to first treatment. The reflective band is used to image the consumer's face with particular attention to their skin shade. This is matched with the closest of the shade areas of the first column 4. Periodically over several weeks, particularly after eight weeks, the consumer performs a follow-up evaluation. Again the proof strip is placed opposite the consumer's face to achieve an image of their present skin color. An effective treatment will show that the initial shade of the first column 4 has turned into the lighter shade of the second column 6 adjacent area. For instance, a consumer with an initial skin match for dark tan 4d hopefully would within about eight weeks have a skin color transformation into tan shade 6d.

The topical cosmetic compositions for use in the present invention will contain one or more skin lightening agents. Suitable for this purpose are materials which include niacinamide, elagic acid, kojic acid, arbutin, tranexamic acid, ethyl resorcinol, placental extract, ascorbic acid and derivatives thereof (e.g. magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl glucoside and ascorbyl tetraisopalmitates). Other skin lightening materials suitable for use herein include Actiwhite® (Cognis) with active component being

pisum savitum, Emblica® (Rona), Azeloglicina® (Sinerga) and extracts (e.g. mulberry extract). Amounts of the skin lightening agent may range from 0.01 to 15%, preferably from 0.1 to 10%, more preferably from 1 to 8%, optimally from 2 to 5% by weight of the composition.

Sunscreen agents are also useful for the cosmetic compositions. Illustrative materials are 2- ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate, 4,4'-t-butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, 2-hydroxy-4- methoxybenzophenone, octyldimethyl p-aminobenzoic acid, digalloyltrioleate, 2,2-dihydroxy- 4-methoxybenzophenone, ethyl 4-[bis(hydroxypropyl)]aminobenzoate, 2-ethylhexyl-2-cyano- 3,3-diphenylacrylate, 2-ethylhexylsalicylate, glyceryl p-aminobenzoate, 3,3,5- trimethylcyclohexylsalicylate, methylanthranilate, p-dimethylaminobenzoic acid or aminobenzoate, 2-ethylhexyl p-dimethylaminobenzoate, 2-phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid, 2-(p-dimethylaminophenyl)-5-sulfoniobenzoxazoic acid, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenol triazine, methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol, dimethicodiethylbenzal malonate, isoamyl methoxycinnamate, octyl triazone, terephthalidene dicamphor sulfonic acid and mixtures thereof. Amounts may range from 0.1 to 10%, preferably from 1 to 5% by weight of the composition.

Cosmetically acceptable carriers will normally be part of the skin lightening cosmetic compositions. Suitable carriers include water, hydrocarbons, silicones, polyols, natural and synthetic esters, fatty alcohols, fatty acids and combinations thereof. Amounts of the carrier may range from 10 to 99%, preferably from 50 to 97%, optimally from 70 to 90% by weight of the composition.

Emulsifiers and surfactants may also be present, especially in water and oil compositions. These emulsifiers may either be nonionic, anionic, cationic or amphoteric. Amounts of the emulsifiers may range anywhere from 0.1% to 10% by weight of the composition.

The term "comprising" is meant not to be limiting to any subsequently stated elements but rather to encompass non-specified elements of major or minor functional importance. In other words the listed steps, elements or options need not be exhaustive. Whenever the words "including" or "having" are used, these terms are meant to be equivalent to "comprising" as defined above.

AII documents referred to herein, including all patents, patent applications, and printed publications, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety in this disclosure.

It should be noted that in specifying any range of concentration or amount, any particular upper concentration can be associated with any particular lower concentration or amount.