Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
  • B65D81/32—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging two or more different materials which must be maintained separate prior to use in admixture
  • B65D81/3261—Flexible containers having several compartments
  • B65D81/3266—Flexible containers having several compartments separated by a common rupturable seal, a clip or other removable fastening device

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a product and method for use in the testing of hair colours, dyes and bleaches, applicable to both the head hair, and other types of hair such as eyelashes and eyebrows.
• Temporary hair colours merely sit on the surface of the hair and can be washed out within a specified number of washings of the hair (usually one or two) .
• Semi-permanent dyes penetrate into the hair shaft. They do not rinse off the hair immediately like temporary dyes, but rather wash out after around five to ten shampoos .
• Gradual or progressive dyes are also known, which are washed into the hair (normally daily) until the shade of the user's hair colour is sufficiently dark. The gradual dye can then be used less often, to maintain the desired hair colour.
• oxidation hair dyes consist of dye intermediates or hair colouring concentrate (which form hair dye upon the occurrence of a chemical reaction, e.g.- p-phenylenediamine) and a solution of hydrogen peroxide (often called the colour or dye "developer") .
• the dye intermediate and the hydrogen peroxide developer are mixed together shortly before application of the solution (i.e.- the hair dye) to the hair.
• the applied mixture causes the hair to swell, allowing the dye intermediate to partially penetrate the hair shaft before full reaction with the developer.
• Semi-permanent and temporary products may also require the mixing of two solutions together to form the final dye solution to be applied to the hair.
• dyeing or tinting of the eyelashes or eyebrows is also a commonly used process within the beauty industry.
• dye used on eyelashes or eyebrows can be permanent in nature, or temporary (e.g.- it lasts for 30 days), and applied either at a salon or using a kit for home use by the consumer.
• Eyelash and brow dyes may also require the mixing of two solutions together (e.g.- an eyelash dye intermediate and an eyelash dye developer) to form the final dye solution to be applied to the eyelashes or brows.
• Hair bleaching is commonly done to make unsightly hair less visible. Again, the procedure can be done in a salon or at home and requires a Bleach and Accelerator (or Activator) to be mixed prior to application. Typical application areas are the face and arms. Within this specification, the term "hair products" will be used to encompass colorants, dyes and bleaches and the like used on hair.
• hair products has been reported to cause allergic reactions such as hair loss conditions like alopecia, burning or irritation of the scalp or skin found near the hairline, itching of this skin and the scalp, swelling of the face and even difficulty breathing. Additionally, users of hair products can become sensitised (i.e.- develop an allergy) to the ingredients of hair dyes or colourants. It is possible for users to use a product for many years before an allergic reaction becomes apparent.
• eyelash dye which is local irritation on the skin caused by ingredients contained in eyelash dyes (e.g.- isopropanol, thiosulphate or surfactants) .
• Certain laws e.g.- US laws governing provision of hairdressing and beauty services, and sale of hair products for home use, usually require that a patch test is recommended to be carried out prior to full Application to the hair or skin.
• Dye products are labelled with a prescribed caution statement which states that the product contains ingredients which may cause skin irritation, thus a preliminary test should be carried out.
• a home user of hair dye products would be required to mix a small amount of the dye intermediate and dye developer around two days prior to their intended Application of the hair colouring solution.
• This can be a cumbersome and inconvenient process, as the bottles or containers of intermediate and developer are of a size intended for full mixture only at the ultimate end of the process (i.e.- immediately before full application to the user's hair) .
• the containers may be awkward to decant small amounts from, and the risk exists that spillage of the intermediate, developer or both may occur onto the user's skin. This consequence has clear ramifications with respect to the potential allergic reaction of the user. Again, this inconvenience and awkwardness often results in the user omitting to perform the patch test prior to full Application of the hair product.
• apparatus for testing hair products comprising multi-chambers wherein one or more chambers each include mutually reactive hair product components.
• At least a first chamber contains a hair dye/colourant intermediate, and at least a second chamber containing a hair dye/colourant developer.
• at least a first chamber contains a bleach and at least a second chamber contains an accelerator or activator.
• At least one chamber contains a quantity of air or inert gas .
• the apparatus may include a chamber containing a substance for cleaning hair product from the user's skin.
• the apparatus comprises a sachet.
• the sachet may be a plastic envelope.
• the external edges of the sachet are sealed together with a high strength seal.
• the chambers of the sachet are separated by one or more inner dividing seals.
• the one or more inner dividing seals are of sufficiently low seal strength to permit rupture upon application of finger pressure by a user.
• the sachet is constructed from heat-sealable material.
• the sachet may be made of UV sealable materials or the like.
• the quantities of components are measured in each chamber.
• a method of testing users of hair products for allergic reactions to the products comprising the following steps :
• a method of testing users of hair products for suitability of a user's hair to the product comprising the steps :
• a method of testing users of hair products for the final hair colour resultant from a dye or colourant of the hair product comprising the steps:
• Figure 1 illustrates apparatus in the form of a sachet having two chambers, according to an embodiment of the present invention
• Figure 2 illustrates the apparatus of Figure 1 once the seal between the two chambers has been broken
• Figure 3 illustrates the apparatus of Figure 1 during mixing of the liquids contained in each of the two chambers of the sachet;
• Figure 4 illustrates the apparatus of Figure 1 with the fully mixed solution being dispensed from the sachet
• Figure 5 illustrates the apparatus of according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
• a sachet 1 is shown, consisting of two chambers 2 and 3.
• Chamber 2 contains dye developer 4 and chamber 3 contains dye intermediate or colouring concentrate 5.
• Chambers 2 and 3 each contain a small amount of air or inert gas, and are separated by inner seal 6.
• Indentation 7 is also provided on an external edge of sachet 1.
• the user applies pressure to the outer surface of sachet 1 sufficient to rupture inner seal 6 by forcing the air/gas from one chamber to the other, or between chambers.
• the ruptured inner seal 6 then allows free passage of dye intermediate 5 from outwith chamber 3.
• Dye intermediate 5 begins to mix with dye developer 4, contained in chamber 2.
• the dye intermediate has been completely evacuated from chamber 3 into chamber 2, to fully mix with the dye developer to form colouring solution 8.
• gentle massaging of sachet 1 by the user facilitates this mixture while indentation 7 remains intact, and sachet 1 remains completely sealed.
• indentation 7 is torn by the user to create an aperture 9, allowing mixed colouring solution 8 to be dispensed through the aperture 9.
• the sachet 1 may be used in the following way.
• the sachet 1 may be contained as part of a hair dying kit intended for home use. Alternatively, it can be posted or otherwise provided to a client who is due to have their hair coloured at a hairdressing salon, prior to their appointment.
• the solution 8 On dispensing the solution 8, the solution 8 may be applied to the skin or a strand of hair for testing. In this way a user can determine if they have an allergy to the • solution, it is incompatible with their hair or determine the colour it will turn their hair, prior to attending a salon for a full treatment or procedure to be carried out.
• the sachet 1 is a plastic envelope which is constructed from of a heat sealable material (transparent or opaque) featuring two chambers, 2 and 3.
• the outer edge seal of the construction is of high seal strength and the inner dividing seal 6 is of a weaker strength comparatively.
• chamber 3 includes bleach 5 and chamber 2 includes an accelerator/activator 4.
• Each or either of the chambers, 2 or 3, of the sachet 1 will also house a small quantity of air or inert gas.
• the sachet 1 has pressure applied to it (e.g.- manual squeezing by the user) , the weaker inner seal ⁇ of the sachet 1 is ruptured, allowing the bleach 5 and accelerator/activator 4 to be mixed together.
• the bleach and accelerator/activator may be a cream or powder.
• the resulting mixture is the active hair product solution 8 and is then available for testing as described above. Specifically, the user can carry out a ⁇ atch test', applying the solution 8 to their skin (e.g.- inner elbow or behind the ear) and leaving it for around 48 hours in order to ascertain if any allergic reaction has occurred to the hair product solution 8.
• their skin e.g.- inner elbow or behind the ear
• the user can take a strand of their hair, typically from the underside of the hair/nape of the neck and apply solution 8 to this, at intervals along the strand. After some time, the user can feel or view the strand to determine if the solution has caused damage to their hair and/or view the final colour their hair has changed to.
• the size of the sachet 1 can be varied in accordance with the volume of product required for testing or colouring.
• Apparatus 10 comprises four chambers 12, 14, 16, 18.
• Three chambers 14, 16, 18 contain hair product components 20, 22, 24 respectively.
• the components may be colourants, dyes, bleaches and their respective activators or the like.
• Air or gas is also present in the chamber 16, 18.
• Chamber 12 includes a cleaning solution 30 for removal of the hair product following application to the skin.
• component 20 is forced into chamber 18 by pressure applied to chamber 16.
• Component 20 will travel through channel 26, where the seal between the chambers 16, 18 is weakened.
• Components 20, 22 can then be mixed.
• the result can be mixed with component 24 if desired, by the same technique.
• the apparatus is broken at indentation 32 or 34 as appropriate.
• a user can select the number of components for mixing. Once applied, a user can open chamber 12, using indentation 36, to release a cleaning solution 30 which they can use to remove excess or all of the mixed solution form their skin and/or hair.
• An advantage of the present invention is that there is provided a product which enables users of hair products to perform a test in order to ascertain the likely effect of use of the product, with minimum inconvenience to the user (and hairdresser or beautician, if applicable) .
• the user is able to easily mix the dye intermediate with the dye developer within the sealed sachet, in order to produce the hair colouring solution.
• This is preferable to the previous requirements for testing, in which the user had to extract a small amount from the dye developer container, and mix this independently with a small amount extracted from the dye intermediate container.
• the prior requirements involved a large risk of spillage of the developer and/or intermediate during transferral or mixing, encompassing risk of contact of the solutions with the user's skin. Additionally, it is less likely under the previous requirements that the user will be able to accurately measure the exact amounts of dye developer and dye intermediate necessary to accurately test whether allergic reaction to the hair colouring solution.
• the present invention provides the advantage of having premeasured amounts of components available for testing. This limits the waste of unused products.
• the present invention provides the advantage of allowing a client to perform an allergy test in the privacy of their own home, which can additionally let them know how the product will effect their hair and what the result will look like.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Cosmetics (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=9935551

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2002
  • 2002-04-26 GB GB0209553A patent/GB0209553D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2003
  • 2003-04-25 AU AU2003229936A patent/AU2003229936A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-04-25 WO PCT/GB2003/001769 patent/WO2003091127A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2003-04-25 EP EP03722773A patent/EP1501742A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events