Hair Treatment

Additive for hair treatment compositions

Hair Treatment Abstract
An additive for hair treatment compositions includes soluble animal keratin in admixture with hydrolyzed animal collagen and silk amino acids.

Hair Treatment Claims
What is claimed is:

1. An additive for water-based hair treatment compositions, comprising a mixture of:

a water soluble animal keratin with a molecular weight above about 100,000;

a water soluble hydrolyzed animal collagen with a specific gravity above about one, present in an amount between about ten and about 100 percent by weight, based upon the weight of said animal keratin in said mixture; and

a silk amino acid with a specific gravity above about one, present in an amount between about eight and about 100 percent by weight, based upon the weight of said animal keratin in said mixture.

2. An additive according to claim 1 wherein the animal keratin has a molecular structure which approximates that of human hair.

3. An additive according to claim 2 wherein the hydrolyzed animal collagen is cocodimonium hydrolyzed animal collagen.

4. An additive according to claim 2 wherein the silk amino acid is present in an admixture derived by the hydrolysis of silk fiber.

5. An additive according to claim 4 wherein said water soluble hydrolyzed animal collagen is present in an amount between about ten and about 25 weight percent.

6. An additive according to claim 5 wherein said silk amino acid is present in an amount between about eight and about 25 weight percent.

7. An additive according to claim 1 wherein said animal keratin is present in an aqueous solution, containing about ten to about 20 percent active ingredients, said animal collagen is present in a liquid preparation containing between about 30 and about 60 percent solids and said silk amino acid is present as an aqueous solution containing about 20 to about 40 percent solids.

8. An additive according to claim 7 wherein said keratin-containing aqueous solution is present in an amount between about 60 and about 90 weight percent, said collagen containing liquid is present in an amount between about five and about 20 weight percent and said amino acid-containing solution is present in an amount between about five and about 20 weight percent.

Hair Treatment Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field:

This invention pertains to hair treatment. It is specifically directed to an additive for water-based hair treatment compositions and provides a protein-based additive including keratin, collagen and amino acids.

2. State of the art:

The formulation of hair treatment compositions such as shampoos; setting lotions, sprays and dressings; tonics and conditioners; colorants; permanent wave solutions and strengtheners; and straighteners is a well developed art. The textbook Harry's Cosmeticology, edited by J. B. Wilkinson and R. J. Moore, Chemical Publishing Company, New York (Seventh edition, 1982) includes an approximately 200 page section devoted to human hair, its structure, nutrition and care. This text discloses the common constituents of all of the aforementioned hair treatment compositions and the practical considerations involved in their formulation and application. Each of the several chapters devoted to specific categories of compositions; e.g., shampoos, ends with a bibliography of references pertinent to that category. Other portions of the book describe product ingredients; e.g., surface active agents, antioxidants and emulsions, as well as their selection and incorporation in hair treatment products. This book and its bibliographies disclose the state of the art pertaining to the manufacture and application of hair treatment products and are incorporated by reference to the extent that their respective teachings are applicable to this disclosure.

The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, Inc. of Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005 publishes a CTFA cosmetic ingredient dictionary. References in this disclosure to CTFA names correspond to the names listed in the third edition (1982) of that dictionary.

Among the constituents which are currently available to formulators of hair treatment compositions is a class known as "soluble keratin." The materials of this class which are of most interest to hair treatment are those referred to within the CTFA adopted name system of nomenclature as "soluble animal keratin" which have molecular weights greater than about 100,000. An exemplary such material is that sold under the trademark "KERASOL" by Croda, Inc., 183 Madison Avenue, New York, New York. "KERASOL" has a molecular weight of about 125,000, and a structure which approximates that of human hair. It is soluble in water and is typically supplied as a 15 percent active ingredients aqueous solution. It has been incorporated into a wide range of water-based hair care products, including permanent wave solutions, shampoos and conditioners, although in shampoos and conditioners it will not covalently bond to the hair. Nevertheless, its film-forming properties are known to improve the body and sheen, as well as the manageability and combing characteristics, of hair.

Another family of protein compounds used by formulators of hair treatment compositions is the protein quaternary compounds with specific gravities greater than about 1. Croda, Inc. supplies a representative such compound under the trademark "CROQUAT M." This product is a viscous amber liquid containing about 40 to about 45 percent by volume cocoyl quaternized protein, the remaining volume consisting of volatiles. It is water soluble, and in 10 percent aqueous solution has a pH in the range of about 4 to about 5.5. Its CTFA adopted name is "cocodimonium hydrolyzed animal collagen."

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been found that the benefits of soluble animal keratin for hair treatment can be enhanced by incorporating it in admixture with hydrolyzed animal collagen and silk amino acids, in appropriate proportions, in a variety of water-based hair treatment compositions; most notably shampoos, conditioners, and permanent wave preparations.

The benefits of this invention can be realized by formulating an additive comprising the keratin, collagen and amino acid constituents for subsequent blending with available "off-the-shelf" hair treatment products. Such an additive has particular application in a commercial hair styling setting. A small amount of the additive may be added, for example, to a conventional permanent wave solution just prior to application. Even though the permanent wave solution is processed in accordance with its usual manufacturer-recommended procedure, the presence of the additive improves the resulting hair strength and volume.

In other circumstances, the additive or its ersatz equivalent may be incorporated directly into the hair treating composition as distributed at retail or to the trade. Shampoos and conditioners are enhanced by the inclusion of the keratin-collagen-amino acid admixture of this invention, whether preformulated or by the inclusion in the composition of the individual constituents of the additive. The term "additive" is used in this disclosure and the appended claims to include both modes of formulation.

The principal ingredient of the admixture may be regarded as water-soluble animal keratin, e.g. the composition commercially sold under the trademark "KERASOL." On a weight percent basis, the collagen and amino acid constituents are each present in an amount of between about ten and about 100 percent of the amount of keratin present in the admixture. The collagen constituent should be a water-soluble hydrolyzed animal collagen such as that sold under the trademark "CROQUAT M," and typically comprises about ten to about 25 percent by weight of the additive. The amino acid constituent should predominate in the amino acids found in natural silk, and typically comprises about eight to about 25 percent by weight of the additive. The liquid sold under the trademark "CROSILK LIQUID" is considered to represent a preferred source of silk amino acids.

Each of the three essential constituents of the additive is normally supplied as an aqueous solution or water soluble liquid. The solids, or active ingredients of these liquids, are generally about ten to about 20 percent in the case of keratin, approximately twice that amount in the case of the amino acids, and about three times that amount (about 30 to about 60 percent) in the case of collagen. Moreover, other constituents may be included in the additive in accordance with conventional formulation techniques to contribute other desirable characteristics.