FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to nail polish remover and conditioner and is particularly related to a composition which exhibits the dual properties of nail polish remover and nail conditioner. More particularly, the present invention is directed to such nail polish remover-nail conditioner compositions which are in gel form.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typically, most, if not all, present day nail polish removers are primarily acetone-based liquids. For example, a representative nail polish remover composition contains acetone, ethyl alcohol, hydroxypropyl cellulose, paraffin wax and, optionally, fragrances and colorants. As used, the nail polish remover is applied to the nail surface by a cosmetic brush or the like to form a coating on the nail surface. After a few minutes, this coating is wiped off with a bleached cloth and the nails are washed clean. However, unless the nail polish remover is carefully prepared, applied and removed, the nails may turn white and become cosmetically unappealling. This problem arises basically because present day nail polish remover compositions do not contain an effective nail conditioning ingredient.

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Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel composition which serves the dual function of removing the nail polish and conditioning the nail after the nail polish has been removed from the nail surface.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a combination nail polish remover and nail conditioning composition which is low in toxicity and which affords a protective conditioning coating on the nail surface after the nail polish remover is wiped clean from the nail surface. It is also an object of this invention to provide such compositions in gel form.

The foregoing and other objects and novel features of this invention will be more fully understood from the ensuing detailed description and the illustrative examples.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A combination nail polish remover-conditioner composition is provided which, after applying to the nail surface and wiping it clean, imparts a smooth protective conditioning coating thereon and prevents discoloration and bleaching of the nail surface. The composition basically comprises acetone, hydroxypropyl cellulose and a tallow polyamine, the latter serving as the nail conditioning ingredient of the composition. Suitable tallow polyamines are

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polyoxyethylene tallow amine and polyoxythylene tallow diamine, each having an oxyethylene degree of polymerization of from about 5 to about 30, preferably from about 10 to about 20. Optionally, the compositions of this invention may contain a lower alkanol such as ethyl alcohol, a natural or synthetic wax, preferably a paraffin wax, a fragrance and a colorant. Preferably, these compositions are made in gel form to avoid the known problem of acetone toxicity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention, it has been found that the incorporation of certain tallow polyamines to acetone-based nail polish remover compositions imparts nail conditioning property to the resulting compositions. Consequently, the tallow polyamine-containing compositions exhibit the dual functions of nail polish remover and nail polish conditioner which serves to protect the nail surface from overbleaching or discoloration.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the nail polish remover/nail conditioner compositions are prepared in gel form. This reduces the problem of toxicity, which is characteristic of the liquid acetone-based nail polish remover formulations, without adversely effecting the relative ease of application of the composition to the nail surface.

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The composition of this invention contains, as the essential ingredients, a solvent, e.g., acetone, a thickener, e.g., hydroxypropyl cellulose and a nail conditioning ingredient, e.g., certain tallow polyamines to be further described hereinafter in detail. In addition, and optionally, the present composition may contain ethyl alcohol, a wax as well as fragrance and colorant (e.g., dye or pigment), if desired.

While acetone is the solvent of choice in the practice of this invention, other solvents or mixed solvents may be used. These include, for example, mixtures of methylene with ethyl alcohol; 1,1,1- trichloroethane with ethyl alcohol; methyl alcohol with acetone; acetone with isopropanol; and butanol- ethyl alcohol-acetone mixture. Acetone alone is generally preferred because of its low toxicity and because its odor is generally acceptable to most people.

The amount of acetone, or its equivalent solvent, in the novel compositions of the present invention may vary from about 30 to about 99 parts by weight, preferably from about 75 to about 94 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the total composition. Hereinafter, all parts by weight are based on total weight of the composition unless otherwise specified.

The inclusion of a lower alkanol such as ethyl alcohol in the nail polish remover-nail conditioner composition of this invention serves to increase the solubility of the hydroxypropyl cellulose in the composition. Moreover, the presence of ethyl alcohol in the composition inhibits the solubilizing action of acetone on the nail.

The amount of alkanol in the composition may vary from 0 to about 55 parts by weight, preferably from about 3 to about 10 parts by weight.

The incorporation of hydroxypropyl cellulose in the novel compositions of this invention serves to repress evaporation of the acetone or the solvent and increases the viscosity of the resulting mixture. Nail polish remover-nail conditioner compositions with increased viscosity exhibit improved adhesion to the nail while effectively dissolving the oily and greasy substances on the nail surface.

The preferred hydroxypropyl cellulose exhibits a viscosity of from about 6000 to about 10,000 cps when used as 2% aqueous solution at 20 C. It is available in powder form and is used whenever it is desired to impart high viscosity and uniformity to the resulting ge.. Lower viscosity types of hydroxypropyl cellulose are also available and may be used, but they are not as effective in imparting high viscosity or uniformity to the resulting gel. If desired, a mixture of the

J__...-.« _ _ «j _ __. ώπ _t T

two types of hydroxypropyl cellulose may be used to obtain the necesary degree of gel thickness and uniformity.

In general, and depending on the specific hydroxypropyl cellulose which is used, its amount can vary from about 1 to about 10 parts by weight, preferably from about 2 to about 5 parts by weight. If the concentration of hydroxypropyl cellulose is too small; e.g., below about 1 part by weight, the viscosity of the resulting liquid composition will be too low. Consequently, the liquid composition will run off more quickly from the nail surface and acetone will evaporate more readily. On the other hand, if this concentration is too high; e.g., more than about 10 parts by weight, the resulting composition will be too viscous and thus difficult to apply, with less effective solubilizing action on the oil and grease on the nail surface.

Other thickeners which can be used in the practice of this invention include ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose and the amine salts of polyacrylic acid graft polymer (e.g., Carbopol made by B.F. Goodrich Company) with a tallow amine. These thickeners may be used in lieu of, or preferably in admixture with, hydroxypropyl cellulose.

As was previously mentioned, the composition of this invention may include a wax, such as, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, shoe wax, beeswax, whale wax,

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montain wax, hydrogenated castor oil, polyethylene wax, and the like. However, paraffin wax is preferred due to its ready availability and relative low cost.

The amount of wax in the composition may vary from about 0.1 to about 5 parts by weight, preferably from about 0.1 to about 3 parts by weight. The wax used in the composition of this invention forms a film with the hydroxypropyl cellulose and thus serves to repress evaporation of the acetone solvent.

It is essential that the composition of this invention include a nail conditioning ingredient, such as, for example, a tallow polyamine in order to exhibit the desired nail conditioning property. Without the tallow polyamine, the application of the composition for removal of the nail polish causes the nail to be discolored (turn white) from acetone. With the tallow polyamine, an oily conditioner remains on the nail after the acetone has evaporated and hence the nail surface will be protected from discoloration or bleaching.

Suitable tallow polyamines which are effective as nail conditioning ingredients in the compositions of this invention are polyoxyethylene tallow amine and polyoxyethylene diamine having oxyethylene degree of polymerization of from about 5 to about 30, preferably from about 10 to about 20. One such compound, i.e., polyoxyethylene (POE)-15 tallow amine, available from Protamein Chemicals, U.S.A. constitutes one of the

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8 most preferred nail conditioning additives in the practice of this invention. In this compound, the numeral 15 indicates the degree of polymerization of the oxyethylene units. If the degree of polymerization of the oxyethylene units is too low, for example, it is 2 or 3, the resulting nail polish remover-conditioner composition will be too oily. On the other hand, if the degree of polymerization of the oxyethylene is too high, for example, it exceeds about 30, the resulting gel will be too viscous and hence more difficult to apply to the nail and is less effective.

POE tallow amines are nonionic surfactants exhibiting pseudoacationic characteristics with the ability of removing adhesive soil and imparting softness, smoothness and brightness to the nail surface. They are effective emulsifying agents as well as nail conditioners.

In lieu of the tallow polyamines, or admixture therewith, other nail conditioning ingredients may be used in the compositions of this invention. Thus, one can employ polyoxyethylene alk ^' ylamine represented by the following general formula:

- — -..- ^r ϋTΞ SHE

wherein R is an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms and x + Y is an integer having a value of from about 5 to about 30, preferably from about 10 to about 20. Such alkylamines which are readily available include palmamine, soybean amine, tallow amine and steric amine.

Another nail conditioning ingredient which can be used is polyoxyethylene polyamine which can be represented by the following general formula:

wherein R is an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms and x + y + z is an integer having a value of from about 5 to about 30, preferably from about 10 to about 30.

The amount of tallow polyamine, or other nail conditioning ingredients hereinbefore described, may vary from about 1.5 to about 10 parts by weight, preferably from about 1 to about 5 parts by weight. The amount used must, in general, be sufficient to

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¹ 0.. prevent the nail surface from turning white without deceaseing the effectiveness of the nail polish remover.

The following examples will serve to illustrate the practice of this invention and the advantages of using a combination nailpolish remover-conditioner composition. In these examples, gel uniformity was determined visually. Non-uniform gels show a mass of gel floating in a liquid, or uneveness (concave or convex) on the gel surface. Such gel mass changes in viscosity after a period of time and is therefore considered to be unstable.

Gel viscosity was determined by a Brookfield type viscometer at 25 C.

Example

This example illustrates the advantages of using tallow polyamine in the compositions of this invention. In the samples which were tested, the gel compositions did not contain ethyl alcohol, paraffin or fragrance. In all cases, 2-cyanoacrylate base adhesive was coated on the nail, dried and the gel was then applied to the nail and wiped off after 5-10 minutes with a cloth to check the presence of white residue on the nail surface as well as its appearance. The results are shown in Table 1 below:

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Table 1

Sample A Sample B Sample C

Acetone* 1 00 1 00 1 00

Hydroxypropyl cellulose* 3.5 3.5 3.5

POE-15 Tallow Polyamine* 1.5

Viscosity, cps 35,000 32,000 62,000

Gel Uniformity good good excellent

Strippability of nail polish good good good

Strippability of 2-cyanoacrylate good excellent good

White residue on nail surface significant slight none

*Parts by weight

As shown in Table 1 , significant residue and discoloration are observed on the nail when no oil conditioning ingredient (POE-15 tallow polyamine) is included in the composition (Sample A). Noticeable decrease in white residue is observed when a slight

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12 amount of the oil conditioning ingredient is included in the composition (Sample B). When this quantity is increased to 8 parts by weight (Sample C) , no white residue or discoloration was observed on the nail. Moreover, the increased amount of the oil conditioning ingredient resulted in increased gel viscosity and inproved gel uniformity.

Example 2

In this example, the properties of the resulting gel composition were investigated by varying the amount of the hydroxypropyl cellulose. The results are shown in Table 2 below:

Table 2

Sample A Sample B Sample C Sample D

Acetone* 100 100 100 100

Hydroxypropyl

Cellulose* 1.0 1.0 3 4

POE-15 Tallow

Polyamine* 0 0 1.5 1.5

Paraffin wax 0 0.2 0 0

Viscosity, cps 10,000 10,000 27,000 47,000

Gel Uniformity poor poor good good

Strippability of 2-cyanoacrylate poor excellent good good

White residue on nail significant significant slight significant

*Parts by weight

The results in Table 2 show that a satisfactory gel uniformity is obtained when the hydroxypropyl cellulose is used in sufficient amount (3 parts by weight in Sample C). If the amount is too small (1 part by weight in Samples A and B), significant white residue is observed on the nail. Similarly, if the amount of hydroxypropyl cellulose is too high (4 parts by weight in Sample D) , significant white residue is again observed on the nail since the gel becomes too viscous to penetrate the nail. This, as the amount of the hydroxypropyl cellulose is increased about 4 parts by weight, it becomes necessary to increase the amount of the oil conditioning ingredient to counterbalance the adverse effect of increased amount of thickener.

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Example 3

This example illustrates the use of amine salt of polyacrylic acid graft polymer as a thickener in the composition of this invention. The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3

Sample A Sample B Sample C

Acetone* 1 00 1 00 1 00

POE-15 Tallow Polyamine* 10 10 15

Polyacrylic graft* 1.5 1.5 1.5

Ethyl Alcohol* 10 10

Viscosity, cps 25,000 no change

(slightly (transparent) turbid gel)

*Parts by weight

(The polyacrylic graft copolymer was Carbopol available from B.F. Goodrich Company)

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All three compositions were coated on nail and then wiped off with a cloth after a few minutes. The residual gel on the nail was sticky to the touch. Sample C was more adherent than samples A or B indicating that the polyacrylic graft copolymer reacts with tallow polyamine to form an amine salt, an adhesive, preventing the stripping function.

When one part by weight of Sample A was mixed with 10 parts by weight of a gel using hydroxypropyl cellulose rather than the amine salt of polyacrylic graft polymer, and the nail was coated with such a mixture and wiped clean, stickiness disappeared. This suggests that while polyacrylic graft copolymer alone may not be the ideal thickener, it may be used effectively in combination with hydroxypropyl cellulose.

In forming the composition of this invention, and in order to obtain gel uniformity, it is preferable to add the various ingredients to acetone while the entire mixture is mixed by a high speed mixer. During the addition of hydroxypropyl cellulose powder to acetone, it is recommended that the temperature be kept as low as possible in order to prevent a sudden increase in viscosity of the mixture. Otherwise, the powder becomes entrapped in the gel and prevents the formation of a uniform mass of gel even by prolonged agitation.

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16

While the invention has heretofore described and illustrated with tallow polyamine as the preferred nail conditioning ingredent, other oils may be used in lieu of, or in admixture with the tallow polyamine provided that such oils, when used in the proper concentrations, exhibit mutual solubility in the solvent (e.g., acetone) and the thickener (e.g., hydroxypropyl cellulose). Also, when it is desired to add an oily touch to the nail, a small quantity of a mineral oil such as paraffin oil may be included in the composition.

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