The present invention is directed to novel polyamide gelling agents, methods of making such agents and cosmetic agents made therefrom.
While a number of references have disclosed polyamides as a class of compounds, it has been found that certain groups of polyamides containing siloxane portions are novel and are useful in making excellent cosmetic products, especially antiperspirants and deodorants.
Cosmetic compositions (for example, a solid cosmetic composition, such as a gel, soft-solid or semi-solid (cream), or stick), are comprised of a base composition containing at least one silicone fluid (for example, silicone liquids such as silicone oils) which is thickened using a siloxane-based polyamide as a gelling agent; a carrier in which cosmetically active materials are incorporated; and at least one active ingredient to provide the activity for such cosmetic composition. Particular embodiments of the present invention include deodorant and antiperspirant compositions (and base compositions therefor), in which the cosmetically active ingredient is a deodorant active material and/or an antiperspirant active material. Embodiments of the present invention are not limited, however, to such antiperspirant and/or deodorant compositions, and are also directed to other cosmetic compositions containing other cosmetically active ingredients, such as sun protection compositions containing sunscreen agents as the active material.
Preferred embodiments of formulated cosmetic products are directed to cosmetic compositions which are transparent (clear), including solid transparent (clear) compositions, especially transparent (clear) deodorant and/or antiperspirant compositions which are sticks or gels. While selected embodiments of cosmetic compositions made with the polyamides described are preferably clear or transparent, the cosmetic compositions need not, however, be clear or transparent, and can be translucent, or opaque.
The compounds described herein and used as gelling agents in this invention are selected siloxane-based polyamides and mixtures thereof. Preferably compositions made with the siloxane-based polyamides have improved application and cosmetic properties (including reduced tackiness and stickiness), and, more preferably, have improved clarity/low residue properties.
Antiperspirant products are well known in the art. Antiperspirant products have appeared in the marketplace in various dosage forms, such as sticks, gels, roll-ons, aerosols and creams. Generally, these dosage forms include a solution of the active ingredient in a solvent, a suspension of the active ingredient in a non-solvent, or a multi-phase dispersion or emulsion in which a solution of the active ingredient is dispersed in some continuous phase or in which the solubilized active ingredient constitutes a continuous phase.
Of the above-referred-to dosage forms, the roll-on is an example of a liquid form composition, the stick form is an example of a solid form composition, and the gel form is a thickened form which may or may not be a solid (for example, under some circumstances gels can flow). The stick form can be distinguished from a gel on the basis that in a stick the formulated product can maintain its shape for extended time periods outside the package (allowing for some shrinkage due to solvent evaporation), while a gel cannot so maintain its shape. Adjustment of amounts of gelling or thickening agents such as bentones, fumed silica, polyethylene, stearyl alcohol or castor wax, can be used in order to form a gel or stick.
Gels, pastes and creams (which are also known as soft-solids or semi-solids) can be suitably packaged in containers which have the appearance of a stick, but which dispense through apertures (for example, slots or pores) on the top surface of the package. These products have been called soft sticks or "smooth-ons". These products hereinafter are generically called "gels". Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,656 to Kasat, No. 5,069,897 to Orr, and No. 4,937,069 to Shin, each of which discloses such gels, including physical characteristics thereof such as viscosity and hardness. The contents of each of these three U.S. patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
A representative composition which can be dispensed through apertures is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,656 to Kasat. This disclosed composition is a creamy, heterogeneous anhydrous antiperspirant product containing, in percent by weight, of the total weight of the composition, 30%-70% of a volatile silicone as a carrier, 7-30% of a suitable gelling agent or agents, and about 12-30% of a physiologically acceptable antiperspirant agent. This patent discloses that the gelling agent can be any of a number of materials, including, for example, hydrogenated vegetable oil, hydrogenated castor oil, fatty acids having from 14 to 36 carbon atoms, beeswax, paraffin wax, fatty alcohols having from 14 to 24 carbon atoms, polyethylene and the like.
Recently, there has been significant activity in developing clear or translucent antiperspirant sticks and gels. Clear or translucent sticks consisting essentially of a solution of the active antiperspirant material in a polyhydric alcohol vehicle, gelled by dibenzylidene monosorbitol acetal, have been disclosed. Since the gelling agent is inherently unstable in an acidic environment, and since conventional active antiperspirant materials are acidic, much work has been involved in discovering suitable stabilizing or buffering agents to prevent or slow down acid attack on the acetal gelling agent. Such work has not been completely successful. Moreover, these clear or translucent antiperspirant sticks containing the acetal gelling agent and including a solubilized active antiperspirant material, have the disadvantage of being inherently tacky. Thus, development work in connection with these clear or translucent antiperspirant sticks containing the acetal gelling agent has also focused on discovering suitable anti-tack agents for this dosage form. However, since acid hydrolysis of the gelling agent occurs more rapidly in aqueous solutions, formulators have been forced to avoid using water in the formulations. This severely restricts the ability of the formulator to develop cosmetically elegant formulations which are simultaneously chemically stable, optically clear, low in tack, low in residue and which have acceptable application aesthetics.
Clear or translucent antiperspirant gels (which have been dispensed from containers having the appearance of a stick) have been marketed, consisting of viscous, high internal phase emulsions. These gels exhibit some advantages over the aforementioned acetal-based clear sticks, in that the selection of formulation ingredients is less restricted (for example, water can be used), and often tack can be reduced significantly. But these emulsions suffer from various disadvantages, including often requiring the use of ethanol to achieve desired aesthetics. In connection with these emulsions, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,570 to Soldati and PCT (International Application) Publication No. WO 92/05767.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,531 to Wells, et al discloses rinse-off hair conditioner and styling compositions providing a gel-network thickened vehicle for the styling polymer and solvent. This patent discloses various siloxanes as the conditioning agent including polydiorganosiloxanes having quaternary ammonium-substituted groups attached to the silicon, and polydiorganosiloxanes having silicone-bonded substituents which are amino-substituted hydrocarbon groups.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,209, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, discloses a gel or stick which includes active deodorant and/or antiperspirant ingredients, a polyamide gelling agent, and a solvent for the polyamide gelling agent, which gel or stick composition can be clear or translucent. This patent discloses that the polyamide gelling agent is soluble in a cosmetically acceptable solvent at elevated temperatures, and solidifies (gels) upon cooling; acceptable solvents are disclosed as including various alcohols, including various glycols. While the polyamide-containing stick or gel disclosed in the aforementioned patent contains desirable properties in connection with stability of the composition, (particularly in the presence of acidic antiperspirant active materials, and in providing clear or translucent gel or stick compositions) such formulas may result in tackiness and stickiness both upon and after application to the skin.
Addressing this problem of tackiness and stickiness in connection with cosmetic compositions utilizing a polyamide gelling agent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,295, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, discloses use of a specific solvent system for a solid composition containing an antiperspirant active material and a polyamide gelling agent. This solvent system is glycol-free and contains a non-ionic surfactant and a polar solvent. Water is the polar solvent, and with the non-ionic surfactant acts as a dispersing medium for the antiperspirant active material, in which sufficient water is used to give a clear or translucent solution/emulsion of the antiperspirant active material.
A typical technique to reduce the tackiness of, for example, antiperspirant formulations is the incorporation of cyclomethicone (tetra- penta- or hexacyclodimethyl-siloxanes or mixtures thereof). This cyclomethicone is a very low-viscosity liquid that provides excellent lubricity and does not leave stains on the skin and/or clothing. More than 50% by weight of cyclomethicone has been incorporated into solid stick antiperspirant formulations, for example, using a wax solidifying agent. However, cyclomethicone is a nonsolvent for the dimer based polyamides described as gelling agents in U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,209. Moreover, only limited quantities of the cyclomethicone can be incorporated in solid compositions gelled using such polyamide gelling agent, without destroying the clarity of the gelled composition. Beyond that point, the gelled composition becomes cloudy because of either excessive crystallization of the polyamide or immiscibility of the cyclomethicone in the mixture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,010 to Choi, et al., discloses aromatic polyamide resins having pendant silyl groups.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,241 to Lucarelli, et al., discloses organofunctional siloxanes useful in both the personal care and plastics industries, the siloxanes being amino acid functionalized silicones.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/790,351 filed Jan. 24, 1997, now published as WO97/36572 assigned to The Mennen Company describes in general the use of polyamides as gelling agents for cosmetic compositions.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, there is still a need for improved siloxane-based polyamide gelling agents and cosmetic compositions made therefrom, especially when the base compositions made with the polyamides are capable of forming cosmetic products having improved clarity. Moreover, it is also desired to provide such base compositions, thickened utilizing such gelling agent, which are transparent and clear, and can be formed into products having varying degrees of firmness, such as from a cream to a stick, depending on amounts of thickening agent contained in the composition.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a base composition, in which a cosmetically active material can be incorporated to form a cosmetic composition for example, an antiperspirant and/or deodorant, wherein the base composition is thickened using a selected siloxane-based polyamide gelling agent.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a base composition which is capable of exhibiting improved aesthetics such as clarity and which preferably leaves no visible (white) residue upon application and after drying.
It is an overall object of the present invention to provide siloxane-based polyamides polymers which can be used as gelling agents to thicken cosmetic compositions, which polymers are compatible with volatile and/or non-volatile silicone liquids.
Objects of the present invention also include providing a cosmetic composition including this base composition and cosmetically active materials and methods of using this cosmetic composition.