Skin cleanser with photosensitive dye

Details Skin cleanser with photosensitive dye Skin cleanser with photosensitive dye

2000-04-14

2001-07-31

Dodson, Shelley A. (Department: 1616)

Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions

Preparations characterized by special physical form

Cosmetic, antiperspirant, dentifrice

C514S844000, C514S846000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06267976

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a soap product for cleansing the skin. More particularly, this invention relates to a skin cleanser that does not visibly stain surfaces when left as a residue on such surfaces. Specifically, this invention relates to a skin cleanser containing a photosensitive dye that fades, or otherwise visually disappears, when it is exposed to sunlight or fluorescent light. The dye is stable, i.e., does not fade, in a light inhibited environment such as, for example, in a dispenser.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Skin cleansing formulations are generally well known in the art and typically include one or more active cleaning agents or detergents as well as any of several known antimicrobial agents to disinfect as well as cleanse the skin, particularly the hands. Other additives commonly used in such products include surfactants, foaming agents, solvents, thickening agents, moisturizers, vitamins, fragrances, and, as discussed herein, dyes or colorants.
Skin cleaning compositions are commonly found in kitchens, bathrooms and restrooms to be applied to the hands or skin of the user to cleanse or otherwise rid or disinfect the skin of any dirt, grime or germs which may be present on the hands or skin of the user. Today, many of these skin cleansers are liquid soaps and gel-like products which are readily accessible to the user by simply pouring, spraying or otherwise dispensing the product from a dispenser or other container mounted on a wall or placed on a countertop near the sink or other wash basin. These liquid products typically are of a color and fragrance that the user will associate with cleansing or with overall good health. For example, some soap products may be orange in color and have the fragrance of a orange, thereby appealing to the user's senses as providing a fruity, healthy product to the skin. Alternatively, some liquid skin cleansers may be pink in color wherein the user may associate that the product is offering some sort of medicinal quality. Of course, other colors associated with healthy products are also often employed.
Regardless of the color and fragrance employed, users such as children often attempt to use too much skin cleanser. As a result, excess skin cleanser is released from the dispenser and deposited on any of a variety of inanimate surfaces such as counters, floors, tiles and related fixtures. These surfaces can be made from any of a variety of materials including wood, marble, stone, ceramic, formica, and other well known composite materials. Unfortunately, these surfaces usually are not the same color as the skin cleanser. Thus, cleaning personnel are often wiping the counters, tiles, and fixtures to remove the excess skin cleanser that can be clearly seen on the surface due to the differences in color.
Where the excess skin cleanser is not removed over an extended period of time, a stain or unsightly residue may result. Skin cleansing compositions often contain compounds such as dyes or colorants which, if left untreated, may leave a stain or dark residue on certain surfaces. This is especially true of surfaces beneath fixed dispensers, where excess cleanser may drip onto the surface repeatedly before being removed.
Thus, a need exists for a skin cleanser that will not leave a colored residue on surfaces if the residue is left there for any appreciable amount of time.
Akin to this problem was the problem faced by surface cleaners. In that instance, the problem was that dyes were needed in the surface cleaner to visually determine and insure that a particular surface had been contacted by the cleaner and disinfectant. If the user did not remove all of the cleaner from the surface however, a colored residue would still remain. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,965,063, 5,110,492, 5,057,303, and 5,064,635 all describe overcoming this problem by providing a cleaning composition for surfaces having a pH sensitive dye which includes a germicide and disappears upon exposure to air. While such a pH sensitive dye might be useful in a surface cleanser, it is not particularly useful in a skin cleansing composition since the dispensers currently employed in the skin cleansing industry are typically not airtight. Thus, the dye would disappear even before it is dispensed.
Photosensitive dyes are generally known in the art. These dyes have commonly been used to determine whether a product has been exposed to light so as to warn the user of a particular hazard. Moreover, the use of these dyes typically require that the dye change from a clear, transparent state to a colored state, thereby providing a visual warning to the user. The incorporation and use of a photosensitive dye in a skin cleanser is believed, heretofore, unknown.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a skin cleansing product containing a photosensitive dye.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a skin cleansing product, as above, that fades or otherwise disappears when exposed to light.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a skin cleansing product, as above, that will leave no colored residue on a surface upon exposure to light.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a skin cleansing product that includes the aesthetic appearance desired of skin cleansing products with respect to color, but which offers a change in aesthetic appearance if not used in the skin cleansing environment.
At least one or more of the foregoing objects, together with the advantages thereof over the existing art, which shall become apparent from the specification which follows, are accomplished by the invention as hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, the present invention provides a skin cleansing composition that includes a photosensitive dye that fades rapidly when exposed to light.
The present invention also provides a method for creating a more aesthetic environment on a surface where a skin cleansing product has been deposited. The method includes providing the skin cleansing product with a photosensitive dye and exposing the skin cleansing product to natural or artificial light when present on the surface such that the color of the skin cleansing product fades and disappears.


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