US3652422A

US3652422A - Cleaner for wigs

Info

Publication number: US3652422A
Application number: US61176A
Authority: US
Inventors: Agnes M Hughes
Original assignee: AGNES M HUGHES
Current assignee: AGNES M HUGHES
Priority date: 1970-08-05
Filing date: 1970-08-05
Publication date: 1972-03-28
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-28

Abstract

A dry cleaner, and an aqueous wig cleaning solution formed by adding the cleaner to water, characterized by critical concentrations; sufficient to effect detergentless cleaning and less than that adversely affecting the hairlike fiber and backing materials of the wig; of sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium hexametaphosphate. No other ingredients are necessary to effect a surprisingly good cleaning solution that is also remarkably and surprisingly effective in restoring and maintaining excellent quality and body in the wig materials.

Description

1 United States Patent [151 3,65, Hughes [4:] ar. 19W

[54] CLEANER FOR WIGS 2,964,467 12/1960 Lambert et al ..2s2/137 x [72] Inventor: Agnes M. Hughes, 825 Michelle Drive, ggfi at a] 76104 2,033,913 3/1936 Fiske et a1... ....23/l06 [22] Filed: Aug. 5, 1970 1,682,230 8/1928 McDaneld ..8/l27.5l [2]] Appl' 61176 Primary Examiner-Leon D. Rosdol Assistant Examiner-Dennis L. Albrecht [52] 0.8. CI ..252/135, 8/ 127.51, 252/175, AI rn yW0ff0rd and Felsman 252/D1G. 13, 424/70, 424/71 1 [51] lnt.Cl. ..Clld 7/12,Clld 7/16, D061 1/12 [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field olSearch ..252/l35,l37,l38, 156,175, A d

ry cleaner, and an aqueous wig cleamng solution formed 252/89 8/l27's1 424/70 7] by adding the cleaner to water, characterized by critical concentrations; sufficient to effect detergentless cleaning and less [56] Re'erences cited than that adversely affecting the hairlike fiber and backing UNITED STATES PATENTS materials of the wig; of sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium hexametaphpsphate. No other ingredients are 3,350,3 t t t necessaxy to efiect a surprisingly cleaning soluti n that i 3313-030 10/1965 also remarkably and surprisingly effective in restoring and 3,108,080 10/1963 maintaining excellent quality and body in the wig materials. 3,085,067 4/1963 Anderson. 2,956,026 10/1960 Lew ..252/l37 X 9 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure SODIUM CHLORIDE D HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE BICARBONATE PATENTnm28|9r2 3,652,422

SODIUM CHLORIDE D HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE BlCARBONATE INVENTOR AGNES M. HUGHES h CLEANER FOR WIGS fiber, may be washed therein. A particular advantage of the wig cleaning solution of this invention is that the wigs do not 7 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ordinarily require rinsing after they have been washed therein. 1. Field of the Invention: l have found that surprisingly clean wigs are efiected and the This invention relates to cleaners, including cleaning solu- 5 i ki 0f the g has a remarkable Sheen, brilliance and tions; and, more particularly, to detergentless cleaners for l bodfionowing the use of the cleaning solution of this invencleaning hairlike fiber and other constituents of wigs. 6 tion, in contrast to Other a aila l Cl aning Solutions employ- 2. Description of the Prior Art: ing detergents or hydrocarbon constituents. The wig may then The rior art is replete with diver e leaner and leaning be set in conventional fashion. The hairlike fiber is more solutions. There are increasing needs for specialty cleaners manageable and easier to work with following cleaning with and cleaning solutions. For example, wigs with their hairlike i the cleaner of this invention than with other cleaners availafiber have become increasingly popular and most of the clean- 1 ble. ing solutions employed heretofore have proven to have ad- In e e pi g the Cleaner, 3 Wide variety of Conditioning verse effects that made them unsuitable for the wigs. For ex- I agents and detergents were employed. For reasons of cost and am le, the detergents were so harsh that they dried the hair ready availability the sodium cation is the preferred alkali too severely for long life. To remove the natural oils that transferred from the wearers hair to the wig, non-aqueous wig E metal cation employed. It is recognized that chemically, other alkali metal cations such as potassium are equally efficacious. cleaning solutions were adverted to and proved satisfactory in For much the same reason the chloride anion is the preferred cleaning the oils and the like from the wigs. These non-aque- I halide anion. Similarly, it is recognized that chemically, other ous wig cleaning solutions, however, adversely affected the y halide anions such as bromides and iodides may be satisfactobacking materials of which the wigs were made, particularly 1 ry. The alkali metal halide chosen should not form insoluble where the backing materials contained rubber-like materials. 1 Even the sophisticated and expensive aqueous detergentconprecipitates with the constituents of the water, however. The

alkali metal borax and phosphate water conditioning agents taining solutions and the nonaqueous, hydrocarbon-contain- 1 such as sodium borax and the sodium phosphates may be eming solutions have not satisfied the demand for a cleaner and a a l ployed in forming a minimally satisfactory wig cleaning solucleaning solution that would clean the oils from the wig and its tion. The sodium hexametaphosphate has proven so surprismaterials, would maintain and restore body and lu ter to th 3 ingly superior in conditioning the hair that l have turned to it hairlike fiber of the wig, and that would not adversely effect in preference to the others. The glassy form is readily and the materials of the wig. The term hairlike fiber" is employed 3Q economically available under the trade name Calgon. Table 1 herein to include human hair, since wigs frequently include I summarizes the concentrations that I have delineated thus far humane hair. ,7 H V V U i as satisfactory. The concentrations are expressed in terms of BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS the actual amounts of individual compounds that l was eml ploylng, and 1n terms of the percent byweight 1n the cleaning The FIGURE is a three-component diagram illustrating the i solution (wt. percent). They are divided into the minimum, concentrations of the components which have been found optimum, and maximum concentrations found to be satisfaccritical, and optimum, in one embodiment of this invention. tory.

TABLE I Minimum Optimum Maximum Description concentration concentration concentration Sodium chloride teaspoon 2 teaspoons 8 teaspoons.

- 0.016 wt. percent 0.14 wt. percent.-." 0.55 wt. percent. Sodium bicarbonate tb 2 tbs cup. 1.65 wt. percent. 2 cups.

6.4 wt. percent.

is 0.10 wt. percent 1.04 wt. percen Tbs-tablespoon.

SUMMARY OF THE'lNVENIIQlfl q E an aqueous wig cleaning solution employing the same that will obviate the disadvantages of the prior art cleaning solutionsl and will clean the hair oils from the wig and its components, will maintain and restore body and luster to the hairlike fiber Sodium chloride was found to be necessary in a small con- 1 centration sufficient to enhance the cleaning and conditioning 0 of the hairlike fiber of the wig, if a detergent was to be omitted. Sodium chloride must be present in a concentration I less than that causing stripping of the hair, or causing the hair to loose its original color. The concentration of at least about 0.016 wt. percent of sodium chloride has been found necessaof the and will not adversely affect the components of the ry to obtain a satisfactory cleaning solution that will clean the wig.

in accordance with this invention there is provided a dry! cleaner in a form for dissolution in water to form an aqueous wig cleaning solution, and an aqueous wig cleaning solution employing same, consisting essentially of an alkali metal halide such as sodium chloride in a concentration sufficient to enhance the cleaning and conditioning of the hairlike fiber of y the wig and less than that causing stripping of the hair; an al- I kali metal bicarbonate such as sodium bicarbonate in a concentration sufficient to enhance the cleaning and conditioning E of the hairlike fiber of the wig and less than that causing drying 1 so severe that the hairlike fiber loses its softness and luster; and an alkali metal water conditioning agent such as glassy sodium hexametaphosphate in a concentration sufficient to efl fect a cleaning and conditioning solution and less than that causing embrittlement and drying of the hairlike fiber and deleterious reaction with the backing material of the wig.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBOoiMENTS oil from the hairlike fiber of the wig. The best concentration "effected was about 0.14 wt. percent. Concentrations above about 0.55 wt. percent was found to cause stripping of hair for some unknown reason.

Similarly, the sodium bicarbonate has been found to be necessary in a concentration sufficient to enhance the cleaning and conditioning of the hairlike fiber of the wig by the cleaning solution. Too great a concentration of the sodium ibicarbonate, however, causes drying of the hairlike fiber so i severe that the hairlike fiber loses its softness and luster, and becomes so unmanageable that obtaining a good set is difficult i and impractical. At least 0.l0 wt. percent sodium bicarbonate must be employed to effect the satisfactory cleaning solution.

0 The best cleaning solution is effected when about 0.41 wt. percent sodium bicarbonate is employed. At concentrations above about 1.65 wt. percent of sodium bicarbonate the hairlike fiber begins to lose its softness and luster.

The glassy sodium hexametaphosphate must be present in a In practicing the invention, an aqueous wig cleaning soluconcentration of at least about 1.64 wt. percent to obtain the tion may be prepared directly by incorporating and dissolving desired conditioning and cleansing action. The best cleansing the individual compounds directly into water. After the wig cleaning solution has been formed, the wig, with using-like solution is effected when an optimum concentration of about 3.28 wt. percent oithe gla ssysodium hexametaphosphate is EXAMPLE I In a specific example, 1 have tried various concentrations of the respective compounds in 4 gallons of water. Numerous washings, with wigs and with my own hair, have indicated the concentrations set forth in the Table l are the critical concentrations as far as l have been able to delineate. As can be seen from Table l, the indicated quantities of the respective compounds were added to 4 gallons of water to form the aqueous wig cleaning solution.

The wig cleaning solution described hereinbefore forms a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, since the wig may be cleaned in this wig cleaning solution directly without any additional work in preparing the solution. The cleaner may be marketed in other forms, however, in order to save the shipping costs of the relatively large quantities of water. For example, aqueous syrups, or concentrated solutions, may be marketed in which a predetermined quantity, such as a cap full, of the syrup would be added to a predetermined quantity of water to form the wig cleaning solution. A dry cleaner consisting essentially of an admixture of the critical concentrations of the three ingredients may be marketed. The dry cleaner would be in a form such as powder, containing granules and crystals, or briquettes, for adding a predetermined amount of the cleaner to a predetermined quantity of water to form the syrup or the wig cleaning solution described hereinbefore. Any standard form of combining the dry ingredients into briquettes may be employed, such briquetting procedures are well known and need not be described in detail herein. The FIGURE illustrates, via a three-component diagram, the critical concentrations which have been delineated. Expressed otherwise, the concentrations of the ingredients in the dry admixture are illustrated in the Figure wherein the respective axes represent concentrations of -100 percent sodium chloride, 0-100 percent sodium bicarbonate, and O-lOO percent glassy sodium hexametaphosphate. Table II summarizes in tabular form the data included in the Figure.

TABLE I1 Concentration in Percent by Weight Table II summarizes the minimum and maximum concentrations based on the worst possible combination in which the lowest concentration of a given constituent would be included with the highest concentration of the other two constituents; and conversely, wherein the greatest concentration of a given constituent would be included with the lowest concentration of the other two. 1 have found, however, that the following practical range of concentrations of the respective constituents produce a wig cleaning solution that is much better, particularly where human hair is cleaned, and that these intermediate ranges of concentration represent the limits that are practical in a marketable cleaner. These practical limits are summarized in Table 111.

TABLE Ill Concentration in Percent by Weight Minimum Optimum Maximum Description Practical Practical Sodium chloride 0.5 3.6 12.0 sodium bi bicarbonate 3.0 10.8 32.0 Glassy sodium hexametaphos phate 56.0 85.6 97.5

As can be seen in the Figure, the parallelogram within the region defined by A, B, C, and D is the maximum limits for the critical concentrations that will be employed. For practical purposes, the limits are defined by the parallelogram E, F, G, and H, the optimum concentration being defined by the point 1 am aware that the constituents individually have been employed heretofore in conjunction with detergents for cleaning purposes. 1 am also aware that the individual constituents are so commonplace that there is a danger of equating simplicity with obviousness. I do not know of any cleaning solution employed heretofore, however, that embodies the enumerated constituents in the critical concentrations that will effect the cleaning, yet prevent the adverse effects, as delineated hereinbefore. While economically advantageous compounds have been specifically delineated herein, their chemical equivalents, as noted hereinbefore, are within the purview of this invention. It will be apparent that small concentrations of other additives may be employed as long as the other additives do not deleteriously effect the components of the wig or adversely affect the cleaning and conditioning properties of the wig cleaner or the wig cleaning solution. Because the respective compounds are so commonplace, l have employed claim language which requires that at least the three elements be employed in these critical concentrations for the purpose of cleaning wigs or wig constituents such as human hair.

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning composition to enhance the cleaning and conditioning of the hairlike fiber of wigs, said composition consisting essentially of an aqueous solution containing:

a. an alkali metal halide in a concentration within the range of0.0 l 6 to 0.55 percent by weight, inclusive;

b. an alkali metal bicarbonate in a concentration within the range of0. l 0 to 1.65 percent by weight, inclusive; and

c. an alkali metal hexametaphosphate in a concentration within the range of 1.64 to 6.4 percent by weight, inclusive.

2. The wig cleaning solution of claim 1 wherein said alkali metal halide is sodium chloride, said alkali metal bicarbonate is sodium bicarbonate, and said alkali metal water conditioning agent is sodium hexametaphosphate.

3. The wig cleaning solution of claim 1 wherein said wig cleaning solution contains about 0.14 percent by weight sodium chloride, about 0.41 percent by weight sodium bicarbonate, and about 3.28 percent by weight of sodium hexametaphosphate.

4. A cleaner for forming a wig cleaning solution when added to water, consisting essentially of an admixture of:

a. an alkali metal halide in a proportion within the range of 0.2-23.8 percent by weight, inclusive;

b. an alkali metal bicarbonate in a proportion within the range of 1.4-50 percent by weight, inclusive; and

c. an alkali metal hexametaphosphate in a proportion within the range of 27.2-98.4 percent by weight, inclusive; said dry cleaner being in a form that will readily dissolve in water.

5. The cleaner of claim 4 wherein said alkali metal halide is sodium chloride, said alkali metal bicarbonate is sodium bicarbonate, and said alkali metal hexametaphosphate is sodium hexametaphosphate.

6. The cleaner of claim 5 wherein said sodium chloride is present in a concentration within the range of 0.5-12 percent 7. The cleaner of claim 6 wherein said admixture is in a powdered form containing granules and crystals.

8. The cleaner of claim 6 wherein said admixture is in the form of briquettes.

9. The cleaner of claim 6 wherein said cleaner contains an optimum concentration in percent by weight of about 3.6 per- 5 cent sodium chloride, about 10.8 percent sodium bicarbonate,

and about 85.6 percent of sodium hexametaphosphate.

l l 4 t

Claims

2. The wig cleaning solution of claim 1 wherein said alkali metal halide is sodium chloride, said alkali metal bicarbonate is sodium bicarbonate, and said alkali metal water conditioning agent is sodium hexametaphosphate.
3. The wig cleaning solution of claim 1 wherein said wig cleaning solution contains about 0.14 percent by weight sodium chloride, about 0.41 percent by weight sodium bicarbonate, and about 3.28 percent by weight of sodium hexametaphosphate.
4. A cleaner for forming a wig cleaning solution when added to water, consisting essentially of an admixture of: a. an alkali metal halide in a proportion within the range of 0.2-23.8 percent by weight, inclusive; b. an alkali metal bicarbonate in a proportion within the range of 1.4-50 percent by weight, inclusive; and c. an alkali metal hexametaphosphate in a proportion within the range of 27.2-98.4 percent be weight, inclusive; said dry cleaner being in a form that will readily dissolve in water.
5. The cleaner of claim 4 wherein said alkali metal halide is sodium chloride, said alkali metal bicarbonate is sodium bicarbonate, and said alkali metal hexametaphosphate is sodium hexametaphosphate.
6. The cleaner of claim 5 wherein said sodium chloride is present in a concentration within the range of 0.5 - 12 percent by weight, inclusive; said sodium bicarbonate is present in a concentration within the range of 3- 32 percent by weight, inclusive; and said sodium hexametaphosphate is present in a concentration within the range of 56 - 97.5 percent by weight, inclusive.
7. The cleaner of claim 6 wherein said admixture is in a powdered form containing granules and crystals.
8. The cleaner of claim 6 wherein said admixture is in the form of briquettes.
9. The cleaner of claim 6 wherein said cleaner contains an optimum concentration in percent by weight of about 3.6 percent sodium chloride, about 10.8 percent sodium bicarbonate, and about 85.6 percent of sodium hexametaphosphate.