AU2018200172A1 - A composition for hair removal - Google Patents

Abstract

A solid or semi-solid composition for application on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from human skin, said composition comprising: a mixture further comprising: at least five parts of sugar; at least one part of lemon juice; and at least three parts of water; wherein the mixture is initially heated to form a uniform mixture and then subsequently cooled to form a spreadable gel-like suspension; and the suspension is mixed to form said solid or semi-solid composition.

Description

A COMPOSITION FOR HAIR REMOVAL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a composition for application on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from human skin.

BACKGROUND

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.

Removal of hair from the skin for aesthetic and cosmetic purposes is well known and may be accomplished by one or methods such as shaving or by using hairremoval products in the form of liquids or creams. Hair follicles may also be extracted from the skin by using tweezers, hot waxes, and electrolysis. Shaving is also a popular method but is generally least effective as the hair and hair root remaining within the skin are visible and grow back relatively quickly.

Hair removal liquids and creams generally consist of combinations of strong chemicals to dissolve hair in either localized or expanded areas of the body.

Hair extraction methods employing tweezers is a slow, tedious process, limited by the small grasping capacity of tweezers and is best applied to removal of hair from the nose and eyebrows.

The use of hot wax coatings for hair removal requires use of a wax heating and containment apparatus, which may not be amenable to use in the home or to function, in general, as a portable hair removal device. In addition, various wax compositions are prone to irritate and inflame the skin.

In view of the above, it is desirable to provide an improved composition for hair removal from human skin which alleviates some of the disadvantages of the prior art.

2018200172 09 Jan 2018

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the invention provides a solid or semi-solid composition for application on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from human skin, said composition comprising:

a mixture further comprising: at least eight parts of sugar; at least one part of lemon juice; and at least three parts of water;

wherein the mixture is initially heated to form a uniform mixture and then subsequently cooled to form a spreadable gel-like suspension; and the suspension is mixed to form said solid or semi-solid composition.

In an embodiment, the mixture comprises: five to six parts of sugar and/or one to two parts lemon juice and/or three to four parts water.

In an embodiment, the suspension is simultaneously mixed and heated to form said solid or semi-solid composition.

In an embodiment, the composition further comprises one or more of the following: (a) oil; (b) honey; (c) rose water; (d) orange blossom water; and (e) essential oils.

In an embodiment, the uniform mixture is cooled to room temperature to form the spreadable gel-like suspension.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method of preparing a solid or semisolid composition for application on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from human skin, said method comprising:

mixing at least five parts of sugar; at least one part of lemon juice; and at least three parts of water to form an initial mixture;

heating the initial mixture to form a uniform mixture and then subsequently cooling the uniform mixture to form a spreadable gel-like suspension; and physically mixing and/or agitating the gel-like suspension to form said solid or semi-solid composition.

2018200172 09 Jan 2018

In another aspect, the invention comprises a solid composition for application on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from human skin, said composition comprising:

a mixture further comprising: at least five parts of sugar; at least one part of lemon juice; and at least three parts of water;

wherein the mixture is initially heated to form a uniform mixture and then subsequently cooled to form a spreadable gel-like suspension; and the suspension is mixed to form said a semi-solid composition, the semisolid composition being dried and/or cooled to form said solid composition characterized in that the solid composition is adapted to become pliable and spreadable on a user’s skin upon heating.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a physical mixer 100 used for forming a 5 hair removal composition 200.

Figure 2 is an image of the heated hair removal composition 200 being applied onto a user’s hand during use in an initial step.

Figure 3 is another image of the heated hair removal composition 200 being pressed onto the user’s skin to spread the pliable hair removal composition 200 on the user’s hand.

Figures 4 and 5 depict images of the hair removal composition 200 after the 15 composition has been pulled away from the user’s skin.

Figure 6 depicts the results of using the hair removal composition 200 whereby hair has been removed from a portion (P) of a user’s forearm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of a preferred non-limiting embodiment will now be provided in the following passages. However, the present invention may be

2018200172 09 Jan 2018 embodied in various forms. Specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting.

A preferred embodiment of the hair removal composition comprises a solid or semi-solid dough like pliable form that can be easily applied on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from the human skin and for also exfoliating human skin.

The hair removal composition is prepared by mixing 320 gms of sugar (ten to eleven parts) in 110 ml of water (three to four parts) and 60 ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice (two parts) to form an initial mixture. The initial mixture is heated until the liquid appears to boil at a temperature of approximately 100°C or greater. The heating of the initial mixture results in uniform mixing of the sugar, water and the lemon juice to form a homogenous mixture which appears viscous and sticky. The homogenous mixture is placed on a large flat plate or container to expose a large surface area of the mixture. Exposing the mixture on the large flat plate for a period of 10 to 15 minutes (the time period may be dependent on the exact volume of the mixture and the dimensions of the flat plate) assists with cooling the mixture to achieve a gel like suspension. The gel like suspension is then transferred into a physical mixer 100 as shown in Figures 1A and 1B agitate and mix the contents of the gel further whilst also heating the gel like suspension. The physical mixer comprises an impeller 110 that is driven by a motor 120. The mixing causes the gel particles to be subject to intense shear that results in any agglomerate particles to be broken up and be mixed uniformly. After mixing and heating the intermediate composition for a time period of 15 to 20 minutes, the hair removal composition acquires a semisolid composition. The semi-solid composition may also acquire a solid form if dried and cooled for extended time periods.

The solid or semi-solid composition in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is useful because the composition can be easily pelletized which makes the composition easier to package and transport. Additives such as oils (such as olive oils), rose water and orange blossom water may also be

2018200172 09 Jan 2018 added to the composition at any one of the stages of preparation. The solid composition may be formed as a pellet or in any other shaped product

The following passages refer to Figures 2 to 6 and illustrate the use of the solid or semi-solid composition. The following explanation refers to a solid pelletized hair removal product which is initially heated in a microwave for a brief period before use for hair removal. The heating of the pellet assists in softening the composition as a result of which the composition acquires a softened dough like physical characteristic. The time period of heating may be varied in 10 accordance with the size of the pellet or solid. By way of a non-limiting example, a hair removal pellet weighing approximately 100gms may be heated for a period of 1 minute or less.

One the solid pellet is heated, the material assumes a soft form which allows 15 the solid composition 200 to be easily deformed and spread over a hairy section of a user’s body as shown in Figures 2 to 5. A beauty therapist may use gloves for applying the softened material without using any spatula or other applicators.

The heated composition is pliable and has a dough like consistency which allows the composition to be spread evenly over a user’s arms, legs or any other body part where hair removal is desirable. In Figures 2 to 5, it has been shown that the dough like material is applied and pressed onto the user’s hand, particularly a wrist portion of the user to remove hair therefrom. Once the 25 composition has been applied on the user’s skin and pressed gently, an edge portion 210 (see Figure 3) of the dough may be pulled away from the skin of the user as applied

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the excess hair from the user’s hand is entangled 30 in the composition and when the composition is pulled away from the user’s skin, the entangled hair is also removed from the user’s skin.

Usually, the applied composition is pulled away from the user’s skin once the composition is no longer sticky. The skin may be held taut with one hand at the

2018200172 09 Jan 2018 top while the other hand may be used to remove the layer of the hair removal composition applied onto the user’s skin.

It is desirable for the user to hold their skin taut with one hand at the top and remove the applied hair removal composition from the user’s skin using the other hand, remove the dried composition in a quick movement, in the opposite direction of hair growth.

Advantageously, the hair removal composition 200 may be reapplied to another portion of the user’s body to remove some more unwanted hair. The pliable hair removal composition 200 is easy to apply and spread and as a result allows the 10 composition to be re-used easily by being reapplied multiple times.

Without being bound by theory, the applicant hypothesizes that the hair removal composition when initially formed as a gel gelatinizes once the sugar and lemon juice is completely dissolved in the heated water which breaks up the sugar’s original crystalline structure. When the homogenised mixture is cooled to form 15 the gel-like suspension some of the gelatinized material possibly undergoes another process known as retrogradation. At the slightly lower temperatures these particles start to realign themselves and as a result water is forced out of the particles. When the physical mixing continues, further water is lost from the particles thereby further solidifying the composition which results in the 20 composition acquiring a solid or semi-solid form particularly when the composition is cooled.

The inventor has found that heating the semi-solid or solid composition using conventional heating means such as a microwave softens the composition thereby providing a pliable or dough like consistency and allows the hair 25 removal composition to be applied easily to the user’s skin. It is understood by the inventors that when the solid or semi-solid composition is heated before use, the heat significant improves the solubility of any reformed sugar crystals in the composition thereby causing the reformed crystals to dissolve again. Essentially, the composition is rehydrated with its own water which might by

2018200172 09 Jan 2018 lying on the surface of the composition which improves the characteristics of the composition and helps in the easy application of the composition for hair removal.

In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. The term “comprises” and its variations, such as “comprising” and “comprised of’ is used throughout in an inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of 10 putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Any embodiment of the invention is meant to be illustrative only and is not 15 meant to be limiting to the invention. Therefore, it should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (7)

1. The claims defining the invention are as follows:

   1. A solid or semi-solid composition for application on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from human skin, said composition comprising:

   a mixture further comprising: at least five parts of sugar; at least one part of lemon juice; and at least three parts of water;

   wherein the mixture is initially heated to form a uniform mixture and then subsequently cooled to form a spreadable gel-like suspension; and the suspension is mixed to form said solid or semi-solid composition.
2. 2. A solid or semi-solid composition in accordance with claim 1 wherein the mixture comprises: five to six parts of sugar and/or one to two parts lemon juice and/or three to four parts water.
3. 3. A solid or semi-solid composition in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the suspension is simultaneously mixed and heated to form said solid or semi-solid composition.
4. 4. A solid or semi-solid composition in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the composition further comprises one or more of the following: (a) oil;

   (b) honey; (c) rose water; (d) orange blossom water.
5. 5. A solid or semi-solid composition in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the uniform mixture is cooled to room temperature to form the spreadable gel-like suspension.
6. 6. A solid composition for application on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from human skin, said composition comprising:

   a mixture further comprising: at least five parts of sugar; at least one part of lemon juice; and at least three parts of water;

   wherein the mixture is initially heated to form a uniform mixture and then subsequently cooled to form a spreadable gel-like suspension; and

   2018200172 09 Jan 2018 the suspension is mixed to form said a semi-solid composition, the semi-solid composition being dried and/or cooled to form said solid composition characterized in that the solid composition is adapted to become pliable and spreadable on a user’s skin upon heating.
7. 7. A method of preparing a solid or semi-solid composition for application on human skin for removal of unwanted hair from human skin, said method comprising: mixing at least five parts of sugar; at least one part of lemon juice; and at least three parts of water to form an initial mixture;

   heating the initial mixture to form a uniform mixture and then subsequently cooling the uniform mixture to form a spreadable gel-like suspension; and physically mixing and/or agitating the gel-like suspension to form said solid or semi-solid composition.