GB840399A - Shampoo leaves - Google Patents

Abstract

A shampoo leaf comprises a sheet of paper of high wet strength, suitably a vegetable parchment paper, which carries on one or both faces a surface coating of one or more ammonium salts of sulphated fatty alcohols containing 10-18 carbon atoms which adheres to the paper without flaking off, the leaf being such that it can be rubbed on to a user's head without the paper disintegrating. The detergent, which is preferably derived from lauryl alcohol or from narrow-cut alcohols obtained from coconut or palm kernel oils, usually contains 0.5-1.5% (by weight of the final dried surface coating) of a binder such as a natural gum, for example gum acacia, karaya or tragacanth, or a synthetic hydrophilic colloid, for example an alginate, polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethylcellulose, methyl or ethyl cellulose, or hydroxymethyl- or hydroxyethyl-cellulose, which helps the detergent to adhere to the paper. A humectant such as glycerol, ethylene glycol, or diethylene glycol may also be incorporated. Preferably, the leaf has a hole towards one end so that a finger may be inserted to give a grip during use. In a modification, two sheets, each coated on both sides, are stuck together, each sheet having perforations out of register with those of the other sheet, the perforations serving to allow the passage of detergent from between the sheets during use. The leaves may be made by passing a web of paper through a bath of concentrated detergent solution, removing excess liquid by squeezing rollers, drying the coated paper by passage through a tunnel-type infra-red drying chamber, and cutting the dry coated paper so obtained into suitably sized pieces.