COSMETIC FORMULATION, PROCESS FOR ITS PRODUCTION AND METHOD OF USE OF THE SAME AS COSMETIC HAIR TREATMENT ALTERNATIVE TO SILICONES

DESCRIPTION

Technical field of the invention

The present patent concerns the field of cosmetic formulations for hair care in general, and more specifically it concerns a new cosmetic formulation, the process for its production and the method of use of the cosmetic formulation for hair care in a cosmetic treatment which is an alternative to the use of silicones.

State of the art

The cosmetic formulations for shampoos are generally structured with very effective cleansing surfactants, typically anionic surfactants, and in themselves they are not particularly beneficial for the hair in terms of conditioning effect or styling. In fact, the simple formulations for shampoos which have not been supplemented with specific conditioning agents or hair styling aids tend to leave the hair in conditions which are not satisfying from the cosmetic point of view, in terms of both hair manageability and hair stylability. The hair tends to be stiff, opaque and dry to the touch, a condition which is often defined as“creak”, in many cases is difficult to comb, both when wet and when dry, typically cannot be easily brushed and tends to have a reduced capacity to hold its style.

This has led to the use of products containing specific conditioning agents and/or agents suited to facilitate hair styling. These products are generally applied separately, after washing and rinsing the hair, for example in the form of hair conditioners or styling mousses, etc.

The formulations of conventional hair conditioners, though ensuring considerable improvements, for example in terms of easy combing when the hair is both wet and dry and of smoothness, do not facilitate hair styling in themselves, for example do not make the hair smooth and straight, especially when it is thick and rough hair. In fact, traditional hair conditioners tend to have a negative effect on many of the characteristics which are associated with the body of the hair: the use of silicones in high concentrations can have a considerable impact on the feeling of cleanliness. The hair seems to be greasy and heavy, with a negative feeling to the touch already on the second day after use, to the extent that the user feels the need to wash his/her hair more frequently. Another common negative effect of traditional hair conditioners is represented by the so-called“build up”, meaning the accumulation of the conditioning agents on the surface of the hair after repeated uses, which causes the hair to become opaque and heavy. One of the most common methods employed to improve the characteristics of the hair and facilitate hair styling was the use of setting agents, for example polymers with high molecular weight. The problem related to the use of setting agents lies in that the latter tend to have a negative effect on the results of conditioning, such as the capacity to produce a feeling of cleanliness with both wet and dry hair. On the contrary, these agents make the hair feel sticky.

The conventional polymers used for hair styling are typically soluble in water. This means that when they are incorporated in a hair conditioner that is successively rinsed off they tend to be washed away together with the hair conditioner, to a more or less considerable extent. Consequently, most hair styling products are applied to the hair after the hair conditioner and then are left on the hair.

Various types of hair styling equipment and tools are known which, however, as shown by the available literature on the subject and experienced by consumers, can cause permanent damage to the hair, since high temperatures modify its chemical structure.

The problem addressed by the present invention concerns the production of compositions for hair conditioners to be rinsed off which are expected to offer advantages in terms of hair styling, and in particular to smooth the hair, producing the same effect which is obtained through the use of hair straighteners but without any negative impact on the conditioning properties of the hair conditioner, as it happens, instead, especially with the use of silicones which tend to make the hair heavy and greasy to the touch, with a tendency to easily get dirty.

The effects and characteristics that the present invention intends to achieve are, in particular, the following: silkiness, hair feeling smooth to the touch, hair that is brighter, more elastic, easier to comb (for example, easier to straighten) and to manage (for example, hair that holds its styling without feeling stiff or giving other negative feelings to the touch). These characteristics inherent to smooth hair are particularly appealing for people having thick, long, heavy hair which tends to easily get curly and to be difficult to manage in terms of both hair styling and volume. The inventor has discovered that, with the pH levels commonly used in cosmesis, meaning levels which are generally included between 3.5 and 7, if a small quantity of tiny mineral particles with zeta potential (electrokinetic potential) included between -19 mV and -41 mV and particle size included between 10 and 200 pm is incorporated in a product, these mineral particles are deposited on the hair surface to neutralize negative charges, mainly concentrating towards the hair ends, which normally are the most damaged parts.

The product which is the subject of the present patent has a high capacity to absorb water, which stabilizes emulsions, helps improve the sensory effect of the emulsions themselves and reduces the negative feeling caused by the emulsions of the known type when applied to the hair, which consequently is oily and greasy to the touch.

The inventor has also discovered that the combined introduction of cross- linked polymerized starches, chemically modified and able to act as rheology modifiers, such as xanthan gum, carrageenan, guar gum, pectins, increases the conditioning effects of the product on dry hair.

Furthermore, the new formulation comprises also at least one non-ionic natural polymer with conditioning effect, with a molecular weight included between 150 and 3000 g/Mol and scarce solubility in water, which is distributed over the entire carrier, made up of a combination of solid particles and a modified starch polymer.

This combination makes it possible to obtain exceptional temporary effects for the hair in terms of smoothing effect: hair that is easy to disentangle when both wet and dry, hydrated, bright. The modified starches used in this formulation are easy to disperse in water and are used for their capacity to act as rheological stabilizers of emulsions, to which they confer compactness, pleasantness to the touch and conditioning properties.

Detailed description of the invention

The present invention concerns a water-based formulation for hair conditioners, comprising:

(i) at least one cationic surfactant;

(ii) at least one fatty alcohol;

(iii) a determined quantity of coated particles, in turn comprising: (a) inorganic solid particles (b) at least one chemically modified polymerized starch;

(iv) at least one non-ionic polymer.

The new composition preferably comprises also at least one fat obtained from the seeds of at least one plant such as, for example, butyrospermum parkii butter or shea butter.

More specifically, said coated particles are present in a quantity included between 0,01 and 10 % in weight, and wherein said coated particles in turn comprise said inorganic solid particles with size included between 10 and 200 pm.

Said at least one non-ionic polymer is of the type with molecular weight included between 150 and 3000 g/Mol.

The present invention provides hair care products with properties that improve the appearance of the hair or enhances said aesthetic properties. These properties can make the hair smooth and silky to the touch as well as straight, and prevent it from becoming greasy and oily.

The inorganic particles have mineral/natural origin and are constituted by small silicate particles and several macro minerals.

One of the objects of the present invention is to make the product pleasant to the touch; the product is fluid, creamy, non-sticky and/or non-oily.

For example, the benefit provided by the chemically modified starches used in this formulation can be observed when the product is applied to the hair and rubbed so as to form a thin film on its surface; in fact, these starches make emulsions“shear thinning” with a rapid recovery of the structure once there is no more mechanical stress: the deposit of the active agents on the hair takes place through a thin emulsion, homogeneous and pleasant to the touch.

The starches used in the present invention can be obtained from any starch source. The starches suitable for use comprise the following, without however being limited to them: wheat starch, corn starch, rice starch, tapioca starch, potato starch, sago starch, pea starch or sweet potato starch. In an embodiment, the starch is wheat, potato, com, rice or tapioca. In another embodiment, the starch is tapioca. In the embodiment that is the subject of this experiment said starch derives from wheat.

The processes which are suitable for the modification of the starch comprise the following, without however being limited to them: etherification, esterification and degradation through the action of acids, oxidants and enzymes. The physical modifications can comprise thermal treatments, grinding, crushing and dextrinization (thermal and acid treatment) and other similar processes. The new cosmetic formulation can be in the form of a hair mask. The possible compositions are illustrated here below:

Example no. 1

Example no. 2

Example no. 3

Structure of the formula

In greater detail, the composition comprises:

i) at least one of said cationic surfactants, preferably having two or more chain lenghts smaller than Cl 2, wherein some typical examples of cationic surfactants included in this group are the following:

o Behentrimonium Chloride

o Distearyldimonium Chloride

o Cetrimonium Chloride

o Dicetyldimonium Chloride

ii) fatty alcohols, of plant, animal or synthetic origin, of the type Cx-Cy or Cx alkyl alcohols with“x” and“y” from 6 to 22, wherein some typical examples of alkyl alcohols included in this group are the following:

o Mirystil Alcohol

o Cetyl Alcohol

o Cetearyl Alcohol

o Stearyl Alcohol

o Behenyl Alcohol

iii) at least one starch-based chemically modified polymer; inorganic particles selected among kaolin, clays, hydroxyapatites, zinc oxides and titanium oxides, zeolites, bentonites, peloids; said starch is a native starch with plant origin (maize, tapioca, wheat, potato); iv) at least one non-ionic polymer, serving as a hair conditioning agent, with molecular weight included between 150 and 3000 g/Mol;

v) at least one fat or fatty oil, preferably obtained from the seeds of a plant, wherein said fat is selected among shea butter or butyrospermum parkii butter, cocoa butter, peanut butter, avocado butter, mango butter.

Production process

The production process comprises the following steps:

introducing demineralized water in a container and heating the latter to 75 - 85°C;

adding a pH regulator, for example citric acid, lactic acid, glycolic acid, followed by the addition, to be carried out slowly, of the modified starch and simultaneous mixing with a mechanical mixer;

- homogenizing the solution in a turbine for 1 minute;

obtaining a uniform solution, continuing to mix and successively adding a non-ionic polymer, such as lauryl/myristyl polyricinoleate, and a cationic surfactant such as, for example, cetrimonium chloride;

- mixing again and adding a cationic surfactant, for example behentrimonium chloride, a fat, for example shea butter (butyrospermum parkii butter) and a fatty alcohol, for example cetearyl alcohol;

checking the temperature, which must always be included in the range of values between 60 and 90 °C; if this is not the case, heating again until reaching a temperature included in the range of values between 60 and 90 °C; waiting for more than 5 minutes;

leaving the solution to cool and, once a temperature value included between 65 and 85 °C, and more preferably between 50 and 80 °C, adding inorganic particles previously mixed with cold water, successively adding cold water;

leaving the solution to cool;

once a temperature value included between 30 and 55 °C and preferably between 35 and 50 °C has been reached, adding a preservative agent, also checking the pH, which must be included in the range of values between 3.0 and 5.0, and preferably between 3.0 and 4.0.

Therefore, with reference to the above description, the following claims are expressed.