TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for promoting hair growth, particularly to compositions and methods for promoting growth of eyelash and/or scalp hair. The compositions and methods are capable of making hair much longer and thicker in relatively shorter time without any serious side effects.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Hair loss is a common problem that is, for example, naturally occurring or chemically promoted by the use of certain therapeutic drugs designed to alleviate conditions such as cancer. Often such hair loss is accompanied by lack of hair re-growth that causes partial or full baldness.

The human hair growth cycle is essentially composed of three stages that repeat indefinitely in health follicles. The three known growth stages which have been identified are: (a) the anagen stage, during which the hair grows, (b) the catagen stage, during which the hair follicle prepared for the next phase, the telogen, and the previously growing hair is converted into a resting hair or club hair and (c) the telogen, which is the resting phase during which hair growth ceases completely. Using a mechanism, not yet fully understood, at some point at the end of the cycle, telogenic follicles commence forming new anagens, causing new hair to grow and existing hair to fall out. This growth cycle repeats itself unchanged during the life of the follicle and is essentially identical for villous or terminal hair-producing follicles.

A desire for longer, thicker lashers by women is apparent by the abundance of cosmetic products that aim to temporarily alter the appearance of the user, i.e., mascara or lash extensions. Most of such products produce only temporary results, lasting a few hours to a few weeks. Eyelash transplants have been successful in producing longer lasting results, but the costs of transplantation are often very prohibitive to the general public.

Some products and compositions have been disclosed for enhancing hair growth, for example, an agent with aliphatic carboxylic acid for hair growing as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,761; a hair tonic extract from dong chong xia cao as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769, 231; and active ingredient of Anageline ^® which is recommended in all hair treatment formulations to reduce hair loss and increase hair density; ViaPure-Sabal a Saw Palmetto Extract which is used for reducing hair loss; Propapil™ used for hair strengthening and anti- hair loss treatment. However, scalp conditioners other than minoxidil have limited effect on scalp hair. Minoxidil cannot produce long lasting terminal hair, but only thin villous hair.

Recently, synthetic prostaglandin analogues have been investigated for eyelash enhancement, see U.S. Pat. No. 7,351,404 "Method of Enhancing Hair Growth." These compounds have abundant safety data for usage in the intraocular treatment of glaucoma, but lack rigorous studies on usage for topical application to improve appearance of eyelashes.

However, lash conditioners with prostaglandin have the possible side effect of altering intraocular pressure, e.g., bimataprost, cause irreversible changes in iris color, irritation and vasodilation of conjunctiva causing erythema of the conjunctiva, and cannot be used in pregnancy or woman contemplating child birth.

Therefore, there is a need for development of a hair growth composition and a method having superior hair growth-promoting effects without serious side effects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a composition used for promoting the hair growth. The composition for promoting hair growth of the present invention comprises: (a) 0.15 to 4.5 wt% of panthenyl ethyl ether;

(b) 0.5 to 4.5 wt% of inositol;

(c) 0.015 to 0.9 wt% of milk protein; and

(d) 0.03 to 1.8 wt% of one or more sulfur-rich amino acids on the basis of the total weight of said composition. Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair conditioner comprising the composition mentioned above.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for promoting hair growth by using the composition mentioned above. The hair includes scalp hair, eyelash and eyebrow. The composition and method are capable of making hair much longer and thickeer in relative shorter time without any serious side effects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows the comparison of the length of the eyelash before and after using the eyelash conditioner according to the present invention (the New MD Lash Factor).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Currently, Follucusan™ has become more attractive to the inventor, which is a compound mixture mainly containing amino acids. The recommended dosage of Follicusan™ is 3-5 wt%, and without reported skin irritation at 10 %wt. AGA study file indicates that Follicusan™ retards loss of androgen for dermal cells of hair follicles.

However, so far, there is not data to demonstrate that Follicusan™ is able to result in the hair growth.

Panthenyl ethyl ether, inositol, milk protein (EU name: lactis proteinum) and sulfur- rich amino acids are four biologically active signaling molecules found in Follucusan™, and their contents are 1-5 wt% of panthenyl ethyl ether, 1-5 wt% of inositol, 0.1-1 wt% of milk protein, 0.1-1 wt% acetyl cysteine and 0.1-1% of acetyl methionine, respectively.

Surprisingly, the inventor finds that combination of four ingredients mentioned above in higher level dosage would result in hair growth, especially growth of eyelash without any side effects.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a composition for promoting hair growth, comprising: (a) 0.15 to 4.5 wt%, preferably 0.15 to 0.75 wt% of panthenyl ethyl ether,

(b) 0.15 to 4.5 wt%, preferably 0.15 to 0.75 wt% of inositol,

(c) 0.015 to 0.9 wt%, preferably 0.015 to 0.15 wt% of milk protein,

(d) 0.03 to 1.8 wt%, preferably 0.03 to 0.3 wt% of one or more sulfur-rich amino acids on the basis of the total weight of the said composition. Panthenyl ethyl ether (also named ethylpanthenol) is metabolized to pantothenic acid in the skin. Pantothenic acid is an essential element of coenzyme A, which plays a major role in metabolic processes. Ethylpanthenol is of high significance in hair cosmetics: it improves the condition of damaged hair, increases hair moisture, and protects the hair against damaging environmental influences and other stress factors. Inositol has a metabolism-stimulating effect on the scalp and thus prevents hair damage.

Milk protein is a class of bioactive signaling molecules (cytokines) that are derived from milk. They vitalized the cells of the scalp including the hair follicles and stimulate protein biosynthesis. The composition according to the present invention further comprises 0.01 to 10 wt% of antioxidant on the basis of the total weight of the composition. Preferably, the antioxidant is L-ergothioneine, L-ergothioneine (LE) is a main chemical ingredient of Thiotaine ^® and has the systemic name of 3-(2-thioxo-l,2-dihydroimidazol-4-yl)-2-trimethylammonioprop ionate, which is a unique, naturally occurring antioxidant that is abundant in most plants and animals, e.g., mushrooms, vegetables and grains. LE is not synthesized by the human body and therefore is available only from dietary sources. The avidity by which dietary LE is assimilated by tissues, the specific and significant effects it has on cellular processes, and the degree to which it is conserved by cells suggests an important physiological role for this molecule. It has been shown that LE plays dual role in both energy regulation and in protecting cells from oxidative damage. High concentrations of LE are found in a number of organ systems including liver, kidney, eye, seminal fluid and erythrocyte. LE is a powerful antioxidant that is stronger than CoQlO or Idebenone. The composition according to the present invention may comprise aqueous-alcoholic medium which comprises 10 to 30 wt% of denatured alcohol on the basis of the total weight of the aqueous-alcoholic medium.

The composition according to the present invention also further comprises hair/skin conditioner agent, such as panthenol, biothin, hydrolyzed glycosaminoglycan and proline; humectants, such asss sorbitol, sodium lactate and sodium PCA; emollient, such as C12-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer; buffering agent, such as sodium phosphate and sedum citrate; viscosity adjusting agent, such as sodium chloride; carrier/solvent other than aqueous- alcoholic medium; pH adjuster, such as triethanolamine an citric acid; thickening agent, xucha xanthan gum; plant extract, such as grapeseed extract, rosemary extract, theme extract, kudzu extract and horsechestnut extract; excipient; cosmetic base and/or gelling agent, etc. For example, the composition of the present invention may comprise 0.015 to 0.9 wt%, preferably 0.015 to 0.15 wt% of lactose; 0.015 to 0.99 wt%, preferably 0.015 to 0.165 wt% of sodium citrate and citric acid on the basis of the total weight of the composition. In addition the composition according to the present invention usually contains one or more preservatives selected from the group consisting of phenoxyethanol o about 0.075 to 0.5 wt%, methylparaben of about 0.015 to 0.1 wt%, sodium salt of dehydroacetic acid (Na-salt) of about 0.03 to 0.2 wt% based on the total weight of the composition.

In a preferable embodiment of the present invention, the composition comprises the following ingredients on the basis of the total weight of the composition:

Panthenyl ethyl ether 0.15-4.5 wt%

Inositol 0.15-4.5 wt% milk protein (lactise proteinium 0.015-0.9 wt% lactose 0.015-0.9 wt% acetyl cysteine 0.015-0.9 wt% acetyl methionine 0.015-0.9 wt% sodium citrate 0.015-0.9 wt% citric acid >0.095 wt% denature alcohol 1.5-22.5 wt% In a second aspect, the present invention provides a hair conditioner comprising the composition describe above, preferably a scalp hair conditioner or eyelash conditioner.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method for promoting hair growth comprising administering to a subject the compositions described above. Specifically, the method comprises contacting a subject with the composition described above, e.g., applying the composition described above to the roots of the hair daily with a fine brush. The hair includes scalp hair, eyelash and/or eyebrow.

The further uses and advantages of the present invention will be well explained by following examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, which cannot be believed to limit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

An eyelash conditioner (the New MD Lash Factor) is prepared according to the following formulation (the percentage based on the total weight of the composition): Panthenyl ethyl ether 0.45%

Inositol 0.45% milk protein (lactise proteinium 0.09% lactose 0.09% acetyl cysteine 0.09% acetyl methionine 0.09% sodium citrate 0.09% citric acid >0.015 wt% denature alcohol 10% acrylates/Cio-30 alkylacrylate crosspolymer 0.70% xanthan Gum 0.15%

C 12-C 15 alkyl benzoate 0.50%

Phenoxyethanol 0.54% caprylyl glycol 0.43% hydrolyzed glycosaminoglycan 0.75% triethanolamine 0.52%

D-biotin 0.10%

Panthenol 0.50% prodew 300 0.15% alpha-bisabolol, natural 0.10% Thiotaine 5% water q.s.

The water-alcohol mixture is prepared with stirring, then added are the other components including the active proteins obtained from milk by fractionation. To assess the effectiveness of the eyelash conditioner (the New MD Lash Factor) to improve the appearance of eyelash including the enhanced length and thickness, 12 subjects are enrolled into the study. They are asked to apply a common lash conditioner on the left eyelash and the New MD Lash Factor on the right eyelash. The method of use is to apply the lash conditioners on the bed of the follicles of the right eye upper eyelash nightly with a fine brush. Right eyelash measurements were taken in the medial, middle and lateral regions of both upper and lower lashes using micro calipers. The average of the measurements was then compared before and after 30 days of use. After one month of daily use, all the subjects report enhanced eyelash thickness. The average increase in eyelash length on the right side is 1.73 mm. A 48% average increase in the length of the right eyelash is noted at end of 4 weeks as shown in Fig. 1 table 1 and 2. No irritation or side effects reported.

Table 1 the measurements of eyelash length before using the New MD Lash Factor

In some subjects, the New MD Lash Factor results in longer growth than the existing product containing prostaglandin. For the New MD Lash Factor, the increase is noted approximately 80% at 4 weeks, while approximately 50% for the eyelash conditioner containing the prostaglandin.

EXAMPLE 2

A scalp hair conditioner is prepared according to the following formulation (the percentage based on the total weight of the composition) :

Panthenyl ethyl ether 0.6%

Inositol 0.6% milk protein (lactise proteinium 0.075% lactose 0.075% acetyl cysteine 0.075% acetyl methionine 0.075% dechloroethylcloprostenolam ide 0.03% sodium citrate 0.075% citric acid >0.015 wt%

SD alcohol 40 0.03% denature alcohol 5% acrylates/C io-3o alkylacrylate crosspolymer 0.35%

C _I2 -C is alkyl benzoate 0.50%

Phenoxyethanol 0.54% caprylyl glycol 0.43% hydrolyzed glycosaminoglycan 0.75%

D-biotin 0.10%

Panthenol 0.50%

Cayman Active 0.03%

Triethanolamine 0.52% prodew 300 0.15% alpha-bisabolol, natural 0.10% sodium chloride 0.13%

Thiotaine 5%

Niacin 0.05%

Pyridoxine 0.05% Retinyl palmitate 0.05% jojoba oil 0.01% plant extract 0.5% water q.s.

The water-alcohol mixture is prepared with stirring, then added are the other components including the active proteins obtained from milk by fractionation except dechioroethylcloprostenolamide.

The subjects were asked to apply the scalp serum with various concentratons of prostaglandin (dechioroethylcloprostenolamide from 0 wt% to 0.03wt%), and a placebo is applied on the separate portion of the scalp. Some subjects were followed with the scalp hair conditioner mentioned above of Saw Palmetto Oil (a peripheral testosterone inhibitor), and the other subjects do not. All the agents are applied directly to dry scalp after cleansing. Follow up are done monthly and photographs are taken.

The subjects treated by the scalp hair conditioner according to the present invention are noted to have faster response from 3 month down to 1 month comparing with the subjects treated by prostaglandin only. Average growth rate is 1-1.5 cm per month. Terminal hair was noted after 3 months. No significant difference noted with usage of Saw Palmetto Oil. The results show that the scalp hair conditioner according to the present invention containing prostaglandin expedites the effect on scalp to produce hair.

While the present invention has been described with reference to several preferred example, it is contemplated that various alterations and modifications thereof will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the preceding detailed description. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations and modifications falling with the true spirit and scope of this invention.