Hair care compositions

Details Hair care compositions Hair care compositions

2002-03-13

2003-07-08

Dodson, Shelley A. (Department: 1616)

Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions

Live hair or scalp treating compositions

C424S070270, C424S078020, C424S078080, C424S400000, C424S401000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06589517

ABSTRACT:

This application is a 371 of PCT/IB00/01313 filed Sep. 15, 2000,
The present invention relates to hair care compositions. In particular, it relates to hair care compositions which give good conditioning and have good viscosity characteristics.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Hair is often subjected to a wide variety of insults that can cause damage. These include shampooing, rinsing, drying, heating, combing, styling, perming, colouring, exposure to the elements etc. Thus the hair is often in a dry, rough, lusterless or frizzy condition due to abrasion of the hair surface and removal of the hair's natural oils and other natural conditioning and moisturizing components.
A variety of approaches have been developed to alleviate these conditions. These include the use of ultra mild shampoo compositions, the use of hair conditioning shampoos which attempt to both cleanse and condition the hair from a single product and the use of hair conditioning formulations such as rinse-off and leave-on products. Leave-on hair care formulations provide added advantages over the other approaches. For example, leave-on formulations are more cost effective and work for a longer duration because the conditioning ingredients remain on the hair. They are more convenient because the consumer can use the product at any time and does not have to wait to rinse the product.
Also, the product may be applied to the parts of the hair most in need of the conditioning benefits.
Commonly, the conditioning benefit is provided through the use of hair conditioning agents such as cationic surfactants, cationic polymers, silicone conditioning agents, hydrocarbon and other organic oils and solid aliphatics such as fatty alcohols. These conditioning agents are well known in the art. See, for example, WO-A-97/35542, WO-A-97/35545, WO-A-97/35546, all of which describe the use of conditioning agents in shampoo compositions, GB-A-2,211,192, which describes the use of cationic polysaccharides in a rinse-off conditioning composition and DE-A-4,326,866 which describes a composition for use prior to cutting of the hair that comprises a cationic polysaccharide. For optimal effect the conditioning agent should be evenly distributed through the hair. It is therefore important, especially for leave-on compositions, that the rheology profile be such that the composition is easy to dispense, easy to apply to the hair and easy to work through the hair. However, it can be difficult to formulate compositions that have an excellent rheology profile as well as good conditioning benefits. This problem has been addressed in a number of ways. For example, US-A-5,100,657, US-A-5,104,646 and US-A-5,106,609 all disclose hair conditioning compositions that are based on a substantially non-depositing vehicle base.
It has now been surprisingly found that compositions comprising at least one associative polymer, at least one long chain aliphatic alcohol and at least one cationic surfactant, wherein the weight ratio of alcohol to surfactant is greater than about 1.5:1, have excellent rheology profiles while at the same time provide good conditioning benefits to the hair.
While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the associative polymers form a ‘gel-like’ network with the cationic surfactant and the long chain alcohol. This interaction is thought to be strong enough to provide stability during storage and dispensing while at the same time being weak enough to break down under the shear stresses associated with application to the hair thereby providing a product which is easy to work through the hair.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided hair care compositions comprising:
(a) at least one associative polymer;
(b) at least one long chain aliphatic alcohol;
(c) at least one cationic surfactant;
wherein the weight ratio of (b):(c) is greater than about 1.5:1.
The compositions of the present invention have an excellent rheology profile and deliver good conditioning benefits. The compositions herein are stable during storage while being easy to dispense and apply to the hair.
All percentages herein are by weight of the composition unless otherwise indicated. All ratios are weight ratios unless otherwise indicated. Unless otherwise indicated, all percentages, ratios, and levels of ingredients referred to herein are based on the actual amount of the ingredient, and do not include solvents, fillers, or other materials which may be combined with the ingredient in commercially available products.
All documents referred to herein, including all patents, all patent applications and all articles, are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety unless otherwise indicated.
As used herein the term “leave-on” means a hair care composition that is intended to be used without a rinsing step. Therefore, leave-on compositions will generally be left on the hair until the consumer next washes their hair as part of their cleansing regimen. Leave-on will generally comprise less than about 5% of anionic surfactant.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The hair care compositions of the present invention comprise at least one associative polymer, at least one cationic surfactant and at least one long chain alcohol. The weight ratio of long chain alcohol to cationic surfactant is greater than about 1.5:1, preferably at least about 2:1, more preferably at least about 2.5:1, even more preferably at least about 3:1, still more preferably about 4:1.
Preferably, the compositions of the present invention are leave-on compositions.
Assocaitive Polymers
The compositions of the present invention must comprise at least one associative polymer.
In the compositions according to the present invention preferred associative polymers are nonionic associative polymers having an average molecular weight in the range of from about 2,000 to about 2,000,000, preferably from about 10,000 to about 1,000,000, more preferably from about 20,000 to about 800,000.
Associative polymers are a subclass of water-soluble polymers and are generally water-soluble macromolecular structures having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components. Associative polymers can thicken compositions as a result of intermolecular association between the various water-insoluble hydrophobic components which form a part of, or are bonded to (directly or indirectly) a water-soluble polymer backbone (discussed in detail by G. D. Shay in Polymers in Aqueous Media, Advances in Chemistry series 223, pp467. Edited by J. E. Glass).
Associative polymers suitable for use in the compositions of the present invention include, but are not limited to, hydrophobically modified hydroxyalkyl cellulose polymers such as hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose (HMHEC), hydrophobically modified alkoxylated urethane polymers, such as hydrophobically modified ethoxylated urethane (HEUR), and hydrophobically modified nonionic polyols. Preferred for use herein are hydrophobically modified hydroxyalkyl cellulose polymers and hydrophobically modified alkoxylated urethane polymers and mixtures thereof. More preferred are hydrophobically modified hydroxyalkyl cellulose polymers and mixtures thereof.
Hydrophobically Modified Hydroxyalkyl Cellulose Thickener
Cellulose ethers suitable for use herein, have, prior to hydrophobic modification, a sufficient degree of nonionic substitution selected from methyl, ethyl, hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl to cause them to be water-soluble. The preferred degree of nonionic substitution is in the range of from about 1.8 to about 4.0, preferably from about 2 to about 3, and especially from about 2.2 to about 2.8 by weight. The cellulose ethers are then further substituted with alkyl or alkenyl groups having from about 8 to about 30, preferably from about 10 to about 24, more preferably from about 14 to about 18 carbon atoms in an amount of from about 0.1 to about 1, preferably from about 0.3 to about 0.8, and especially from about 0.4 to about 0.6 weight percent. The cellulose ether to be modified is preferably one of low to medium molecular

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