ENRICHED HAIR BUILDING CHEMICAL PREPARATION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to cosmetic materials and hair building chemical preparations. More particularly the present invention relates to materials including fibrous hair building chemical preparations and further ingredients typically employed for skin and/or hair care treatments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wigs, toupees or "hair pieces" are traditionally used for covering hair loss. Simpler "cosmetic" approaches allow an individual to minimize the appearance of hair thinning and/or localized hair loss. An exemplary cosmetic approach to date is the application of short colored fibers and/or powder and particles, known as hair-building chemical preparation (HBCP) to the scalp areas in need of treatment. An exemplary HBCP is the product named Toppik® provided by Spencer Forrest Inc. of Connecticut USA having tiny fibers, which intertwine with the natural hair when applied therein. Normally, the HBCP is colored to match the natural hair color of the user and exhibit properties such that static electricity providing for their adhering to the hair strands as well as the scalp. Optionally, hair sprays or other similar compositions are employed in addition to increase the adherence of the fibers to the hair strands and scalp. Common HBCPs are normally compatible with cosmetic or hair care agents including hair growth drugs, such as Minoxidil and Propecia, and/or shampoos containing nutritious ingredients, or ingredients effective in controlling dandruff or the like. However such cosmetic or hair care agents have to be applied separately. Furthermore, although HBCP such as Toppik® normally stay in-

place withstanding wind, rain or perspiration, they are washed off by shampooing.

Therefore a product combining the features of common HBCPs appealing to the visual sense with the features of such cosmetics and hair care agents is benefitial.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention an enriched hair-building chemical preparation (HBCP) and a method for its preparation is provided. Enriched HBCP of the present invention includes common HBCP and tiny grains of benefit agents embedded therein.

As used hereinafter HBCP is a particulate substance including any type of artificially made fibers, powder and/or particles used to enhance the appearance of hair thickness and to disguise the appearance of hair thinness.

Benefit agents are materials that clean, protect, moisturize, nourish and/or condition the hair and skin and warm or cool the skin after having been applied to a targeted area across the scalp of a user. Preferable are known natural and or artificially made materials typically employed for skin or hair care treatments or utilized in creams for skin or hair care, such as any of the following: natural fats including jojoba, soybean, sunflower, rice bran, avocado, almond, olive, sesame, lavender, wintergreen, peach kernel oil and castor. Also applicable are essential oils such as fish oils, menthol, jasmine, camphor, allovera, white cedar, bitter orange peel, cinnamon, bergamot, citrus calamus, pine, lavender, bay, clove, eucalyptus, lemon, thyme, peppermint, rose, sage, menthol, cineole, eugenol, citral, citronella, borneol, linalool, geraniol, evening primrose, camphor, thymol, spirantol, pinene, limonene and terpenoid oils. Waxes are applicable as well, for example camauba, beeswax, lanolin and derivatives thereof. Other possible ingredients are natural ingredients such as crushed dried vegetable and or fruits and or honey and fruit extracts such as aloe vera gel, or powdery extract such as papaya extract, mango extract, melon extract and vanilla planifolia extract, grape seed extract, ginseng extract, and yogurt. Nourishing compounds such as collagen, vitamins and/or salts can also be used, such as vitamins A, B, C and E, and or salts and minerals from the Dead Sea. Substances among the above mentioned benefit agents, which are in a liquid state at temperatures in the range of ambient atmosphere, say lower

than 50 ⁰ C, are further impregnated in neutral powder such as talcum powder, to form grains of benefit agents according to the method of the present invention. Such soaked powders are prepared by keeping a predefined weights ratio between the neutral powder and the liquid agent. Dyes typically used for coloring hair are optionally added to the grains of the benefit agents such that they fuse with the fibrous HBCP and the natural hair.

To prepare an enriched HBCP in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention a first predefined quantity of common HBCP, such as Toppik® is homogeneously mixed with a second predefined quantity of particulate benefit agent. The benefit agent employed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention includes powdery fruit extracts and minerals from the Dead Sea. Optionally aromatic materials are further added to the particulate matter as known. The particulate matter of the benefit agent is fine grained such that the size of the grains including those containing fragrances or dyes do not exceed 1 millimeter and preferably are in the range of a few micrometer (μm) up to a few hundreds of μm.

An enriched HBCP of the invention is typically stored in containers having a perforated cover as known. For applying an enriched HBCP of the invention onto a thinning area across a scalp of a user, he or she dispenses a desired quantity by shaking the container. The tiny fibers of the HBCP provide for intertwining them as well as the grains of the benefit agent with the natural hair of a user. Alternatively a dispensing device such as the device disclosed in a US patent US7, 140,522 which is incorporated herein by reference, can be employed. The disclosed device has a container for storing the enriched HBCP, to which a pipe having a nuzzle disposed at its proximal end is connected. Means for pressurizing gas is further connected to the container. The pressurized gas suspends the enriched HBCP, which is further conducted through the pipe towards the nuzzle. The suspended HBCP is sprayed through the orifice of the nuzzle thereby being applied to the targeted area.