Patent Application
20050233914
This invention relates generally to heavy-duty cleansers (HDHC), with or without solvent, with a high level of biodegradability and little or no ecotoxicity, with a high level of efficiency and a maximum skin tolerance and no systemic toxicity.
There are two major categories of heavy duty hand cleansers (HDHC) currently on the market. The first include formulations without solvent and with or without scrubbing micro-particles, typically derived from vegetable, mineral or organic origins. These products contain some surfactants which act by emulsifying greasy stains. These scrubbing micro-particles provide a mechanical effect during the hand washing and, thus, increase the cleansing power of the preparation.
The second category of so called heavy duty cleansers include formulations with solvents present, with or without scrubbing particles, with surfactants (soap and/or synthetic and/or semi-synthetic surfactants). These cleansers containing solvents combine the emulsifying properties of the surfactants with the solubilizing properties of the solvent The presence of micro-particles will increase the cleansing power of these formulations as in the case of non-solvented formulations. The solvents are generally hydrocarbon solvents without any aromatics (or trace amounts present only) and used at an average concentration of 10 to 30%. Terpenes such as d-limonene are also often used at a concentration of 1 to 10%. Hydrophilic solvents such as propylenic glycol ethers are rarely used. Solvents are often criticized for their defatting properties on skin which may induce irritation.
D-limonene has an aesthetic advantage of having a very pleasant orange aroma while functionally it is very effective on grease, but a drawback to this solvent is the fact that, in its pure form, it is flammable and is considered harmful to the environment. In addition, some allergies to oxidized terpenes are described in scientific literature. This is why d-limonene for example is systematically protected from oxidation using a cosmetic anti-oxidant (in most cases the anti-oxidants used are Butyl-Hydroxy-Anisol (BHA) and/or Butyl-Hydroxy-Toluene (BHT) which also have a sensitizing potential). Hydrocarbon and terpene-based solvents have a low biodegradability potential and are known for having a significant ecotoxicity on aquatic life.
The use of surfactants only to obtain a high level of cleansing efficiency is possible but needs a high concentration of active matter which is costly and not suitable in terms of the environment. It would be very advantageous to provide a cleanser having a combination of solvent, surfactant(s) and scrubbing microparticles would allow one to reduce the total quantity of active matter in the finished product.
In one aspect of the invention there is provided a cleansing formulation, comprising
In this aspect of the invention the formulation may include a scrubbing agent.
A goal of the present invention is to provide a new heavy duty hand cleanser (HDHC), with or without solvent, with a high level of biodegradability and little or no ecotoxicity, with a high level of efficiency and a maximum skin tolerance and no systemic toxicity. The high level of potential biodegradability and low level of ecotoxicity potentially meet the criteria of the Scandinavian Swan label guidelines.
In the broadest aspect of the invention there is provided a cleansing formulation comprising 5 to 10% of one or more methylesters of vegetable saturated and/or unsaturated fatty acids which may be from several natural sources including sunflower seed oil, soybean oil, rape seed oil, or coconut oil. The formulation includes between about 10% to 30% of one or more surfactants and a preferred combination of surfactants includes at least one ethoxylated fatty alcohol, one alkyl polyoxyethylene glycol, one alkanolamide and one polymeric quaternary ammonium salt.
Preferred formulations include water present between about 10% to 80%, one or a combination of one or more scrubbing agents present in an amount between about 1% to about 10%. One or more viscosity-building agents are included to give the formulation the desired viscosity and these may include acrylic or acrylate polymers with or without mineral and/or a natural thickener. Cosmetic adjuvants may also be used in the formulation including preservatives, pigment, antioxydant, chelators and active substances including essential oils, essential fatty acids to mention just a few.
More particularly, preferred cleansing compositions include the following constituents:
Table I shows the chemicals and compositions used to produce the particular formulations shown in Tables 2 to 4.
The following are examples of cleansing formulations produced in accordance with the present invention
As used herein, the terms “comprises” and comprising are to be construed as being inclusive and open ended, and not exclusive. Specifically, when used in this specification including claims, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” and variations thereof mean the specified features, steps or components are included. These terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented to illustrate the principles of the invention and not to limit the invention to the particular embodiment illustrated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by all of the embodiments encompassed within the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0205878 | May 2002 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB03/01683 | 4/30/2003 | WO | 6/6/2005 |
