WO2025238655A1

WO2025238655A1 - Hair repair composition

Info

Publication number: WO2025238655A1
Application number: PCT/IN2025/050732
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sushant Murudkar; Vaishali Gode
Original assignee: MARICO Ltd
Current assignee: MARICO Ltd
Priority date: 2024-05-17
Filing date: 2025-05-09
Publication date: 2025-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 2026-11-17

Abstract

The present invention relates to hair repair composition comprising i. 0.1wt% to 40wt% weak carboxylic acids, ii. 0.1wt% to 80wt% fatty acids, iii. 0.4wt% to 40wt% amino acids, and iv. 50wt% to 99.9wt% solvent, wherein, wt% of component (i) to (iv) is 100wt% based on total weight of the composition. The hair repair composition of the present disclosure provides a composition that can nourish and strengthen hair to combat hair damage, repair damaged hair, and impart generally healthy properties to hair.

Description

HAIR REPAIR COMPOSITION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a hair repair composition. It particularly relates to hair repair composition that helps strengthen hair to combat hair damage, repair damaged hair, and impart generally healthy properties to hair.

BACKGROUND

Consumers desire strong and healthy hair. Environmental factors or intensive chemical or mechanical treatment such as combing, brushing, drying, heating, bleaching, dying, straightening/waving etc. for hair results in weakened or damaged hair. Further, care and styling routines varies with individual to individual which help them achieve their desired look. However, these actions performed by consumers introduce modifications to the chemistry of hair keratin protein which results structural changes to hair fiber at micro- and macro- structural level. The changes in physical properties of hair fiber are generally perceived as damage by the consumers. Once the hair is damaged, it is more susceptible to further damage and breakage. Damage causes hair bonds to break. This results in loss of combability, moisture retention, luster, shine and softness in hair.

Hair is largely made of keratin, and like any protein, it's composed of amino acids, which are joined together by three main types of bonds, namely hydrogen bonds, ionic (or salt) bonds and disulphide (or covalent) bonds. They all behave differently when hair is exposed to humidity, heat and stress.

The hydrogen bond or ionic (or salt) bonds break quite easily with moisture and then reform in dry condition.

Hair becomes more fragile when it's wet and many stylists recommend wrapping the hair in the towel and gently squeezing rather than rubbing it after washing. Amongst all bonds, hydrogen bonds are the weakest type of bonds, they break down easily with humidity. Therefore, hair loses its style or goes frizzy when it's humid. They reform again when the hair is dry, which is how one can 'set' hair with heat in chosen style.

Ionic [or salt] bonds are stronger but they still break down when the hair is completely wet. Both hydrogen and ionic bonds break and reform all the time. On the other hand, disulphide bonds, break permanently under stress from factors such as heat, coloring or tugging. They are the strongest, more brittles and don't naturally repair themselves. Breaking of these bonds lead to frazzled and dry look to hair which are hard to style.

Unlike conditioners that coat and hydrate strands, bond repair hair treatment works to heal and strengthen the shaft from within, working on one or more types of bonds, depending on the final product.

Various organic molecules and combinations thereof have been suggested for use in the treatment of damaged hair.

WO2023281310 describes compositions and methods for improving the physical properties of healthy and damaged hair, comprising selected (meth) acrylate monomers.

JP2021130632 describes oil based solid cosmetics containing an ester oil, the oil-based solid cosmetics containing (A) polyglycerol fatty acid ester and (B) at least one selected from a wax and a hydrogenated vegetable oil.

KR20210081672 discloses a cosmetic composition for recovering damaged hair, comprising keratin protein or peptide, coconut oil and citric acid.

FR3113591A1 discloses amino acids containing hair treatment compositions. The compositions comprising a) at least one negatively charged amino acid and a derivative thereof (0.1% to 10% by weight), b) at least one positively charged amino acid and a derivative thereof (0.1% to 10% by weight), c) at least one silicone copolymer (0.1% to 10% by weight) and d) at least one nonionic emulsifier (0.01% to about 5%). The composition is in the form of emulsion and the ratio of negatively charged amino acids and positively charged amino acids is in the range of 1:5 to 5: 1. The challenge associated with amino acids-based haircare formulations is stability of the formulation and when amino acids are used in the haircare formulations can result in an undesirable hair feel, such as a lack of flexibility with stiff, straight hair. FR3113591A1 suggest use of higher amounts of amino acids based on total weight of the composition and uses both the negatively charged and the positively charged amino acids.

US2018116942A1 discloses compositions for treating keratinous substrates, such as the hair comprising at least one amino acid, at least one carboxylic acid, at least one amine, and at least one cationic polymer. The concentration of amine and carboxylic acid present in the composition in an amount 0.01% to about 20%, by weight, based on the total weight of the composition. The concentration of cationic polymer is up to about 20% based on total weight of the composition.

The combinations or compositions reported in the prior art fail to provide desired repair, nourishment and strength to damaged hair.

Hence, there is a need for products that can nourish and strengthen hair in order to combat hair damage, repair damaged hair, and impart generally healthy properties to hair.

We have now surprisingly found that compositions comprising amino acids, fatty acids and weak carboxylic acids provide high level of repair to the damaged hair.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the present disclosure is to provide a composition for hair repair.

Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a composition that can nourish and strengthen hair to combat hair damage, repair damaged hair, and impart generally healthy properties to hair.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a composition for hair repair comprising, i. 0.1 wt% to 40wt% weak carboxylic acids, ii. 0.1 wt% to 80wt% fatty acids, iii. 0.4wt% to 40wt% amino acids, and iv. 50wt% to 99.9wt% solvent, wherein, wt% of component (i) to (iv) is 100wt% based on total weight of the composition.

The present invention provides a high level of repair to damaged hair caused by bleach, heat, surfactant and pollution.

The present invention also provides a method of preparation of composition for hair repair.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present subject matter will become better understood with reference to the following description. This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The above and other features, aspects and advantages of the subject matter will be better understood with regard to the following description, and accompanying drawings where:

Figure 1 provides effect on tensile strength of the bleached damaged hair sample after damage recovery treatment (20 cycles) by the present composition.

Figure 2 provides effect on tensile strength of the bleached damaged hair sample (H2) after damage recovery treatment (1 cycle) by the present composition.

Figure 3 provides effect on tensile strength of the heat damaged hair sample (H3) after damage recovery treatment (20 cycles) by the present composition.

Figure 4 provides effect on tensile strength of the surfactant damaged hair sample (H5) after damage recovery treatment (20 cycles) by the present composition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.

Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The composition disclosed in the prior art do not meet the desired requirements of the composition which helps to recover the damage to the hair. The composition of the present invention advantageously demonstrated the beneficial effects for the recovery of damaged hair along with desired nourishment, strengthening of hair to combat hair damage, to repair damaged hair, and to impart healthy properties to hair.

Therefore, in an aspect, the present disclosure provides a composition for hair repair comprise, i. 0.1 wt% to 40wt% weak carboxylic acids, ii. 0.1 wt% to 80wt% fatty acids, iii. 0.4wt% to 40wt% amino acids, and iv. 50wt% to 99.9wt% solvent, wherein, the wt% of component (i) to (iv) is 100wt% based on total weight of the composition.

The weak carboxylic acids are selected from citric acid, ascorbic acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, maleic acid, salicylic acid, phthalic acid or mixtures thereof, fatty acids are selected from oleic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid or mixtures thereof, amino acids are selected from cysteic acid, aspartic acid, glycine, alanine, glutamic acid, phenyl alanine, P-alanine, isoleucine, leucine, proline, glutamine, serine, threonine, valine, tryptophane, tyrosine, oligomers of amino acids such as glycylglycine or mixtures thereof, and solvents are selected from water, oil or emulsion.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a composition for hair repair comprising, i. lwt% to 13wt% weak carboxylic acids, ii. lwt% to 20wt% fatty acids, iii. lwt% to 12wt% amino acids, and iv. 55wt% to 97% solvent, wherein, wt% of component (i) to (iv) is 100wt% based on total weight of the composition.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a composition for hair repair comprising, i. 2.5wt% to 12wt% weak carboxylic acids, ii. lwt% to 20wt% fatty acids, iii. lwt% to 10wt% amino acids, and iv. 58wt% to 95.5% solvent, wherein, wt% of component (i) to (iv) is 100wt% based on total weight of the composition.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the solvent is emulsion.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the solvent is oil selected from light liquid paraffin, sunflower oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, sesame oil, rice bran oil, canola oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, cotton seed oil, corn oil, palm oil, mustard oil, high oleic oils, castor oil or mixtures thereof.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the solvent is light liquid paraffin.

In another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a composition for hair repair comprising, i. 2.5wt% citric acid, ii. lwt% oleic acid, iii. lwt% cysteic acid, and iv. 95.5wt% emulsion.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a composition for hair repair comprising, i. 3wt% ascorbic acid, ii. 1.5wt% lauric acid, iii. 0.4wt% aspartic acid, and iv. 95.1wt% emulsion.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a composition for hair repair comprising, i. 12wt% citric acid, ii. 5wt% oleic acid, iii. 5wt% cysteic acid, and iv. 78wt% emulsion.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a composition for hair repair comprising, i. 4wt% citric acid, ii. 20wt% oleic acid, iii. 10wt% cysteic acid, and iv. 78wt% emulsion.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a composition for hair repair comprising, i. 3 wt% Ascorbic acid, ii. 1.5 wt% Lauric acid iii. 0.5wt% Aspartic acid, and iv. 95wt% emulsion.

Optionally, a composition of the invention may contain further ingredients as described below to enhance performance and/or consumer acceptability such as excipients selected from colour, antioxidant, fragrance, carboxylate functionalized silicones and herbal extract oil or combinations thereof.

Antioxidant is selected from the group consisting of tocopherol or vitamin E, propyl gallate, octyl gallate and oryzanol or combinations thereof.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of preparation of composition comprising steps of: a. dissolving amino acid and weak carboxylic acid in water to form first pre-blend; b. dissolving fatty acid in oil base to form a second pre-blend; c. mixing first pre-blend obtained in step (a), second pre-blend obtained in step (b) to oil in water (o/w) or water in oil (w/o) type emulsions to obtain emulsion composition; d. subjecting emulsion composition obtained in step (c), to homogenization to obtain homogenized emulsion composition.

The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples. These examples describe possible preferred embodiments for illustrative purposes only, but they do not limit the scope of the invention. These laboratory scale experiments can be scaled up to industrial/ commercial scale.

Hair treatment compositions of the invention are primarily intended for topical application to the hair and/or scalp of a human subject, either in rinse-off, for the treatment of dry, damaged and/or unmanageable hair.

EXAMPLES

The following examples are given by way of illustration of the present invention and should not be construed to limit the scope of present disclosure. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are intended to provide further explanation of the subject matter.

Although the subject matter has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. As such, the spirit and scope of the subject matter should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiment contained therein. Materials and Methods a) Compositions -

Compositions were prepared as per table 2, by method as follows: i. Oil formulation (Composition Cl):

The required quantity of fatty acid (as per columns 2 to 4 of table 2) was mixed with light liquid paraffin oil under stirring at 300 to 500 rpm with overhead stirrer at room temperature or at 50 °C to melt fatty acid and facilitating complete dissolution of fatty acid in light liquid paraffin oil to form oil formulation ready for application to hair. ii. Tonic formulation (Composition C2 & C3):

The required quantity of amino acid and/or weak carboxylic acid (as per columns 2 to 4 of table 2) were mixed with distilled water under stirring at 300 to 500 rpm with overhead stirrer at room temperature to form tonic formulation ready for application to hair. iii. Emulsion formulation (Composition C4 to C6, Il to 15): a. The required quantity of amino acid and weak carboxylic acid (as per columns 2 to 4 of table 2) were first dissolved in minimum quantity of water and used as pre-blend. b. On similar way, the required quantity of fatty acid was mixed with an oil base and used as another pre-blend. c. These pre-blends were then added to standard oil in water (o/w) or water in oil (w/o) type emulsions (in the form of shampoo, cream or lotion etc.) and homogenized to form homogenized emulsion mixtures ready for application to hair. b) Human Hair Sourcing

Tresses of 20 cm long Asian (Indian) hairs used in the present disclosure were sourced from a local supplier. The hair samples supplied were obtained from users who have not undergone any chemical or thermal treatment(s) and were black in color typical of hairs from people with Asian (Indian) origin. The hair samples were divided into multiple swatches weighing 5 gram each and stored under controlled environmental conditions of 65% relative humidity (+/-2%) and temperature at 25°C (+/-1 °C). c) Hair Swatch Washing The swatches were washed with 15% sodium lauryl ethoxy sulphate (SLES) under controlled conditions which can be described as below: i. SLES Amount (15% SLES Solution): 10% of weight of hair tress ii. Regulated rubbing of swatches during application: 5 strokes on each side of the swatch back and forth motion iii. Rinsing of Swatch: rubbing swatch 10 times on each side in back-and-forth motion (1 min) under flowing tap water. d) Hair Treatments

1. Bleach damage protocol a) Mixture of 3.5 gram of commercial bleach and 4.5-gram commercial cream (30 vol|9%) applied on 5-gram hair swatch. b) Hair was then wrapped in the foil paper for 60 minutes. c) After hair swatch was washed with 15% solution of SLES as per the hair washing procedure mentioned above and then dried at ambient temperature.

2. Pollution damage protocol a) A close chamber was prepared with a dimension (h x I x d) of 35 cm x 35 cm x 35 cm. b) Three cigarettes (50 mm length) of the same brand were sequentially smoked inside the chamber. c) The smoking time for each cigarette was uniform, which was approximately 8-10 minutes. d) Hair swatch was exposed to the smoke inside the chamber. e) The total exposer time of hair swatch inside the chamber was 1 hour for each cycle. f) Hair swatch was then removed from the chamber and washing was performed as per washing procedure using SLES to remove residue, and finally hung up to be air-dried. g) This procedure was repeated for five cycles in total. h) The control samples were cleaned with the same washing method used at the pretreatment stage and this was repeated for five cycles. 3. Surfactant damage protocol

Hair swatch was washed 30 times with SLES as per procedure mention in the section - Hair Swatch Washing. Increase in surface roughness of the hair swatch indicates the damage.

4. Heat damage protocol a) The heat straightener (230 °C) was used to prepare heat damaged hair swatches. b) After clamping hair swatch, the heated straightener was glided on the hair swatch firmly. c) Same heat treatment repeated for 1 minute. d) Finally, hair swatch washed with SLES solution and dried in the ambient atmosphere.

5. Hard water damage protocols a) Hard water was prepared by dissolving 0.304 g of anhydrous calcium chloride and 0.139 g of magnesium chloride per litre of deionised water. The measured hardness was 342 mg/L calculated as calcium carbonate. b) Hair swatch washed with hard water rubbing swatch 10 times on each side in back- and-forth motion (1 min). Excess water from hair swatch was then dabbed with tissue paper. The hair swatch was then allowed for drying at ambient temperature for 8-10 hours. c) Steps (a) and (b) were repeated for 30 times. Increase in surface roughness of the hair swatch indicates the damage. e) Product application protocol

Product treatment of hair swatches involves uniform pouring of hair oil with active (10% of weight of hair tress) using pipette in small amounts. Pouring of product is followed by gentle rubbing of the hair swatch 5 times on each side in back-and-forth motions to distribute the oil evenly. The treated swatches were incubated as for around 15 hours in a chamber with controlled humidity and temperature conditions (RH60% and Temperature- 25°C). The overnight oiled swatches were washed with SLES as mentioned earlier. Three swatches per treatment were used for evaluation. f) Hair Average Diameter Measurement Diameter measurement of hair strands was estimated using Laser Scan Micrometer (Model LSM-6200). The instrument was programmed to collect 5 scans across the length of the fibre (30 mm) at uniform spacing. Average cross-sectional area was reported for each strand on analysis. g) Single Fibre Tensile Extension

Individual hair strands were selected from hair swatches and crimped to a length of 30 mm. The crimped strands were then subjected to Tensile testing using a Dia-Stron Mini Tensile Tester MTT175 wherein the strands were extended at a uniform extension rate of 20 mm/min until fibre fracture. The stress-strain curve obtained for 40 strands per swatch (120 strands per treatment) were analyzed using the software to obtain different tensile parameters - elastic Modulus, break stress, break extension and toughness. All the tests were done in a chamber with controlled environmental conditions (25°C ± 2°C, 60% ± 2% RH). Table 1 demonstrates the tensile strength of the hair subjected to various treatment protocol.

Table 1: Tensile strength of hair sample subjected to various treatment protocol.

Table 1 demonstrated effect of different factors such as bleach, heat, pollution, surfactant and hard water on the tensile strength (mPa) of hair fibre.

Table 2: Compositions for damage recovery treatment Table 3: Damage recovery treatment Table 3 demonstrated effects of composition of the present disclosure on the tensile strength of hair sample affected by different factors such as bleach, pollution, heat, surfactant and hard water. As disclosed in table 3, the compositions demonstrated improvement in the tensile strength of the hair samples indicating recovery of damage caused by different factors such as bleach, pollution, surfactant, heat and hard water. TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES

The present disclosure described herein has several technical advantages as follows:

• The composition provides hair improvement in hair strength, shine, softness, smoothness, hair breakage, combability and moisture retention.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A composition comprising, i. 0.1 wt% to 40wt% weak carboxylic acids, ii. 0.1 wt% to 80wt% fatty acids, iii. 0.4wt% to 40wt% amino acids, and iv. 50wt% to 99.9wt% solvent, wherein, wt% of component (i) to (iv) is 100wt% based on total weight of the composition.

2. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein weak carboxylic acid is selected from citric acid, ascorbic acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, maleic acid, salicylic acid, phthalic acid or mixtures thereof.

3. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein fatty acids are selected from caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid.

4. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein amino acids are selected from cysteic acid, aspartic acid, glycine, alanine, glutamic acid, phenyl alanine, P-alanine, isoleucine, leucine, proline, glutamine, serine, threonine, valine, tryptophane, tyrosine, oligomers of amino acids such as glycylglycine or mixtures thereof.

5. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein solvent is selected from water, oil or emulsion.

6. The composition as claimed in claim 5, wherein oil is selected from light liquid paraffin, sunflower oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, sesame oil, rice bran oil, canola oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, cotton seed oil, com oil, palm oil, mustard oil, high oleic oils, castor oil or mixtures thereof.

7. The composition as claimed in claim 5, wherein emulsion type is selected from water in oil (w/o), oil in water (o/w), water in oil in water (w/o/w) or oil in water in oil (o/w/o).

8. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein composition optionally comprises excipients selected from colour, antioxidant, fragrance, carboxylate functionalized silicones and herbal extract oil or combinations thereof.

9. The composition as claimed in claim 8, wherein antioxidant is selected from the group consisting of tocopherol or vitamin E, propyl gallate, octyl gallate and oryzanol or combinations thereof.

10. A method of preparation of composition as claimed in any of the preceding claim, comprising steps of: a. dissolving amino acid and weak carboxylic acid in water to form first pre-blend; b. dissolving fatty acid in oil base to form a second pre-blend; c. mixing first pre-blend obtained in step (a), second pre-blend obtained in step (b) to standard oil in water (o/w) or water in oil (w/o) type emulsions to obtain emulsion composition; d. subjecting emulsion composition obtained in step (c), to homogenization to obtain homogenized emulsion composition.