GB2050160A - Cosmetic protective cream - Google Patents

Abstract

A cosmetic cream for application to the skin and affording enhanced protection against atmospheric pollution contains as a source of the fat necessary to enable the cream to be massaged into the skin, the cream content of double Jersey cream milk, which is preferably present in an amount of 40-50% by weight of the cream and may have a cream content of 4 to 7% by weight. This cream may be used as a baby cream or a moisturising cream.

Description

SPECIFICATION Cosmetic protective cream This invention relates to protective cosmetic creams for application to the skin which can be produced for use either as a baby cream or as a moisturising face cream, or after-shave cream for adults.

As is well known, the rapidly increasing pollution of the atmosphere by the exhaust fumes of internal combustion engines, both petrol and diesel, has disastrous effects on the health of the public who are exposed to the pollutants present in these fumes. These pollutants include sulphuric and other acids, soot and odourless invisible poisonous gases, such as carbon monoxide. Indeed, some 300 different pollutants have been identified in internal combustion engine exhaust gases, including many which have carcinogenic properties. These pollutants are believed to be at least partly responsible for such human ills as emphysema, cancer, bronchitis, asthma, skin cancer, tumours and various skin blemishes.In addition to the human toll, certain of the pollutants, in particular sulphuric acid and soot, are responsible for damage to exterior structures of, for example, iron, steel, brick and concrete, due to corrosion. Such damage costs hundreds of millions of pounds annually to city authorities.

Such atmospheric pollutants are particularly destructive in their effects on the pores of delicate skin tissue which tends to become congested with the dangerous pollutants, and in order to protect the skin from such pollutants and, in particular to clean clogged pores therefrom, and thus to reduce their ill effects on skin tissue leading to cancers, tumours, blemishes and the like, the use of a protective cream is becoming increasingly necessary. This is particularly so in the case of babies whose skin is exceedingly delicate and therefore particularly liable to attack by the dangerous atmospheric pollutants, but it is also of great importance in respect of adults and particularly those whose skin is unusually sensitive to certain of these pollutants.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a protective cosmetic cream for application to the skin, which apart from fulfilling those functions which any cosmetic cream has to perform, is highly effective in protecting the skin against atmospheric pollutants and has no adverse effects itself thereon.

According to the invention, in a protective cosmetic cream for application to the skin, the fat content necessary to enable the cream to be massaged into the skin of the user is provided by the cream content of double Jersey cream milk. Preferably, from 40 to 50% by weight of double Jersey cream milk is used in the formulation of the cream. The actual cream content of the milk used may vary between 4 and 7% by weight.

Any cosmetic cream consists basically of a stabilised and thickened aqueous emulsion of a natural or synthetic fatty material. Among natural fat-containing materials, double Jersey cream milk is a well known dairy product having a high cream content, which is usually sold in homogenised form. In addition to containing about 24% additional cream as compared with ordinary cows' milk, double Jersey cream milk normally contains 9% extra calcium, 100% extra vitamin D, 10% additional protein and 60% additional vitamin A, as compared with ordinary cows' milk, although of course, these figures will vary slightly from sample to sample. These additional materials would all be useful in a cosmetic cream. Moreover, double cream Jersey milk is obtained by the specialised pasture-grazing of pedigree Jersey cows which are renowned throughout the world for the purity of their milk.The specialised pastures on which the Jersey cows graze promotes the quality and also the healing qualities of the milk which are derived from the juices of plants, particularly flowering herbs, which are used medicinally in the science of healing. For all these reasons, the present inventor has realised the value of using the cream content of double Jersey cream milk to provide the required fat content of a protective cosmetic cream.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the creams of the present invention will contain specific adjuvants adapted to prevent the deterioration of the cream, or the growth of mould and bacteria therein. The present inventor has found that this can be effected by use of a suitable formulation without in any way detracting from the desirable properties of the double Jersey cream milk, or adversely affecting the health of the user.

Extensive experiments carried out by the present inventor have shown that the following formulation for a protective cosmetic cream is particularly advantageous. This cream contains the following materials in substantially the proportions given:- (1) cetostearyl alcohol 15% by weight (2) polyoxyethylene lauryl ether (e.g. that sold under the Trade Mark ' "BRIJ 35") 1.25% by weight (3) technical grade white oil 3.5% by weight (4) butylated hydroxyanisole (e.g.

as sold under the Trade Mark "NIPONTIOX l.F.") 0.05% by weight (5) allantoin 0. 1% by weight (6) p-hydroxybenzoic esters (e.g.

as sold under the Trade Mark - 'PHENONIP") 0.5% by weight (7) homogenised double Jersey cream milk 47-48% by weight (8) demineralised water to 100%.

It will be desirable to include a perfume in the formulation and this is preferably an Eau de Cologne, such as that sold by Lauter Fils or Fritzche. Such an Eau de Cologne may be present in an amount of 0.15% by weight.

The cream of the above formulation will be pure white; if a cream colour is desired, a very small amount of a yellow dye, certified as harmless under the Food and Drugs Act, e.g. FDBC Yellow N' 5, may be added, for example, in an amount of 0.25% by weight of a 0.25% wt/wt aqueous solution. Various methods of preparation of the cream are possible. For example, where the cream is to be used as a baby cream, it may conveniently be produced by first heating the ingredients (1) to (4) listed above and mixing them together in a suitable vessel, then heating the milk and demineralised water to 60= and adding ingredients (5) and (6) thereto with stirring in another vessel, and mixing the contents of the two vessels together using a high shear mixer until the mixture is emulsified.The mixture is then shock-cooled and stirred slowly until it thickens at 35 to 40"C, when the perfume and the dye, when used, are added.

In another method of production, which is particularly suitable for the production of a moisturising face cream, the ingredients (1) to (4) are heated to 63 to 65"C in a fat kettle and mixed until homogeneous, whilst a main vessel is charged with the demineralised water to which is added the ingredients (5) and (6) and the mixture heated to 65 to 70"C when the double Jersey cream milk is added at the same temperature. The contents of the two vessels are then mixed using a high shear mixer until emulsified and are then rapidly cooled to about 45"C, at which temperature the perfume and the dye, if used, are added, mixing being continued with a slow stirrer until the temperature reaches ambient temperature, when the cream can be run into suitable storage vessels which will, of course, have already been sterilised.

In both cases, a smooth cream is produced which has a pH of 6.0 to 6.5.

The creams of the above formulation are extremely stable and have a shelf life of at least several months and, in many cases, several years. They have no tendency to separate-out, nor is there any tendency for the cream to become rancid or to grow mould or bacteria. Indeed, a cream according to the formulation intended for use as a baby cream shows excellent bacteriacidal properties when subjected to inoculation tests. The cream was inoculated at a rate of 1 million gram/ml with a mixed culture of pseudomonas aeruginosa, citrobacter freundii, staphylococcus albus, and candida lipolytica, and examined 3, 14 and 28 days after inoculation for survivors. At all times no surviving bacteria were found.

A baby cream according to the above formulation was also tested by applying it daily for periods of up to 3 weeks to 20 infants whose ages varied between four months and three years and to one child of six years whose skin was considered to be hypersensitive. None of the subjects shows any adverse reaction.

A moisturising cream formulated as above was also tested by Insult Patch testing on the forearm and back once daily for 3 weeks of 1 8 normal adults and 1 2 further adults who were hypersensitive to various materials including cosmetics and detergents. No adverse reaction was produced with any of the normal adults whilst with the hypersensitive subjects, only one showed any adverse reaction, which was probably due to a reaction to the perfume contained in the formulation.

The creams of the given formulation are therefore substantially non-allergic both to adults and babies. This latter is particularly important, since with infants, milk taken by mouth is known to produce severe reaction in certain cases. It is apparent that no such reaction is produced by the baby creams produced in accordance with the above formulation.

The creams of the formulation can therefore be used both as a baby cream and as a moisturising facial cream, or an after-shave cream for adults. In all cases, the cream can be readily massaged into the skin and, whilst providing an excellent protection against atmospheric pollutants and preserving all the advantages of purity and therapeutic properties of double Jersey cream milk, has a very long storage life without any deterioration in physical condition or any tendency to become mouldy or bacterially contaminated, and has no adverse affects on the skin of either babies or the vast majority of adults.

Claims (11)

1. A protective cosmetic cream for application to the skin, wherein the fat content necessary to enable the cream to be massaged into the skin of a user is provided by the cream content of double Jersey cream milk.

2. A cosmetic cream as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the content of double Jersey cream milk therein is from 40 to 50% by weight.

3. A cosmetic cream as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the cream content of said double Jersey cream milk is from 4 to 7% by weight.

4. A cosmetic cream as claimed in Claim 1 comprising the following materials in substantially the proportions given:- (1) cetostearyl alcohol 15% by weight (2) polyoxyethylene lauryl ether (e.g. that sold under the Trade Mark "BRIJ 35") 1.25% by weight (3) technical grade white oil 3.5% by weight (4) butylated hydroxyanisole (e.g.

as sold under the Trade Mark "NIPONTIOX l.F.") 0.05% by weight (5) allantoin 0.1% by weight (6) p-hydroxybenzoic esters (e.g.

as sold under the Trade Mark "PHENONIP") 0.5% by weight (7) homogenised double Jersey cream milk 47-48% by weight (8) demineralised water to 100%.

5. A cosmetic cream as claimed in Claim 4 additionally containing a small amount of a perfume.

6. A cosmetic cream as claimed in Claim 5 wherein said perfume is an Eau de Cologne in an amount of 0. 15% by weight.

7. A cosmetic cream as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 6 additionally containing a small amount of a physiologically harmless yellow dye.

8. A cosmetic cream as claimed in Claim 7 wherein said yellow dye is F D 8 C Yellow No. 5 in an amount of 0.25% by weight of a 0.25% wt/wt aqueous solution.

9. A method of preparing a cosmetic cream as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 8, for use as a baby cream, comprising the steps of first heating the mixing ingredients (1) to (4) in a vessel, heating the milk and demineralised water to 60"C and adding ingredients (5) and (6) thereto with stirring in a separate vessel, mixing the contents of the two vessels together using a high shear mixer until the mixture is emulsified, shock-cooling the mixture and stirring slowly until it thickens at 35-40"C, and thereafter adding the perfume and/or dye when used.

10. A method of preparing a cosmetic cream as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 8, for use as a moisturising face cream, comprising the steps of heating ingredients (1) to (4) to 63-65"C in a fat kettle and mixing until homogenous, charging a main vessel with the demineralised water and adding thereto the ingredients (5) and (6), heating the mixture to 65-70"C, adding the double Jersey cream milk at the same temperature, mixing the contents of the two vessels using a high shear mixer until emulsified, cooling rapidly to about 45"C, at which temperature the dye and/or perfume are added when used, and continuing cooling to ambient temperature with slow stirring.

11. A protective cosmetic cream as claimed in Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described.