GB2454059A

GB2454059A - High Viscosity Cosmetic/Dermatological Protection Cream Wipe

Info

Publication number: GB2454059A
Application number: GB0816579A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Pulina
Original assignee: FHW FEUCHT HYGIENE WERK GmbH
Current assignee: FHW FEUCHT HYGIENE WERK GmbH
Priority date: 2007-09-12
Filing date: 2008-09-10
Publication date: 2009-04-29
Anticipated expiration: 2028-09-10
Also published as: FR2920667A1; GB2454059B; GB0816579D0; DE102007043397A1; FR2920667B1

Abstract

A process for producing a cosmetic/dermatological wipe comprising a carrier material and a highly viscous impregnation medium in the form of a water/oil emulsion which involves the following steps: introduction of water into an oil phase to which a hydrophobic emulsifier has been added to increase viscosity, wherein the amount of water introduced is less than that required to reach the instability point of the pure water/oil system; introduction of a wax into the said oil phase to further increase the viscosity; heating of resultant medium until the wax fraction has melted; application of the now liquid impregnation medium to the carrier material; cooling of the carrier material provided with the impregnation medium until the impregnation medium is highly viscous again and the wax fraction has hardened again, such that the impregnation medium is homogeneously distributed over the carrier material. A wipe prepared by the above process is also featured.

Description

The present invention relates to a surface-structured cosmetic or dermatological wipe which is homogeneously impregnated with a highly viscous impregnation solution in the form of a water/oil (w/o) cream, and to a process for its production.

It is a human requirement to clean and care for the skin. Particularly since the middle of the 20th century, besides classic soaps ("rinse off"), many other products have also been developed for the care and cleaning of the body. Alongside solid soap, liquid soap was developed, to name but one example.

Besides the clear cleaning of the skin, care has adopted a more and more important role. This has resulted in high demand for cosmetic products ("leave on") which have been able to form a new product sector.

In this regard, a care cream with specific product orientations is preferably supplied. Since these products are not washed of f, it is necessary to use particularly mild starting materials which do not irritate the skin.

In the last 20 years, these product ideas have been transferred for the first time to moist wipes. Besides moist toilet paper, products such as moist baby wipes and, in recent times, also moist cosmetic wipes have been developed.

In this connection, a distinction is firstly to be made between the carrier material and the lotions, with the lotions in turn being subdivided into surface-active systems and emulsions. The surface-active systems are composed of components such as perfume oil, water, preservatives and active ingredients, whereas the emulsions comprise, besides perfume oil, water, preservatives and active ingredients, also components such as oil and emulsifiers. The emulsions are used in baby wipes and cosmetic wipes since, on account of the cleaning and care properties, it is absolutely necessary to incorporate a nonpolar phase.

Carrier materials in the care sector are the so-called spun lace types of fabric. This term defines the manufacture of the carrier material. Various substances (cotton, synthetic fibres, viscose, inter alia), at least two, are combined with one another using a water jet. The grammage can be varied here from 30-120 g/m2.

In principle, the aim is to use the softest possible

material for gentle care. In this field, decisive

advances in recent years are to be noted. Surface-structured wipes are also already known. They can be differentiated according to their method of manufacture -for example water-jet solidification and thermal embossing.

In the technically relevant step, the known emulsions and the carrier material are then combined with one another. Thus, for example, in EP 1 210 928 B1, an embossed material is described for use in wet wipes.

In cases of this type, the actual article of use thus consists of two components: a) a dry wipe which is composed of materials such as paper and/or highly diverse mixtures of natural or synthetic fibres, and b) an impregnation solution.

However, these impregnation solutions are, without exception, of low viscosity.

In the applicant's PCT/EP2007/000556, a cream cleaning wipe -i.e. a wipe with a highly viscous impregnation medium -is described for the first time, in which the cream is homogeneously distributed within the wipe.

However, the cream is based on a highly viscous oil/water (01w) emulsion for normal cleaning and care and not on a water/oil (w/o) emulsion.

W/O emulsions are used primarily in products for intensive care ranging to wound cleaning. However, it has hitherto not been possible to fix a w/o-based cream -i.e. a highly viscous medium -to a wipe: the two olw and w/o emulsion systems are not only inverse in their phase, but also behave differently with regard to the physical parameters. Thus, in the applicant's PCT/EP20071000556, which has already been cited, the phase transition was realized through the use of liquid-crystalline structures -however, this behaviour does not arise in a w/o emulsion.

There is thus still a need for a wipe homogeneously provided with a w/o cream with which more intensive care ranging to wound healing can be achieved.

It is desirable to provide a technology which permits a homogeneous application of a highly viscous w/o emulsion to a carrier material (e.g. nonwoven) -even to an embossed carrier material.

This desire has been achieved by a process according to Claim 1 or a cream wipe according to Claim 5. The process relates to the production of a cream wipe which comprises a carrier material and a highly viscous impregnation medium in the form of a water/oil emulsion with wax fraction, and is characterized by the following steps: -introduction of water into an oil phase to which a hydrophobic emulsifier has been added, in order to increase the viscosity, where the amount of water introduced is less than the amount required to reach the instability point of the pure water/oil system; -introduction of wax into the oil phase in order to further increase the viscosity and to form the impregnation medium; -heating of the highly viscous impregnation medium until it is liquid and the wax fractions have melted; -application of the now liquid impregnation medium to the carrier material; -cooling of the carrier material provided with the impregnation medium until the impregnation medium is highly viscous again and the wax fraction has hardened again, such that the impregnation medium is homogeneously distributed over the carrier material.

The cream wipe correspondingly comprises a carrier material and a highly viscous impregnation medium in the form of a water/oil emulsion with wax fraction and is characterized in that the amount of water present is less than the amount required to reach the instability point of the pure water/oil system and that the impregnation medium is homogeneously distributed over the carrier material.

Advantageous embodiments of the process and of the cream wipe arise from dependent Claims 2-4 and 6-8, respectively.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to Figs. 1-2 of the accompanying figures wherein: Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically viscosity and stability of conventional w/o emulsions as a function of the water fraction.

Fig. 2 shows a process flow diagram of the production process according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows viscosity and stability of conventional w/o emulsions as a function of the water fraction.

Usually, w/o emulsions are prepared by adding a hydrophobic emulsifier (which is not temperature-dependent) to an oil phase. As a result of adding water, the viscosity initially increases due to stringing and, after reaching a maximum, decreases again -this behaviour can be seen from the continuous normal distribution curve in Fig. 1. Before the viscosity has passed through its maximum, however, the system starts to become unstable, i.e. phase separation is observed -as can be seen from the dashed line in Fig. 1. In the production of such emulsions, therefore, as much water as possible is added, but without exceeding the instability point.

The area in Fig. 1 which is bordered towards the left by the y axis, towards the top by the stability curve and towards the right and bottom by the viscosity curve can thus be referred to in this connection as a type of "stability potential": keeping the water fraction within the intersection of stability curve and viscosity curve gives a w/o emulsion with increasing viscosity coupled with stable behaviour.

The applicant of the present invention has now discovered that this stability potential can, however, also be utilized in another way. Instead of increasing the water fraction in order, as hitherto customary, to increase the viscosity using this cost-effective ingredient, the water addition can be stopped beyond a certain point well below the instability point and, instead of further water, an additional nonpolar wax phase can be incorporated. In this case too, the stability potential is utilized: the viscosity likewise increases, but does so here as a result of the wax fraction.

The advantage of this procedure is that in this way it is possible to produce w/o cream wipes. The wax fraction permits, coupled with a likewise high viscosity > 2000 mPas of the overall emulsion, with precise adjustment of the impregnation, an application to moist wipes through melting-on, as described below.

Suitable emulsions with a viscosity of > 2000 mPas, such as, for example, those given in Tab. 1, have been developed for the present invention.

Constituent Fraction [%.wt] qua ad 100 Ethyihexyl palmitate 24.5 Cera alba 7.7 Butyrospermum parkii 7.7 Glycerin 1.8 Polyglyceryl-3 polyricinoleate 1.5 Sorbitan oleate 1.0 Caprylyl glycol 0.5 Magnesium sulphate 0.5 Ethylhexylglycerjn 0.2 Tocopherol acetate 0.2 Olea europaea oil Io.i Tab. 1: Example formulation of cream wipe Here, the impregnation medium advantageously comprises high-melting waxes as constituent of the oil phase. The following substances have, for example, proven particularly advantageous: -beeswax -shea butter -jojoba ester -olive oil ester - mimosa wax -evening primrose wax with -olive oil -ethylhexyl palmitate -almond oil -jojoba oil -dicaprylyl carbonate -caprylic/capric triglycerides In the case of the present w/o emulsion, the viscosity of the composition was surprisingly found to be proportional to the melting point of the external phase (here oil).

Fig. 2 shows a process flow diagram of the production process. In this, the highly viscous w/o emulsion or cream with wax fraction is heated to about 60°C until it is liquid and the wax fraction has melted. The liquefied cream is then applied to the carrier material. Finally, the carrier material provided with the cream is cooled again until the cream is highly viscous again and the wax fraction has hardened again.

The impregnation medium is then distributed homogeneously over the carrier material. During this, the wax phase melts under the effect of temperature to a viscosity of < 2000 mPas. The melting temperature could be determined using dTM = 55°C and the solidification temperature using dTs = 40°C in the back run. The viscosities changed as a result of the use of waxes from 280 mPas at RT to 130 000 mPas (20°C).

The background for this different behaviour of the w/o emulsion compared with an olw emulsion is that in a w/o emulsion the oil phase is on the outside -therefore the wax fraction is also decisive for the temperature-dependent behaviour. By contrast, in a 01w emulsion, the viscosity is greatly influenced by the emulsifiers and -with regard to temperature dependency -by liquid crystals: the oil phase here forms the internal phase and the liquid-crystalline phases are formed within the water as the external phase.

According to the invention, apart from the aforementioned substances, the compositions optionally comprise the additives customary in cosmetics. These are, for example, perfume oil, preservatives, plant extracts, vitamins, active ingredients, antioxidants, or other customary constituents of a cosmetic or dermatologica]. formulation, such as alcohols, glycerol, polyethers, polymers or silicone derivatives.

The present invention is used in cosmetic and derrnatological impregnated cleaning, care and deodorant wipes, impregnated wipes for combating skin diseases (e.g. acne), impregnated wipes for wound protection and those which prepare the skin or care for it before, and respectively after, sunbathing in a targeted manner.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. Process for producing a cream wipe which comprises a carrier material and a highly viscous impregnation medium in the form of a water/oil emulsion with wax fraction, characterized by the following steps:

-introduction of water into an oil phase to which

a hydrophobic emulsifier has been added, in order to increase the viscosity, where the amount of water introduced is less than the amount required to reach the instability point of the pure water/oil system;

-introduction of wax into the oil phase in order

to further increase the viscosity and to form the impregnation medium; -heating of the highly viscous impregnation medium until it is liquid and the wax fraction has melted; -application of the now liquid impregnation medium to the carrier material; -cooling of the carrier material provided with the impregnation medium until the impregnation medium is highly viscous again and the wax fraction has hardened again, such that the impregnation medium is homogeneously distributed over the carrier material.
2. Process according to Claim 1, characterized in that the impregnation medium is present in a solid, creamy or paste-like modification at temperatures of < 40°C.
3. Process according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the impregnation fraction is present at 100-700% by weight of lotion/wipe.
4. Process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier material has a weight of 30-120 g/m2.
5. Cream wipe comprising a carrier material and a highly viscous impregnation medium in the form of a water/oil emulsion with wax fraction, characterized in that the amount of water present is less than the amount required to reach the instability point of the pure water/oil system and that the impregnation medium is homogeneously distributed over the carrier material.
6. Cream wipe according to Claim 5, characterized in that the impregnation medium is present in a solid, creamy or paste-like modification at temperatures of < 40°C.
7. Cream wipe according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the impregnation fraction is present at 100-700% by weight of lotion/wipe.
8. Cream wipe according to one of Claims 5-7, characterized in that the carrier material has a weight of 30-120 g/m2.
9. Process for producing a cream wipe as described herein with particular reference to the figures hereof.
10. Cream wipe as described herein with particular reference to the figures hereof.