DE69816058T2 - DETERGENT PIECES CONTAINING POWDER-BASED ACTIVE SUBSTANCES, AND METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION THEREOF - Google Patents

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to bar-shaped compositions, in particular synthetic bar-shaped compositions, capable of better delivering conditioning agents. In particular, the invention relates to powdered adjuvants comprising (a) conditioning agents, (b) a carrier (e.g. soluble or partially soluble starches, water-soluble amorphous solids or semi-crystalline water-soluble solids), (c) water and (d) optionally deposition/processing aids, wherein the powdered adjuvants are mixed with bar chips prior to milling, extruding and punching into bars. The present invention also relates to a process for producing such bars.

Background of the invention

It is difficult to formulate toilet soap bars that can deliver enough skin conditioner to have a noticeable skin conditioning effect and that do not simultaneously affect the bar manufacturing process (e.g. the conditioner may be sticky and clog the machine or have a high viscosity and make the bar composition difficult to extrude) and/or affect the performance characteristics of the bar (e.g. foaming).

For example, water-insoluble care products generally tend to reduce foam development. Furthermore, effective deposition of water-insoluble skin care products on the surface of the bars is difficult, even if they are incorporated into them, because high levels of water-insoluble particles, such as fatty acids or waxes in the bar compete with the care product particles or inhibit the deposition of the desired water-insoluble care product on the skin.

Applicants have unexpectedly discovered that by administering the conditioning agent in the form of a powdered adjuvant comprising (1) a conditioning agent; (2) a carrier which may be water soluble (or at least partially soluble); (3) water, and (4) optionally a deposition/processing aid selected from the group consisting of surfactants (e.g., cocoamamide sulfosuccinic acid esters, aldobinamide), cationic polymers (e.g., Merquat® 100), and hydrophilic polymers (e.g., higher molecular weight polyalkylene glycols), applicants can enhance the deposition of the conditioning agent (reaching levels as high as when using shower gels instead of bars) without compromising processing (and in some cases aiding processing), and further without compromising performance characteristics such as foam volume.

The use of certain deposition polymers (e.g., cationic polymers) to enhance the deposition of water-insoluble particles (e.g., an emollient oil, such as silicone) is known in connection with the deposition of liquid shampoo on hair. For example, U.S. Patent No. 5,037,818 to Sime teaches that cationic surfactants increase the deposition on hair from shampoos.

WO-A 94/03152 (registered to Unilever PLC) discloses liquid cleansers that can effectively deposit silicone oil on the skin using cationic polymers.

U.S. Patent No. 4,788,006 to Bolich, Jr. et al. discloses shampoos with silicone particles of 2 to 50 µm, the compositions containing xanthan gum for conditioning hair.

However, the above references do not teach the deposition of conditioning agents from bars. Furthermore, the references do not teach or suggest powdered adjuvants comprising a conditioning agent plus specific spray-dryable carriers (nor optionally deposition/processing aids which may include cationic polymers); nor do they teach or suggest combining such powdered adjuvants with bar chips to form bars.

The prior art also discloses toilet soap bars comprising cationic polymers to provide a skin conditioning effect and/or a mild effect (see U.S. Patent Nos. 4,673,525 to Small et al.; U.S. 4,820,447 to Medcalf, Jr. et al.; and 5,096,608 to Small et al.). In these references, the cationic polymer is not used in combination with a conditioning agent to form a spray-dried powdered adjuvant as described in the present invention.

U.S. Patent No. 3,761,413 to Parran, Jr. discloses surfactant compositions containing both water-insoluble particulates and cationic polymers to enhance the deposition and retention of particulates on surfaces washed with the surfactant composition. Specifically, enhanced deposition of bacteriostats from toilet cleaning bars using cationic polymers was noted. Again, the reference does not teach or suggest the use of the powdered adjuvant of the invention (which must contain a carrier and optionally comprises a cationic polymer) to enhance the deposition of care products.

US-A 4,808,322, US-A 4,148,743 and US-A 5,096,608 disclose surfactant bars made from a composition comprising Chips of soaps or surfactants, a skin care product, a carrier and water.

In the applicants' co-pending application WO-A 9842815, filed on the same day as the present application, the applicants teach a bar made from a powdered adjuvant comprising a cationic polymer. The adjuvants of that invention are not limited to carriers having a melting point of over 80°C, preferably over 100°C, because that application is broader in scope of the concept of first producing conditioning agent-containing adjuvants (also comprising cationic deposition aids) and extruding them together with chips, for which any process (open drying, spray drying) can be used. In contrast, in the present invention the carrier must have a minimum melting point to survive the spray drying process.

Brief summary of the invention

The present invention relates to bar compositions in which 1% to 30% by weight of powdered composition, preferably 5% to 25%, more preferably 10% to 25% of powdered composition is mixed with 99% to 70%, preferably 95% to 75% of "conventional" bar chips comprising 5% to 90% of a surfactant system. The powdered adjuvant composition and chips are mixed together and extruded to form bar compositions which deliver care agents to the skin in concentrations significantly higher than previously possible.

The invention specifically relates to bar-shaped compositions comprising (A) 1% to 30% powder (e.g. providing about 10% loading) comprising:

(a) 1 to 70% by weight of care agent in the powder;

(b) 15 to 98% by weight of carrier in the powder having a melting point above the drying chamber temperature in which the powdered adjuvant is formed;

(c) 1 to 10% by weight of water in the powder; and

(d) 0 to 30 wt.% deposition/processing aid in the powder (e.g. a surfactant, cationic polymer and/or hydrophilic polymer); and

(B) 99% to 70% chips comprising 5% to 90% of a surfactant system, wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of soap, anionic surfactant, nonionic surfactant, amphoteric surfactant, cationic surfactant and mixtures thereof, wherein the powdered adjuvant is prepared by a spray drying process.

The loading percentage of conditioning agent in the finished bar (e.g. around 10%) depends on the percentage of powder that the conditioning agent comprises. For example, if the powder contains 50% conditioning agent oil, then you need 20% powder (and 80% chips) to achieve a loading of 10% (i.e. 50% of 20%). If the powder only contains 25% conditioning agent, you would need to mix 40% powder (25% of 40%) with 60% chips to achieve a loading of 10% in the finished bar.

In a further embodiment, the present invention provides a process for preparing the bars, wherein (A) and (B) are prepared separately; wherein (a), (b), (c) and optimally (d) are mixed at 40°C to 80°C; wherein the mixture of (a) and (b) is spray dried at 80°C to 200°C at a pressure of 0.10 to 0.30 mPa; and wherein (A) and (B) are mixed, compacted and extruded into a finished bar.

Description of the invention in detail

The present invention relates to bar-shaped compositions that can deliver larger amounts of care agent to the skin or other substrates than was previously possible with bar-shaped compositions. In particular, by preparing powdered adjuvants containing the desired care agents and co-extruding the powder containing the care agent with surfactant-containing "regular" chips, bars can be produced that deliver comparatively large amounts of care agent to the skin.

The invention therefore relates to powders containing care agents with a specific new formulation (i.e. care agents, generally added as an emulsion; generally water-soluble carrier; water; and optionally deposition/processing aids); and bars made by co-extruding these powdered adjuvants with surfactant-containing "regular" chips.

I. Powder containing care products

The powdered care products of the present invention comprise a care product "composition" (usually, though not necessarily, used in conjunction with an emulsifying aid as an emulsion); a generally water-soluble carrier; water; and optionally a deposition/processing aid. These components are generally mixed, as described below, to form a slurry and dried (e.g., in a spray dryer) to form a powder. Each component is described in more detail below.

Care product composition

The conditioning "composition" of the present invention may be a single conditioning ingredient or a conditioning compound added via a carrier. Furthermore, the conditioning composition may be a mixture of two or more compounds, one or all of which possess a conditioning property. Additionally, the conditioning agent itself may act as a carrier for other components that one wishes to add to the bar composition.

The care product may be an "emollient oil", which means a substance that softens the skin (stratum corneum) by increasing its water content and keeps it soft by delaying the decrease in water content.

Preferred emollients include:

(a) Silicone oils, gums and modifications thereof, such as linear and cyclic polydimethylsiloxanes; amino, alkyl, alkylaryl and aryl silicone oils;

(b) Fats and oils, including natural fats and oils such as jojoba, soybean, rice bran, avocado, almond, olive, sesame, persimmon, castor, coconut, mint oil; cocoa fat; beef talc, lard; hardened oils obtained by hydrogenation of the above oils; and synthetic mono-, di- and triglycerides such as myristic acid glyceride and 2-ethylhexanoic acid glyceride.

(c) waxes such as carnauba wax, spermaceti, beeswax, lanolin and derivatives thereof;

(d) Hydrophobic plant extracts;

(e) hydrocarbons such as liquid paraffins, VaselineTM, microcrystalline wax, ceresin, squalene, pristane and mineral oil;

(f) higher fatty acids, namely lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, behenic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, lanolinic, isostearic acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA);

(g) higher alcohols such as lauryl, cetyl, stearyl, oleyl, behenyl, cholesteryl and 2-hexadecanol alcohol;

(h) esters such as cetyl lotoate, myristyl lactate, cetyl acetate, isopropyl myristate, myristyl myristate, isopropyl palmitate, isopropyl adipate, butyl stearate, decyl oleate, cholesterol isostearate, glycerol monostearate, glycerol distearate, glycerol tristearate, alkyl lactate, alkyl citrate and alkyl tartrate;

(i) Essential oils such as mint, jasmine, camphor, white cedar, bitter orange peel, ryu, turpentine, cinnamon, bergamot, citrus unshiu, calamus, pine, lavender, bay, clove, hiba, eucalyptus, lemon, starflower, thyme, peppermint, rose, sage, menthol, cineole, eugenol, citral, citronellol, borneol, linalool, geraniol, evening primrose, camphor, thymol, spirantol, pinene, limonene and terpenoid oils;

(j) fats such as cholesterol, ceramides, sucrose esters and pseudo-ceramides as described in EP-A 556,957 ;

(k) vitamins such as vitamins A and E and vitamin alkyl esters which include those vitamin C alkyl esters;

(l) Sunscreens such as octyl methoxylcinamate (Parsol MCX) and butyl methoxybenzoylmethane (Parsol 1789);

(m) phospholipids; and

(n) Mixtures of any of the preceding components.

A further requirement for the care composition according to the invention is that the composition has a viscosity of more than 10,000 centipoise. This viscosity may be present because an individual plasticizer may have a viscosity above this limit or because lower viscosity plasticizers have been thickened to have such a viscosity.

A particularly preferred conditioning agent is silicone, as indicated, especially silicones having a viscosity of greater than 10,000 mPa·s⁻¹ (10,000 centipoise). The silicone may be a rubber and/or a mixture of silicones. An example is polydimethylsiloxane having a viscosity of about 60,000 mP·sa⁻¹ (60,000 centistokes).

The conditioning agent generally comprises about 1% to 70%, preferably 30% to 60%, most preferably 40% to 60%, by weight of the powdered composition. As stated above, if the conditioning agent comprises 50% of the powder and the powder comprises 20% of the powder/chip mixture that is extruded to form the finished bars (i.e., 20% powder/80% chips), the loading of conditioning agent is 10%.

carrier

In one embodiment, the carrier component can be any water-soluble starch, including both partially soluble starches (such as corn or potato starch) and, more preferably, "true" water-soluble starches, i.e., starches in which at least 10% or more by weight of starch dissolves in water to form a clear or substantially clear solution. Examples of these include maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is particularly preferred.

In another embodiment, the carrier may be a water-soluble amorphous solid, such as alkali metal caseinates (e.g., sodium caseinate).

The carrier can also be a water-soluble semicrystalline solid, such as gelatin.

The carrier of the invention should have a melting point of over 80°C, preferably over 100°C. Although we do not wish to be bound by theory, it is believed that carriers with such high melting points can survive the powder preparation process by spray drying undamaged without forming a greasy, insoluble mixture. It is understood that when prepared in a production spray dryer, carriers with lower melting points (theoretically down to room temperature) can be used. All that matters is that the temperature of the carrier must remain above the temperature in the drying chamber in which the adjuvant is formed.

The carrier component will generally comprise 15% to 98%, preferably 30% to 50% of the powder composition.

Water

A third component of the powder composition is water, which makes up 1 to 10% of the powder. It should be noted that for some materials it may not be necessary to have extremely low water, even if some additional water is needed (e.g. to increase powder flow), because the powder may in any case be hygroscopic.

Depositing/processing aids

An optional component of the powder composition is a deposition/processing aid selected from the group consisting of (1) anionic, cationic, nonionic and amphoteric surfactants; (2) cationic polymers; and (3) hydrophilic polymers.

The surfactant adjuvants of group (1) can be any of dozens of suitable surfactants including, but not limited to, the following: alkyl ether sulfates; alkyl ethoxylates; alkyl ethoxycarboxylates; alkyl glycerol ether sulfonates; alpha-olefin sulfonates; acyl taurides; methyl acyl taurates; N-acyl glutamates; acyl isothionates; anionic acyl sarcosinates; alkyl phosphates; methyl glucose esters; protein condensates; ethoxylated alkyl sulfates; alkyl polyglucosides; alkyl amine oxides; betaines; sultaines; alkyl sulfosuccinates, dialkyl sulfosuccinates, acyl lactylates, and mixtures thereof. Of the detergents listed above, preferred are those based on C8 to C24, more preferably those based on C10 to C18 alkyl and acyl moieties.

The preferred surfactants include sulfosuccinates, such as cocoamide sulfosuccinate; amidobetaines, such as cocosamidopropyl betaine; and aldonamides, such as lactobionamides.

Useful cationic polymers include Polymer JR-type cationic polymers (e.g., Polymer JR-400) manufactured by Union Carbide; Merquat® polymers such as Merquat 100 and Merquat 500 from Merck &Co.; Jaguar® polymers such as Jaguar® C-14-S from Stein Hall; Mirapol® polymers such as Mirapol A15® from Miranol Chemicals.

Other suitable cationic polymers may include copolymers of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate and acrylamide and copolymers of dimethyldiallylammonium chloride and acrylamide in which the ratio of cationic to neutral nonionic units is selected to impart a cationic charge to the copolymers. Other suitable cationic polymers include cationic starches, e.g., StaLok® 300 and 400 manufactured by Staley, Inc.

Other useful cationic polymers are described in U.S. Patent No. 4,438,094 to Grollier/Allec, issued March 20, 1984.

Useful hydrophilic polymers include polyalkylene glycols with a molecular weight of 1450 to 150,000, such as PEG 8000 from Union Carbide.

The above ingredients comprise 0 to 30%, preferably 0 to 15% of the powder composition.

Manufacturing

The powdered adjuvants of the invention are generally, although not necessarily, prepared by preparing a mixture of conditioning agent (usually as an emulsion), water-soluble carrier (e.g. maltodextrin) and optionally a deposition/processing aid to form a slurry.

The conditioning agents are generally incorporated into the slurry as emulsions, as indicated. These emulsions are either supplied or can be prepared in the laboratory, depending on availability and the conditioning agents of interest. Silicone is readily available from Dow® as an emulsion, whereas mineral oil is more easily emulsified in the laboratory. Emulsions typically contain 30%-50% internal phase, i.e. conditioning agents, 2%-10% emulsifying aid and the balance water.

The carrier is usually prepared in the form of a solution and it is generally preferred to add the depositing/processing aid (if used) to this carrier solution. For example, starch can be prepared in the form of a solution which usually contains the depositing/processing aid. More specifically, for example, maltodextrin can be prepared as a 50% solution, kept at 60-70ºC and, while stirring with a vertical stirrer, the depositing/processing aid, if available, be added to the maltodextrin solution.

Typically, the conditioner emulsion and the process aid solution are mixed, diluted to a water content of 70% and heated to about 70ºC. Note that the dilution is only to ensure that the viscosity is low enough to be pumpable on a laboratory scale. On a larger scale, where higher viscosity fluids can be more easily handled, dilution is not necessarily required. The finished slurry is then pumped to a spray dryer.

In the spray dryer, the slurry is pumped into a tube, where the nozzle of the tube may be at 80ºC to 200ºC, preferably 100ºC to 200ºC. At the end of the nozzle, the slurry is atomized by a parallel flow of high pressure air. The water is then evaporated, leaving a free-flowing powder which encapsulates the conditioning agent.

The preparation of the powder therefore usually comprises mixing the carrier and the care agent at 40°C to 80°C, preferably at 50°C to 70°C, passing the mixture through a spray dryer at a nozzle temperature of 80°C to 200°C, preferably 100°C to 200°C, at a pressure of 0.10 to 0.30 mPa and collecting the resulting powder.

A typical adjuvant comprises 0% to 30% deposition/processing aid, 1% to 70% conditioning agent, 30% to 98% carrier and 1% to 10% water.

The finished powder is then made into a bar form by first mixing it with the chips in a mixer. The adjuvant powder and the toilet soap chips are then extruded into blocks using standard equipment and pressed into bars. Bars containing adjuvant show increased deposition of the care agent compared to bars where the care product is added directly to the bar during the mixing stage.

Surfactant chips

As indicated, 1% to 30% adjuvant is used in the finished bar. The remaining ingredients that make up the composition of the finished bar (i.e., 99 to 70% chips) include chips that comprise the surfactant system that defines the bar.

Specifically, the surfactant system chips comprise from 5 to 90% by weight of a surfactant system, wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of soap (including pure soap surfactant systems), anionic surfactant, nonionic surfactant, amphoteric/zwitterionic surfactant, cationic surfactant, and mixtures thereof. These chips may additionally comprise other components typically found in finished bar compositions, such as minor amounts of fragrance, preservatives, and skin-flattering polymers, etc.

Surfactant systems

The term "soap" is used herein in its usual sense, i.e., alkali metal or alkanolammonium salts of aliphatic alkane or alkene monocarboxylic acids. Sodium, potassium, mono-, di- and triethanolammonium cations, or combinations thereof, are suitable for purposes of this invention. Generally, sodium soaps are used in the compositions of the invention, but from about 1% to about 25% of the soap may be potassium soaps. The soaps useful herein are the well-known alkali metal salts of natural or synthetic aliphatic (alkanic or alkenoic) acids having from about 12 to 22 carbon atoms, preferably from about 12 to about 18 carbon atoms.

They can be described as alkali metal carboxylates of acrylic hydrocarbons with about 12 to about 22 carbon atoms.

Soaps with the fatty acid distribution of coconut oil represent the lower end of the broad molecular weight range. Those soaps with the fatty acid distribution of peanut or rapeseed oil, or their hydrogenated derivatives, represent the upper end of the broad molecular weight range.

The use of soaps with the fatty acid distribution of coconut oil or tallow or mixtures thereof is preferred because these are among the more readily available fats. The proportion of fatty acids with at least 12 carbon atoms in the coconut oil soap is about 85%. The proportion is higher when mixtures of coconut oil and fats such as tallow, palm oil or oils or fats from non-tropical nuts are used in which the main chain length is C₁₆ or more. The soap preferably used in the compositions of the invention has at least about 85% fatty acids with about 12 to 18 carbon atoms.

The coconut oil used in the soap can be replaced in whole or in part by other "highly seductive" oils, i.e. oils or fats in which at least 50% of the total fatty acids are composed of lauric or myristic acid and mixtures thereof. These oils are generally represented by the oils of tropical nuts of the coconut class. These include, for example, palm kernel oil, babassu oil, ouricuri oil, tucum oil, cohune nut oil, murumuru oil, jaboty kernel oil, khakan kernel oil, dika nut oil and ucuhuba butter.

A preferred soap consists of a mixture of about 15% to about 20% coconut oil and about 80% to about 85% tallow. These mixtures contain about 95% fatty acids having about 12 to about 18 carbon atoms. The soap can be made from coconut oil in which case the content of fatty acids with a C₁₂-C₁₈ chain length is about 85%.

The soaps may contain unsaturated compounds in accordance with commercial standards. Excessive unsaturation is normally avoided.

Soaps can be made by the classic kettle boiling process or by modern continuous soap making processes in which natural fats and oils such as tallow or coconut oil or equivalents are saponified with alkali metal hydroxide using processes well known to those skilled in the art. Alternatively, the soaps can be made by neutralizing fatty acids such as lauric (C12), myristic (C14), palmitic (C16) or stearic (C18) acids with an alkali metal hydroxide or carbonate.

The active anionic detergent which can be used can be aliphatic sulfonates such as a primary alkane (e.g. C8-C22) sulfonate, a primary alkane (e.g. C8-C22) disulfonate, a C8-C22 alkene sulfonate, C8-C22 hydroxyalkarsulfonate or alkyl glycerol ether sulfonate (AGS); or aromatic sulfonates such as alkyl benzene sulfonate.

The anionic agent may also be an alkyl sulfate (e.g. C₁₂-C₁₈ alkyl sulfate) or alkyl ether sulfate (including alkyl glycerol ether sulfates), among the alkyl ether sulfates those having the formula:

RO(CH2 OH2 O)nSO3 M

are wherein R is an alkyl or alkenyl having 8 to 18 carbon atoms, preferably 12 to 18 carbon atoms, n has an average value of greater than 1.0, preferably greater than 3; and M is a solubilizing cation such as sodium, potassium, ammonium or a substituted ammonium. Ammonium and sodium lauryl ether sulfates are preferred.

The anionic agent may also be sulfosuccinates (including mono- and dialkyl, e.g. C6-C22-sulfosuccinates); alkyl and acyl taurates, alkyl and acyl sarcosinates, sulfoacetates, C8-C22-alkyl phosphates and phosphates, alkyl phosphate esters and alkoxyl alkyl phosphate esters, acyl lactates, C8-C22-monoalkyl succinates and maleates, sulfoacetates, alkyl glucosides and acyl isothionates. Sulfosuccinates may be monoalkyl sulfosuccinates of the formula

R⁴O⁴CCH⁴CH(SO⁴M)CO⁴M; and

Amide MEA sulfosuccinates of the formula

R4 CONHCH2 CH2 O2 CCH2 CH(SO3 M)CO2 M

wherein R4 ranges from C8-C22 alkyl and M is a solubilizing cation.

Sarcosinates are generally defined by the formula

R¹CON(CH₃)CH₂CO₂M

where R¹ ranges from C₈-C₂₀ alkyl and M is a solubilizing cation.

Taurates are generally described by the formula

R²CONR³CH₂CH₂SO₃M

wherein R2 ranges from C8-C20 alkyl, R3 ranges from C1-C4 alkyl and M is a solubilizing cation.

The C8-C18 acyl isothionates are particularly preferred. These esters are prepared by reacting alkali metal isothionate with mixed aliphatic fatty acids having from 6 to 18 carbon atoms and an iodine number of less than 20. At least 75% of the mixed fatty acids have from 12 to 18 carbon atoms, and up to 25% have from 6 to 10 carbon atoms.

Acyl isothionates, when present, typically make up from about 10% to about 70% by weight of the total bar composition. Preferably, this ingredient makes up from about 30% to about 60%.

The acyl isothionate may be an alkoxylated isothionate as described in Ilardi et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,393,466. This compound has the general formula:

wherein R is an alkyl group having 8 to 18 carbons, m is an integer from 1 to 4, Y is hydrogen or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbons, and M⁺ is a monovalent cation such as sodium, potassium or ammonium.

Amphoteric detergents that can be used in this invention include at least one acid group. This can be a carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid group. They include quaternary nitrogen and are therefore quaternary amido acids. They should generally include an alkyl or alkenyl group of 7 to 18 carbon atoms. They usually adhere to an overall structural formula:

wherein R¹ is alkyl or alkenyl having 7 to 18 carbon atoms;

R² and R³ are each independently alkyl, hydroxyalkyl or carboxyalkyl having 1 to 3 carbon atoms;

m is 2 to 4;

n is 0 to 1;

X is alkylene having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, optionally substituted with hydroxyl, and

Y is -CO₂- or -SO₃-.

Suitable amphoteric cleaning agents include, under the above general formula, simple betaines of the formula:

and amidobetaines of the formula:

where n is 2 or 3.

In both formulas, R¹, R² and R³ are as defined above. R¹ can in particular be a mixture of C₁₂ and C₁₄ alkyl groups derived from coconut, so that at least half, preferably at least three quarters of the R¹ groups have 10 to 14 carbon atoms. R² and R³ are preferably methyl.

Another possibility is that the amphoteric detergent contains a sulfobetaine with the formula:

or

wherein m is 2 or 3, or variants thereof in which -(CH₂)₃SO₃⊃min; is replaced by

is replaced.

In these formulas, R¹, R² and R³ are as defined above.

The nonionics which can be used as a second component in the invention include, in particular, the reaction products of compounds having a hydrophobic group and a reactive hydrogen atom, for example aliphatic alcohols, acids, amides or alkylphenols with alkylene oxides, in particular either with ethylene oxide alone or with propylene oxide. Specific nonionic cleaning compounds are (C6-C22) phenol-ethylene oxide condensates, the condensation products of aliphatic (C8-C18) primary or secondary, linear or branched alcohols with ethylene oxide, and products prepared by condensation of ethylene oxide with the reaction products of propylene oxide with ethylene oxamine. Other so-called non-ionic cleaning compounds include long-chain tertiary amine oxides, long-chain tertiary phosphine oxides, and dialkyl sulfoxides.

The nonionic agent may also be a sugar amide, such as a polysaccharide amide. In particular, the surfactant may be one of the lactobionamides described in U.S. Patent No. 5,389,279 to Au et al., which is incorporated by reference here, or one of the sugar amides described in U.S. Patent No. 5,009,814 to Kelkenberg.

Examples of cationic cleaning agents are the quaternary ammonium compounds, such as alkyldimethylammonium halides.

Other useful surfactants are described in U.S. Patent No. 3,723,325 to Parran Jr, and in "Surface Active Agents and Detergents" (Volumes I & II) by Schwartz, Perry & Berch.

Although the bar may be a pure soap bar, the surfactant system of this chip (which forms the surfactant system in the bar) preferably comprises:

(a) a first synthetic surfactant which is anionic; and

(b) a second synthetic surfactant selected from the group consisting of a second anionic surfactant different from the first, a nonionic surfactant, an amphoteric surfactant, and mixtures thereof.

The first anionic surfactant can be any of those listed above, but is preferably a C8 to C18 isothionate as discussed above. Acyl isothionate preferably comprises 10 to 90% by weight, preferably 10% to 70% of the total composition of the bar.

The second surfactant is preferably a sulfosuccinate, a betaine, or a mixture of the two. The second surfactant or surfactant mixture generally comprises 1% to 10% of the total composition of the bar. A particularly preferred composition comprises sufficient sulfosuccinate to form 3-8% of the total composition of the bar and sufficient betaine to form 1-5% of the total composition of the bar.

processing

The adjuvants of the invention are combined with the "surfactant" chips in a shaker or ribbon blender, where they can be refined (e.g. processed into a more pliable mass), compacted into pieces, mashed and cut.

Except for the test and comparative examples or where otherwise expressly stated, all figures in this description, the quantities of material or specify reaction and/or application conditions, are to be understood as modified by the word "about".

The following examples are intended to further illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit the invention in any way.

Unless otherwise stated, all percentages are intended as percent by weight.

example 1 Bar production with spray dried adjuvant Preparation of the slurry:

In a large beaker, 232.5 g of water was heated to over 40ºC. While stirring, 232.5 g of maltodextrin was added and the mixture was mixed and heated until the solution was clear. Then 6.25 g of 40% activity kanonical polymer Merquat 100 was added. Immediately 465 g of Dow 1650 silicone emulsion (50% active with 60,000 mPa·s (60,000 cps) as internal phase) was added and the temperature was maintained at 50-70ºC. In cases where the mixture was too thick to pump, another 640.8 g of water was added to adjust the total mixture to 70% water.

Powder production:

The mixture was then pumped through a miniature laboratory scale Yamato, Pulvis GB 22 spray dryer. The inlet temperature was set at 200ºC and the spray pressure at 0.15 mPa. The resulting powder was collected in a cyclone and removed from the bottom of the drying chamber. In this case the nozzle size was not important. The nozzle is a direct current flow type nozzle.

Bar production:

The powder produced by spray drying was incorporated into a bar matrix using the following procedure:

(1) 1.8 kg (4 lbs) of Dove (trademark) chips and 0.45 kg (1 lb) of spray dried powder were dry mixed in a suitably large container or drum.

(2) The mixture was transported through a two-stage Weber-Selander press, where noodles were formed in the first stage and a block in the second stage.

(3) The block was cut to fit the bar mold in the press and used to form a bar.

The resulting bar contained approximately 9.3% 60000 mPa·s (60000 cps) poly(dimethylsiloxane).

In vitro deposition test

Samples were treated by rubbing the bar 10 times on a 25 cm2 piece of wet pig skin, lathering the resulting liquid for 30 seconds, and then rinsing the skin with water at 36.3-39.4ºC (90-95ºF) for 10 seconds. The treated pig skin was then placed in a vial and the silicone extracted with 10 ml of xylene. Next, the skin was removed from the vial and the extracted solvent was analyzed for silicone using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy.

The deposition results are as follows:

The silicone deposit on the skin is comparable to the deposit from shower gels. Additional examples of spray-dried powders

* Polydimethylsiloxane 60000 mPa s (60000 cps)

** Commercially available thickened mineral oil 50000 mPa·s (50000 cps)

*** Cocoamidopropyl betaine

**** Cocoamidosulphosuccinate

The columns do not add up to 100. The rest is water.

Claims (14)

1. A bar-shaped composition comprising (A) 1% to 30% of a powdered adjuvant comprising: (A) (a) 1 to 70% by weight of skin conditioning agent in the powder; (b) 15 to 98% by weight of carrier in the powder with a melting point above the drying chamber temperature in which the powdered adjuvant is formed, (c) 1 to 10% by weight of water in the powder; and (d) 0 to 30 wt.% deposition/processing aid in the powder selected from (i) anionic, cationic, nonionic and amphoteric surfactants; (ii) cationic polymers; and (iii) hydrophilic polymers; and (B) 99% to 70% chips comprising 5% to 90% of a surfactant system, wherein the surfactant is selected from soap, anionic surfactant, nonionic surfactant, amphoteric surfactant, cationic surfactant and mixtures thereof, wherein the powdered adjuvant is prepared by a spray drying process. 2. Composition according to claim 1, wherein the care agent is in the form of an emulsion prior to spray drying. 3. Composition according to claim 2, wherein the emulsion comprising: (a) 30-50% care products; (b) 2-10% emulsifier; and (c) Residual water. 4. A composition according to any preceding claim, wherein the carrier is a partially soluble starch, selected from corn and potato starch. 5. A composition according to any preceding claim, wherein the carrier is a starch in which 10% by weight or more of a solution of starch dissolves in water to form a clear or substantially clear solution, optionally the starch being maltodextrin. 6. A composition according to any preceding claim, wherein the carrier is a water-soluble amorphous solid. 7. A composition according to any preceding claim, wherein the carrier is either: (i) alkali metal caseinate; (ii) a semi-crystalline water-soluble solid; or (iii) Gelatin. 8. Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrier has a melting point of above 80°C, optionally above 100°C. 9. A composition according to any preceding claim, wherein the deposition/processing aid is a surfactant selected from sulfosuccinates, amidobetaines and aldonamides. 10. A composition according to any preceding claim, wherein the hydrophilic polymer is polyalkylene glycol having a MW of 1450 to 150,000. 11. A process for preparing a bar composition according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein (A) and (B) are prepared separately; wherein (a), (b), (c) and optionally (d) are mixed at 40°C to 80°C; wherein the mixture of (a) and (b) is spray dried at 80°C to 200°C at a pressure of 0.10 to 0.30 mPa; and wherein (A) and (B) are mixed, compacted and extruded into a finished bar. 12. The process of claim 11, wherein (a), (b) and (c) are mixed to form a slurry. 13. A process according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the carrier (d) is a solution of maltodextrin. 14. A process according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein (a), (b) and (c) are heated to about 70°C.