Antiperspirant cream compositions comprising fatty alcohol gellants

Abstract

Disclosed are antiperspirant cream compositions which have a penetration force value of from about 20 gram-force to about 500 gram-force, and comprise (a) from about 20% to about 80% by weight of a volatile silicone material; (b) from about 5% to about 35% of a particulate antiperspirant active; and (c) from about 0.1% to about 8% by weight of a gellant material selected from the group consisting of fatty alcohols having from about 20 to about 60 carbon atoms, and combinations thereof. The compositions preferably further comprise a residue masking material.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to antiperspirant cream compositions with improved physical stability and cosmetics. In particular, the present invention relates to antiperspirant cream compositions comprising fatty alcohol gellants in combination with volatile silicone emollients.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many types of topical antiperspirant products that are commercially available or otherwise known in the antiperspirant art. Most of these products are formulated as sprays, roll-on liquids, creams, or solid sticks, and comprise an astringent material, e.g. zirconium or aluminum salt, incorporated into a suitable topical carrier. These products are designed to provide effective perspiration and odor control while also being cosmetically acceptable during and after application onto the auxillary area or onto other areas of the skin. Aerosol sprays and solid sticks have been especially popular with consumers.

Although historically less preferred by consumers, antiperspirant creams remain an effective alternative to antiperspirant sprays and solid sticks. These creams can be applied by convention means, or packaged into topical dispensers to make topical application more efficient and less messy. Perspiration and odor control provided by these products can be excellent. Many of these creams, however, are cosmetically unacceptable to a large number of antiperspirant users. Application of these creams can be messy, difficult to spread and wash off, and even when a cream applicator is employed, the applied areas often feel wet or sticky for several minutes after application. Many consumers have therefore preferred antiperspirant sticks for ease of administration and drier skin feel immediately after application, although the antiperspirant sticks typically leave an undesirably high residue on the skin.

One method for making more cosmetically acceptable antiperspirant creams involves dispersion of particulate antiperspirant actives in a mixture of volatile and nonvolatile solvents and silicones. These antiperspirant creams contain conventional thickening agents (e.g., bentonite clays, hectorite clays, colloidal or fumed silicas) to help maintain dispersion of the particulate antiperspirant actives over an extended period of time. The volatile silicone component provides a drier skin fell upon application to the skin, and when combined with the nonvolatile solvent provides an effective vehicle within which particulate antiperspirant actives are delivered to and deposited on the skin. However, the conventional thickening agents used in these systems contribute a grainy texture to the product, and furthermore cannot maintain stable particulate dispersions over extended periods of time when higher volatile silicone concentrations are used. Higher volatile silicone concentrations would be desirable to further reduce stickiness, improve dry-down times after application onto skin, improve ease of spreading, and improve wash-off characteristics.

It has now been found that the antiperspirant cream compositions of the present invention, which comprise a volatile silicone solvent, particulate antiperspirant activities, and select fatty alcohol gellants, provides a novel antiperspirant cream composition which delivers effective antiperspirant and odor control, and improved cosmetics (reduced stickiness, reduced dry-down times, improved ease of spreading, improved wash-off, reduced grittiness) during and after application onto skin. The fatty alcohol gellant material described herein, when combined with volatile silicone solvents, provides a stable structure containing a dispersion of particulate antiperspirant actives, even when higher concentrations of volatile silicones are used. These antiperspirant creams do not require the use of particulate thickening agents to establish product stability, e.g. to maintain over an extend period of time a dispersion of the particulate antiperspirant actives.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel antiperspirant cream composition, and further to provide such a composition that does not necessarily require the use of particulate thickening agents, and further to provide such a composition that remains stable over extended periods even when comprised of higher concentrations of volatile silicone materials, and further to provide such a composition which provides effective antiperspirant and deodorant performance in a cosmetically acceptable cream composition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to antiperspirant compositions in a cream formulation which have a penetration force value to from about 20 gram-force to about 500 gram-force. These compositions comprise (a) from about 20% to about 80% by weight of a volatile silicone solvent; (b) from about 5% to about 35% by weight of a particulate antiperspirant active; (c) from about 0.1% to about 8% by weight of a gellant material selected from the group consisting of fatty alcohols having from about 20 to about 40 carbon atoms, and combinations thereof. The present invention is also directed to a method of treating and preventing perspiration in humans by using these compositions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The antiperspirant cream compositions of the present invention are liquid dispersion of particulate solids in a continuous water-insoluble or lipophilic phase. These cream compositions are suitable for use in roll-on or topical cream applicators, or by other conventional means of topical application, for depositing antiperspirant material onto human skin.

The antiperspirant cream compositions of the present invention have a penetration force value of from about 20 gram-force to about 500 gram-force, at 27.degree. C., 15% relative humidity, as measured with a TZ-XT2 Texture Analyzer, manufactured by Texture Technology Corp. Scarsdale, N.J., U.S.A. This value is the force required to move a standardized 45.degree. cone through the product, for a distance of 10 mm, at a rate of 2 mm/second. The angled cone is also available from Texture Technology Corp., as part number TA-15, and has a total cone length of about 24.7 mm, an angled cone length about 18.3 mm, a maximum diameter of the angled surface of the cone of about 15.5 mm. The cone is a smooth, stainless steel construction and weighs about 17.8 grams. The antiperspirant cream composition of the present invention does not include solid antiperspirant stick compositions, which solid sticks have force penetration values substantially greater than about 500 gram-force, typically above about 1000 gram-force).

Preferred application of the antiperspirant compositions include roll-on application, and topical application using a cream applicator device. For roll-on application, the composition of the present invention has a penetration force value of from 20 gram-force to about 100 gram-force, preferably from about 35 gram-force to about 70 gram-force. For use as a conventional antiperspirant cream, or for use in a cream applicator device, the composition has a penetration force value of from about 100 gram-force of about 500 gram-force, preferably from about 120 gram-force to about 250 gram-force, more preferably from about 140 gram-force to about 200 gram-force.

The antiperspirant compositions of the present invention can comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the essential elements and limitations of the invention described herein, as well as any of the additional ingredients, components, or limitations described herein.

As used herein, all parts, percentages and ratios are by weight of the total composition unless otherwise specified.

Volatile Silicone Solvent

The antiperspirant composition of the present invention comprises a volatile silicone solvent at concentrations ranging from about 20% to about 80%, preferably from about 30% to about 70%, more preferably from about 45% to about 70%, by weight of the composition. The volatile silicone of the solvent may be cyclic or linear.

"Volatile silicone" as used herein refers to those silicone materials which have measurable vapor pressure under ambient conditions. Nonlimiting examples of suitable volatile silicones are described in Todd et al., "Volatile Silicone Fluids for Cosmetics", Cosmetics and Toiletries, 91:27-32 (1976), which descriptions are incorporated herein by reference. Preferred volatile silicone materials are those having from about 3 to about 7, preferably from about 4 to about 5, silicone atoms.

Cyclic volatile silicones are preferred for use in the antiperspirant compositions herein, and include those represented by the formula: ##STR1## wherein n is from about 3 to about 7, preferably from about 4 to about 5, most preferably 5. These cyclic silicone materials will generally have viscosities of less than about 10 centistokes at 25.degree. C.

Linear volatile silicone materials suitable for use in the antiperspirant compositions include those represented by the formula: ##STR2## wherein n is from about 1 to about 7, preferably from about 2 to about 3. These linear silicone materials will generally have viscosities of less than about 5 centistokes at 25.degree. C.

Specific examples of volatile silicone solvents suitable for use in the antiperspirant compositions include, but are not limited to, Cyclomethicone D-5(commercially available from G. E. Silicones), Dow Corning 344, Dow Corning 345 and Dow Corning 200 (commercially available from Dow Corning Corp.), GE 7207 and 7158 (commercially available from Gerneral Electric Co.) and SWS-03314 (commercially available from SWS Silicones Corp.).

Particulate Antiperspirant Materials

The compositions of the present invention comprise particulate antiperspirant materials at concentrations ranging from about 5% to about 35%, preferably from about 10% to about 30%, antiperspirant active by weight of the compositions. These weight percentages are calculated on an anhydrous metal salt basis (exclusive of glycine, the salts of glycine, or other complexing agents). The particulate antiperspirant materials preferably have particle sizes ranging from about 1 to about 100 microns, more preferably from about 1 to about 50 microns. The particulate materials may be impalpable or microspherical in form.

Particulate antiperspirant materials suitable for use herein are those which comprise any compound, composition or mixture thereof having antiperspirant activity. Astringent metallic salts are preferred antiperspirant materials for use herein, particularly the inorganic and organic salts of aluminum, zirconium and zinc, as well as mixtures thereof. Particularly preferred are the aluminum and zirconium salts, such as aluminum halides, aluminum hydroxy halides, zirconyl oxide halides, zirconyl hydroxy halides, and mixtures thereof.

Preferred aluminum slats are those represented by the formula:

Al.sub.2 (OH.sub.a Cl.sub.b. xH.sub.2 O wherein a is from about 2 to about 5; the sum of a and b is about 6; x is from about 1 to about 6; and wherein a, b, and x may have non-integer values. Particularly preferred are the aluminum chlorhydroxides referred to as "5/6 basic chlorhydroxide", wherein a=5, and "2/3 basic chlorhydroxide", wherein a=4. Processes for pereparing aluminum salts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,692, Gilman, issued Jun. 3, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,741, Jones et al., issued Sep. 9, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,456, Goaling et al., issued Nov. 16, 1982; and British Patent Specification 2,048,229, Fitgerald et al., published Dec. 10, 1980, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Mixtures of aluminum salts are described in British Patent Specification 1,347,950, Shin et al., published Feb. 27, 1974, also incorporated herein by reference.

Zirconium salts are also preferred for use in the antiperspirant compositions. These salts are represented by the formula:

ZrO(OH).sub.2-a Cl.sub.a. xH.sub.2 O wherein a is from about 1.5 to about 1.87; x is from about 1 to about 7; and wherein a and x may have non-integer values. These zirconium salts are described in Belgian Patent 825,146, Schmitz, issued Aug. 4, 1975, incorporated by reference herein. Particularly preferred zirconium slats are those complexes which additionally contain aluminum and glycine, commonly known as ZAG complexes. Such ZAG complexes contain aluminum chlorhydroxide and zirconyl hydroxy chloride of the formulae described above. Such ZAG complexes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,068, Luedders et al., issued Feb. 12, 1974; Great Britain Patent Application 2,144,992, Callaghan et al., published Mar. 20, 1985; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,948, Shelton, issued Oct. 17, 1978, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Gellant Material

The antiperspirant composition of the present invention comprises a gellant material comprising fatty alcohols having from about 20 to about 60 carbon atoms, or combinations thereof, at concentrations ranging from about 0.1% to about 8% by weight of the composition. The gellant material, when combined with the volatile silicone solvent described hereinbefore, provides the composition with a physically stable structure within which the particulate antiperspirant materials are dispersed, and maintained as such over an extended period of time.

Specifically, the gellant material comprises saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, fatty alcohols or mixtures of fatty alcohols having from about 20 to about 60 carbons atoms, preferably from about 20 to about 40 carbon atoms. Preferred are combinations of the fatty alcohols. The fatty alcohol gellants are preferably saturated, unsubstituted monohydric alcohols or combinations thereof, which have a melting point of at less than about 100.degree. C., more preferably from about 60.degree. to about 110.degree. C., even more preferably between about 100.degree. C. and 110.degree. C.

It has been found that this fatty alcohol-based gellant material, when combined with volatile silicone solvents provides a stable structure for maintaining a dispersion of particulate antiperspirant material in a topical formulation without the necessity of using conventional particulate thickening agents. This gellant material is especially useful in maintaining the physical stability of particulate dispersions containing higher concentrations of volatile silicone solvents.

It was also found that penetration force values for the antiperspirant compositions can be controlled by adjusting total fatty alcohol concentrations. In controlling penetration force values in this manner, there is no longer a need to use organic solvents or thickening agents to control penetration force values, which solvents or thickening agents often add cost to the formulation, introduce additional compatibility issues, and often contribute undesirable cosmetics such as prolonged stickiness, difficulty in ease of spreading, increased dry-down times and reduced dry feel after application.

Specific concentrations of the gellant materials are selected according to the desired penetration force value. For roll-on formulations having a penetration force value of from about 20 gram-force to about 100 gram-force, gellant material concentrations preferably range from about 0.1% to about 3%, preferably from about 1.5% to about 3%, by weight of the antiperspirant composition. For other cream formulations, including those formulations suitable for use in cream applicator devices, which have a penetration force of from about 100 gram-force to about 500 gram-force, gellant material concentrations preferably range from about 3% to about 8%, preferably from about 3% to about 6%, by weight of the antiperspirant composition.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention are antiperspirant cream compositions described herein which are packaged in suitable cream applicator devices. Nonlimiting examples of suitable cream applicator devices include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,356, which description is incorporated herein by reference.

Specific examples of fatty alcohol gellants for use in the antiperspirant compositions that are commercially available include, but are not limited to, Unilin.RTM. 425, Unilin.RTM.350, Unilin.RTM.550 and Unilin.RTM.700 (supplied by Petrolite)

Optional Residue Masking Material

The antiperspirant composition of the present invention may further comprise a nonvolatile emollient as a residue masking material. Such materials and their use in antiperspirant products are well known in the antiperspirant art, and any such material may be incorporated into the composition of the present invention, provided that such optional material is compatible with the essential elements of the composition, or does not unduly impair product performance or cosmetics.

Concentrations of the optional residue masking material ranges from about 0.1% to about 40%, preferably from about 1% to about 10%, by weight of the antiperspirant composition. These optional materials are liquid at ambient temperatures, and are non volatile. The term "non volatile" as used in this context refers to materials which have a boiling point under atmospheric pressure of at least about 200.degree. C. Nonlimiting examples of suitable residue masking materials for use in the antiperspirant products include butyl stearate, diisopropyl adipate, petrolatum, nonvolatile silicones, octyldodecanol, phenyl trimethicone, isopropyl myristate, C12-15 ethanol benzoates and PPG-14 Butyl Ether. Residue masking materials are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,238, which description is incorporated herein by reference.

Optional Materials

The antiperspirant compositions of the present invention may further comprise one or more other optional materials which modify the physical characteristics of the compositions or serve as additional "active" components when deposited in the skin. Many such optional materials are known in the antiperspirant art and may be used in the antiperspirant compositions herein, provided that such optional materials are compatible with the essential materials described herein, or do not otherwise unduly impair product performance.

Non limiting examples of optional materials include active components such as bacteriostats and fungiostats, and "non-active" components such as colorants, perfumes, cosmetic powders, emulsifiers, chelants, distributing agents, preservatives, and wash-off aids. Examples of such optional materials are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,792, Elsnau, issued Sep. 20, 1977; Canadian Patent 1,164,347, Beckmeyer et al., issued Mar. 27, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,375, Tanner et al., issued May 28, 1991; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,816, Hofrichter et al., issued Jul. 4, 1995; which descriptions are incorporated herein by reference.

Method of Manufacture and Use

Methods for making the compositions of the present invention, as well as the equipment used in such methods, are well known to those skilled in the art. They may be batch processes involving discrete processing steps or involving continuous processes wherein the product composition is passed between processing steps in essentially continuous increments. The process may be as simple as thoroughly mixing together all of the components at the desired temperature, typically from about 35.degree. C. to about 100.degree. C., and then allowing the heated mixture to cool to room temperature. Specific essential and non-essential materials, at specific concentrations, are selected to produce a cream of desired aesthetics and visocsity, which deposits a suitable amount of antiperspirant active on the skin during use. In making the compositions of the present invention care must be taken to assure that the particulate antiperspirant materials are dispersed relatively uniformly throughout the composition.

The antiperspirant cream compositions of the present invention may be packaged in conventional antiperspirant cream containers known in the art. Such packages typically contain the cream in bulk form. The cream is then applied by hand, or by a pad or similar applicator device. These creams may also be packed in a dispenser designed to extrude or otherwise directly apply the creams to the skin. The cream compositions of the present invention may be packaged in known or conventional roll-on applicators, and applied to the skin ay application of the roll-on device to the skin.

The antiperspirant compositions of the present invention are utilized in a conventional manner to treat or prevent perspiration on areas of the human body, such as the axillary areas, which are prone to perspiration wetness. Specifically, an effective amount of any of the compositions described herein is applied topically to such areas one or more times a day. When this is done, the compositions provide effective antiperspirant performance, as well as reduced residue on the skin, and good aesthetics upon application for the user.

EXAMPLES

The following nonlimiting examples illustrate specific embodiments of the antiperspirant compositions of the present invention, including methods of manufacture and use.

Example I

The following describes an antiperspirant composition of the present invention. All of the listed components are combined and heated to 100.degree. C. with agitation, and cooled to 52.degree. C. The composition is then filled into jars or cream applicators and allowed to cool and form a stiff cream. The penetration force value of the resulting composition is about 170 gram-force.

______________________________________Component Weight %______________________________________Cyclomethicone D5.sup.1 64.00Aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex gly.sup.2 26.00Butyl stearate 5.00Unilin .RTM. 425 alcohols.sup.3 4.50Perfume 0.5______________________________________ .sup.1 A cyclic polydimethylsiloxane containing 5 carbons, supplied by G.E. Silicones .sup.2 Supplied by Westwood Chemical Corporation .sup.3 C20 to C40 alcohol, combination, supplied by Petrolite.

Example II

The following describes an antiperspirant composition of the present invention. All of the listed components are combined and heated to 100.degree. C. with agitation, and cooled to about 52.degree. C. The composition is then packaged in roll-on applicators and allowed to cool. The penetration force value of the resulting composition is about 50 gram-force.

______________________________________Component Weight %______________________________________Cyclomethicone D5.sup.1 66.5Aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex gly.sup.2 26.0Butyl stearate 5.0Unilin .RTM. 425 alcohols.sup.3 2.0Perfume 0.5______________________________________

Example III

The following describes an antiperspirant composition of the present invention. The listed components are combined and heated to 100.degree. C. with agitation, and cooled to 52.degree. C. The composition is then packaged in jars or cream applicators and allowed to cool. The penetration force value of the resulting composition is about 150 gram-force

______________________________________Component Weight %______________________________________Cyclomethicone D5.sup.1 34.5Aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex gly.sup.2 26.0Butyl stearate 34.5Unilin .RTM. 425 alcohols.sup.3 4.5Perfume 0.5______________________________________

Example IV

The following describes an antiperspirant composition of the present invention. The listed components are combined and heated to 100.degree. C. with agitation, and cooled to 52.degree. C. The composition is then packaged in jars or cream applicators and allowed to cool. The penetration force value of the resulting composition is about 200 gram-force

______________________________________Component Weight %______________________________________Cyclomethicone D5.sup.1 68.5Aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex gly.sup.2 26.0Unilin .RTM. 425 alcohols.sup.3 5.0Perfume 0.5______________________________________

The antiperspirant compositions described in Examples I-IV, when applied to the axillary area of the user, provide effective prevention and control or perspiration wetness. These compositions remain physically stable over extended periods. These compositions also have reduced dry-down times, smoother and drier feel immediately after application, and reduced apparent residue.

Claims

1. An antiperspirant cream composition comprising:

(a) from about 20% to about 80% by weight of a volatile silicone material;

(b) from about 5% to about 35% by weight of a particulate antiperspirant active; and

(c) from about 0.1% to about 8% by weight of a gellant material selected from the group consisting of fatty alcohols having from about 20 to about 60 carbon atoms, and combinations thereof;

wherein the antiperspirant cream composition has a penetration force value of from about 20 gram-force to about 500 gram-force.

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein said composition comprises from about 0.1% to about 3% by weight of the gellant material, and has a penetration force value of from about 20 gram-force to about 100 gram-force.

3. The composition of claim 2 wherein the fatty alcohols have from about 20 to about 40 carbon atoms.

4. The composition of claim 2 wherein the gellant material has a melting point of less than about 110.degree. C. and is a combination of fatty alcohols each having from about 20 to about 60 carbon atoms.

5. The composition of claim 4 wherein the gellant material has a melting point of from about 60.degree. C. to about 110.degree. C. and is a combination of fatty alcohols each having from about 20 to about 40 carbon atoms.

6. The composition of claim 2 wherein the volatile silicone material is acyclic silicone represented by the formula ##STR3## wherein n is from about 3 to about 7.

7. The composition of claim 2 further comprising from about 0.1% to about 40% by weight of a residue masking material.

8. The composition of claim 1 wherein said composition comprises from about 3% to about 8% by weight of the gellant material, and has a penetration force value of from about 100 gram-force to about 500 gram-force.

9. The composition of claim 8 wherein the fatty alcohols have from about 20 to about 40 carbon atoms.

10. The composition of claim 8 wherein the gellant material has a melting point of less than about 110.degree. C. and is a combination of fatty alcohols each having from about 20 to about 60 carbon atoms.

11. The composition of claim 10 wherein the gellant material has a melting point of from about 60.degree. C. to about 110.degree. C. and is a combination of fatty alcohols each having from about 20 to about 40 carbon atoms.

12. The composition of claim 8 wherein the volatile silicone material is acyclic silicones represented by the formula ##STR4## wherein n is from about 3 to about 7.

13. The composition of claim 8 further comprising from about 0.1% to about 40% by weight of a residue masking material.

14. An antiperspirant cream composition comprising:

(a) from about 20% to about 80% by weight of a volatile cyclic silicone material;

(b) from about 5% to about 35% by weight of a particulate antiperspirant active;

(c) from about 0.1% to about 8% by weight of a combination of fatty alcohols each having from about 20 to about 40 carbon atoms, which combination has a melting point of from about 60.degree. C. to about 110.degree. C.; and

(d) from about 0.1% to about 40% by weight of a residue making material;

wherein the antiperspirant cream composition has a penetration force value of from about 20 gram-force to about 500 gram-force.

15. The composition of claim 14 wherein said composition comprises from about 1% to about 10% of the residue masking material.

16. The composition of claim 14 wherein the residue masking material is butyl stearate.

17. A method for treating and preventing perspiration in humans comprising the topical application to the auxillary area of an effective amount of the antiperspirant composition of claim 2.

18. A method for treating and preventing perspiration in humans comprising the topical application to the auxillary area of an effective amount of the antiperspirant composition of claim 8.

19. A method for treating and preventing perspiration in humans comprising the topical application to the auxillary area of an effective amount of the antiperspirant composition of claim 14.