WO2018152717A1

WO2018152717A1 - Wearable cosmetic mask

Info

Publication number: WO2018152717A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/074521
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jinseok Kim
Original assignee: L'oreal
Priority date: 2017-02-23
Filing date: 2017-02-23
Publication date: 2018-08-30
Also published as: CN110300527A; CN110300527B

Abstract

A wearable facial mask (1) comprises a mask body (2) formed from a flexible sheet substrate.The facial mask is deployable from a packaged configuration to a wearable configuration.The mask comprises at least a holding device comprising at least one stick (5) around which the mask body is at least partially rolled in its packaged configuration.The mask body comprises a peripheral edge from which the mask body is rolled onto the stick and that is detachably attached to said stick.

Description

Wearable cosmetic mask

The present invention relates to a skin care product, and more particularly to a wearable facial mask, wherein the user is able to wear the facial mask to ensure a cosmetic composition contacts the facial skin of the user.

The present invention also relates to a method for packaging said cosmetic mask and to a method for applying said cosmetic mask onto the skin surface to be treated.

Cosmetic masks are frequently used to apply a cosmetic composition to a user’s skin surface, said surface being in particular the face. An example of such a facial mask is described in patent application US2016227905A1.

According to the present application, a 《 cosmetic product 》 or a 《 cosmetic composition 》 is understood to mean a product as defined in European Council and Parliament Regulation 1223/2009 of November 30, 2009, pertaining to cosmetic products.

A cosmetic facial mask generally comprises a sheet substrate impregnated with a cosmetic composition. The cosmetic composition may be, for example, a cream, a lotion or even a gel, in particular a hydrogel.

The cosmetic composition may be, for example and among others, a skin care composition, a moisturizing composition, a whitening composition, an anti-aging composition.

Depending on the material of the mask, a wearable facial mask may also be used without cosmetic composition, in order for example to adsorb excess skin oil or sebum.

Various materials may be used for the substrate sheet depending on the desired impregnating /releasing properties and /or cosmetic properties.

The substrate may for example be made from a fabric or mesh, woven or non-woven. The fabric may be made in particular from natural or synthetic fibers, such as cellulosic fibers, polypropylene or polyethylene or nylon fibers, or from a mix of various fibers. The substrate sheet may also be made from a tissue or a foil or film material or even from a thin layer of foam or elastomeric material. Among others, the substrate sheet may have occlusive or permeable properties in particular to water and /or to air.

The substrate may also comprise only one layer or be made from several layers, preferably of different materials.

The substrate sheet is sized and shaped to cover the targeted skin surface of the user. In particular, for a face mask, the substrate sheet will also comprise openings corresponding to the mouth, nose and eyes of the user.

When referring to a mask, directions shall be considered with regard to the skin surface to be treated. Hence for a face mask, the top part of the mask will be the part of the mask that is intended to be positioned above the eyes, substantially on the forehead of the user. In the same way, the lateral parts or sides of the mask will be the parts that are intended to be positioned left and right of the nose, substantially over the cheeks of the user. Left and right directions shall be understood from the user’s point of view.

In order to protect the cosmetic composition, impregnated masks are individually packaged, generally in a folded state, typically in a sachet.

When using the mask, the folded sheet is removed from the package, then unfolded before being applied onto the skin surface in order to ensure that the cosmetic composition contacts said skin surface.

Due to the cosmetic composition, the folded substrate sheet is very wet and /or sticky, and it is often difficult to handle and unfold the sheet using the fingers.

In particular, it can be difficult to find the edge of the folded sheet, so that a user may need time to find the edge to hold. In addition, it can be difficult for a user to hold the wet edge which may easily curl or bend. Further, the wet sheet can be easily torn, and therefore, needs to be handled carefully.

Furthermore, during the unfolding process, a part of the spread sheet may spontaneously curl or bend in the air, and adhere to another part of the sheet. If so, the application of the sheet onto the skin becomes more difficult because unfolding of the curled or bent part is necessary while holding the rest of the sheet.

In addition, since the user has to directly touch and handle the mask, the user can soil his hands and fingers with some product during handling and positioning.

In order to solve this problem, the substrate sheet may comprise laterally projecting tabs such as disclosed in US6702792.

In order to further ease the unfolding of the mask, it is also known to fold the substrate sheet according to some special folding methods comprising folding the substrate sheet along several folding lines. For an example of a folding method, one may refer to patent application PCT/JP2011/070308.

Furthermore, as opposed to wipes, which are not intended to stay in contact with the skin for a relatively long time, cosmetic masks are intended to be left on the skin for a least a minute, preferably a few minutes or even more than ten minutes.

Consequently, it is paramount that the user positions the mask correctly so that the skin surface to be treated is properly covered.

This is particularly difficult for face mask, where the user has to position the mask onto his face, taking into account his eyes and nose so that the face mask is properly positioned onto his forehead, cheeks, and other areas to be treated.

Although for a face mask, mouth, nose and eyes apertures help properly position the mask, there is still a need for solutions allowing for an easier and more comfortable handling and applying of such a cosmetic mask.

A solution is to package the mask in a rolled condition instead of a folded condition. More specifically the substrate sheet is rolled or wound around an horizontal stick (id est a stick that is intended to be positioned horizontally across the face of the user when applying the mask) .

Such a mask and the corresponding application method are described in Korean patents KR101684594 and KR101684595.

When using such a rolled mask, the mask is removed from the package in a rolled state. The rolled mask presents a protruding tab that the user positions and maintains at the top of its forehead by using his fingers.

Then the user vertically unrolls the mask down by moving the stick toward his chin, much like a window blind.

Although improving the handling of the mask, such a solution is still not ideal since positioning is still uncertain.

Indeed, since the eyes, nose and mouth locations are not visible to the user before unrolling the mask, the user can not know precisely where to position the top tab on his forehead and when unrolling the mask, said apertures may be positioned too low or too high, which may force the user to reposition the cosmetic mask.

It is also important to note that the mask is not attached to the stick so that the mask can easily be set loose after unrolling and the stick discarded. Because of the sheet substrate is not attached to the stick, initial rolling of the mask in order to package it is not easy, especially from an industrial point of view.

An objective of the present invention aims at solving at least part of the above issues.

The above objective of the present invention can be achieved by a wearable facial mask comprising a mask body formed from a flexible sheet substrate, said facial mask being deployable from a packaged configuration to a wearable configuration, the mask comprising, at least in its packaged configuration, a holding device comprising at least one stick around which the mask body is at least partially rolled, said mask being characterized in that the mask body comprises a peripheral edge from which the mask body is rolled onto the stick and that is detachably attached to said stick.

By “flexible” it is meant that the mask body is supple enough and can be bent in order to be rolled around the stick.

By removably attaching the mask body to the stick, it limits the risk that the mask body accidentally separate from the stick before unrolling is complete.

In addition, during the packaging operation, the mask body is better positioned and the mask body is easier to roll around the stick. Packaging operations are consequently greatly improved.

The stick may have various shapes, although a cylindrical shape is preferred, but polygonal shapes may facilitates handling and unrolling. The sticks may be hollow, like a straw, or be solid.

Diameter of the sticks may be comprised between 3mm to about 20mm.

As disclosed in the previously cited Korean patents, the sticks can comprise a handling knob on which the corresponding stick can freely rotate.

Attachment strength shall be determined so that the mask body easily detach from the stick under a slight additional traction from the user at the end of the unrolling.

Preferably, the peripheral edge is a wing or tab protruding from a central part of the mask body. Protruding tab or wing thus constitutes a dedicated part intended to be specifically attach to the stick. The main central part of the mask body, dedicated to may consequently be dedicated to the cosmetic treatment.

Advantageously, the mask body is detachably attached to the stick at a partly peripheral attachment area of said stick, the mask body being wound loosely around the rest of the periphery of the stick. By providing a limited dedicated attachment area on the stick, it is easier to control the attachment force and not hinder the unrolling process. There is not specific retention force on the rest of the periphery of the stick.

Preferably, the mask is detachably attached to the stick at an attachment area of said stick, said attachment area extending along a substantially longitudinal direction of the stick. In simpler terms, the attachment area forms an attachment longitudinal band or strip extending along the stick. The attachment part may extend along a part of the stick or over the whole length of the stick.

The corresponding attachment part (peripheral edge) on the mask body may be shorter than the attachment part on the stick.

Various means for attaching the mask body to the sticks may be considered. Several options are described hereafter. Each option may be implemented alone or in combination.

According to a first variation, the mask body is detachably attached to the stick by way of a tacky material being present locally on an attachment area of said stick.

The mask body can, for example, be slightly glued to the stick, namely by way of a tacky material (like a glue used for sticky paper notes for example) that is applied locally on the stick, for example along a longitudinal line of the stick.

According to a second variation, the mask body is detachably attached to the stick by way of holes punched both through the mask body and into the stick.

In order to punch holes, the sticks shall preferably be hollow.

Punching a hole through the mask body will lead to small residual flaps that will help retain the mask body onto the stick by way of an increased friction. Nevertheless, the mask body will still be easily detachable.

Preferably, the mask body is at least partially melted at the punched holes. In other word, the punching may be assisted by heat in order to at least partially melt the substrate material of the mask body. Partly melting the material at the punched holes will increase interactions with the stick. Temperature may be comprised between 160℃ and 220 ℃ for example depending on the material of the mask body.

According to a third variation, the stick shows a slit extending along a longitudinal direction of said stick, a peripheral edge part of the mask body being inserted into said slit.

The slit will provide for an additional retention of the mask body, especially when rolling and unrolling the mask, but at the end of the unrolling, the mask will be easy to extract from the slit.

Preferably, the slit is configured so as to be able to elastically clip onto the inserted part of the mask body.

According to a fourth variation, the mask body is detachably attached to the stick by way of bristles protruding from an attachment area of said stick and acting like a scratch band interacting with the mask body.

Bristles or tines will act like a scratch band and interact with the substrate sheet, in particular when said substrate sheet is fiber based, in order to cause friction and help slightly retain the mask body onto the sticks. Preferably, the bristles or tines are arranged locally along a longitudinal line of the corresponding stick and do not cover all the periphery of the stick.

According to a preferred embodiment, the holding device comprises two lateral vertical sticks onto which the mask body is rolled.

By “vertical” , it is meant that the sticks substantially extend along the height of the mask body, that is to say between a bottom part and a top part of the mask, as defined above, across the width of said mask body.

In the same way “horizontal” means substantially across the width of the mask body.

Rolling the mask around two lateral vertical sticks results in an improved handling and positioning of the mask.

The sticks being substantially vertical, the mask is easier to unroll by simply laterally spacing the sticks.

Providing two sticks also facilitates the handling and positioning of the facial mask. In addition, thanks to the two sticks, there is no need for an extra protruding tab to hold on the face while deploying the mask.

Advantageously, the mask body is substantially symmetrically rolled around the two side sticks. This means that a substantially identical width of the mask body is rolled around each stick, said sticks being, in the rolled packaged configuration, substantially located in the centre of the mask body on each side of a median centre line of said mask body.

This greatly facilitates the positioning of the mask, since the user can simply position the mask in front of its face substantially at his nose line. Since the mask has been symmetrically rolled, a substantially same length of the mask will unroll on each side of the face when spacing the sticks apart.

According to an alternate embodiment, the holding device comprises at least one horizontal sticks, said stick being preferably located, when deployed, at a bottom edge of the mask body.

Preferably, the length of stick is so that they protrude at least from a border (top /bottom or lateral border depending on the orientation of the stick) . Preferably the length of the sticks is greater than the total height or width of the mask depending on the orientation of the stick. Having protruding sticks will arrange for a free, non rolled, end part of the sticks that the user can easily grasp the mask without touching the mask body.

Advantageously, the mask body, in particular the flexible sheet, comprises at least one side wing or tab protruding from a central part of the mask body and forming a lateral edge from which the mask is rolled on the sticks. By providing side wings mainly intended or dedicated to link the mask body to the sticks, this will preserve (surface, integrity, …) a main portion of the mask body intended to come into contact with the face. Attachment of the mask body occurs at the side wings.

Preferably, the face mask is rolled so that when unrolling, the sticks are located on an external surface of the mask body. By external surface, it is meant a surface that is not intended to come into contact with the skin, contrary to the internal opposite surface of the mask body that is intended to be directly applied onto the face.

By rolling the sticks on the external surface of the mask, it is easier for the user to position his hands to space the sticks and unroll said mask.

In particular, when the holding device comprises lateral vertical sticks, the user can keep his elbows close to his chest and grab the stick rearward of the mask, then easily widens his arms to unroll the mask.

It is of course possible to roll the sticks on the internal opposite surface but the user will have to widens and level his elbows up in order to be able to grasp the sticks inward.

In a preferred embodiment, the mask body, in particular the substrate sheet, is impregnated with a cosmetic composition. The word “impregnated” is intended to cover both the case where the cosmetic composition actually penetrates in the substrate sheet material (porous and /or fiber material for example) and the case where the cosmetic composition actually forms a layer of composition on the substrate sheet (film and /or occlusive material for example) and at least partly covers the mask body.

The cosmetic composition may be a cream or a lotion or even a gel, in particular a hydrogel.

The subject of the present application will be better understood in view of the following detailed description made in reference with the attached drawings in which:

-Figures 1 to 3 show a facial mask according to the present application respectively in a packaged configuration, intermediate configuration, and a deployed configuration.

-Figure 4 is a transversal top view of the facial mask of figure 1

-Figures 5 to 8 show the steps for unpacking an applying a wearable face mask according to the present application.

-Figures 9 and 10 are illustrations of a first way for removably attaching the mask to the sticks by punching holes through the mask body.

-Figures 11 to 13 are different embodiments of sticks that can be used to roll the facial mask.

-Figures 14 and 15 are illustrations of a stick carrying protruding bristles in order to help removably retain the mask body onto the stick.

Figures 1 to 3 shows a wearable facial mask 1 according to the present application.

The mask 1 comprises a mask body 2 formed from a flexible sheet substrate.

The substrate sheet may for example be made from a fabric or mesh, woven or non-woven. The fabric may be made in particular from natural or synthetic fibers such as cellulosic fibers, polypropylene or polyethylene or nylon fibers, or from a mix of various fibers. The substrate sheet may also be made from a tissue or a foil or film material or even from a thin layer of foam or elastomeric material. Among other, the substrate sheet may have occlusive or permeable properties in particular to water and /or to air.

The substrate sheet is sized and shaped to substantially cover the targeted skin surface of the user. In particular, for a face mask, the substrate sheet will also comprise openings corresponding to the mouth 3a, nose 3b and eyes 3c of the user.

More specifically, the nose opening 3b is made from a cut leaving a flap that will be pushed away by the nose of the user when applying the mask.

The mask body also comprises two lateral edges 6 or wings that laterally extend from a main central part 7 of the mask body 2.

The mask body 2 comprises an internal surface, intended to be applied on the face of the user and come into contact with the skin, and an opposite external surface intended to face away from the user’s face when the mask is positioned.

Preferably, at least the internal surface is at least partially covered and /or impregnated with a cosmetic composition. The cosmetic composition may for example be a lotion, a cream or a gel.

The facial mask 1 is deployable from a packaged configuration (Figure 1) to a wearable configuration (figure 3) . Figure 2 shows the mask 1 in an intermediate configuration.

According to the present application, the mask 1 comprises a holding device comprising two lateral vertical sticks 5.

As it is shown on figure 1, in the packaged configuration, the mask body 2 is rolled onto each of the lateral sticks 5.

The sticks 5 are substantially cylindrical. The sticks 5 are hollow, like a straw (Figure 11) . Diameter of the stick 5 is preferably comprised between 0, 3cm and 1cm.

The sticks are made from a plastic material, for example polypropylene and /or polyethylene. Preferably, the sticks 5 have a length substantially identical to the maximum height of the mask body 2. The length of the sticks 5 is also greater than the height of the side wings 6 so that they protrude from the mask body 2 at the side wings 6.

Figure 4 is a transversal top view of the mask 1 showing how the mask body 2 is rolled onto each stick 5.

The mask body 2 is rolled from the wings 6 inward to the center of the mask body 2.

The sticks 5 are positioned and rolled on the external surface of the mask body 2.

More precisely, when packaged, the mask body 2 is arranged in a substantially flat deployed configuration.

Sticks 5 are then positioned vertically at each of a lateral edge portions or wings 6 of the mask body 2.

When packaged, before rolling, the sticks 5 may be simply positioned loose on the wings or be detachably attached to the mask body 2, in particular to a side edge, in the present case to the wings 6. Various way of linking the sticks 5 to the mask body 2 will be described below.

The sticks 5 are then rolled with the mask body 2 inward so as to roll a substantial part of said mask body 2 around the corresponding lateral stick 5.

The sticks 5 are rolled inward according to a substantially transverse direction of the mask 1.

The mask body 2 is substantially symmetrically rolled around the two side sticks 5. This results into having substantially the same width of the mask body 2 being rolled onto the right and the left sticks. Preferably, the lateral sticks 5 are rolled simultaneously at a similar rolling speed.

This also results, in the rolled packaged configuration, in the sticks 5 being substantially located in the centre of the mask body on each side of a median centre line of said mask body 2.

Figures 5 to 8 show how the mask 1 can be easily applied on the face of a user.

The wearable facial mask 1 is initially stored in a sachet 7 in its packaged configuration (Figure 5) .

The user opens the sachet 7 (Figure 6) . To this end, the sachet 7 comprises a top notch 8 that the user shall tear off in order open a top end of the sachet.

The user then shall take the mask 1 out of the sachet 7. In order to facilitate extraction of the mask 1 from the sachet 7, the mask can be provided with a small protruding top tab that the user can grab between his fingers before pulling the mask 1 out of the sachet 7.

The user then holds the mask 1 at the sticks 5 in its packaged configuration and positions said mask in front of his face along a substantially vertical reference line.

In particular, since mask 1 is symmetrically rolled around each stick 5, the reference line is substantially a median line of the user’s face, in particular a nose line.

In order to deploy and apply the mask 1, the user laterally pulls on the sticks 5 so as to space them apart from each other and from the reference line and unroll the mask to its wearable configuration (Figures 7 &8) .

Since the mask 1 has been rolled on an external surface, the user holds the stick from the back of the mask 1 and it is easier for the user to position his hands to space the sticks and unroll said mask 1. This way, the user can keep his elbows close to his chest and grab the stick rearward or on the back of the mask 1, then easily widens his arms to unroll the mask 1.

Once deployed (wearable configuration) , the user can simply apply the mask 1 on his face.

The sticks 5 are then removed from the mask body 2.

If the mask 1 had been rolled loose on the sticks 5, then the sticks 5 will simply detach from the mask body 2 at the end of the unrolling.

If the mask 1 had been rolled by previously attaching a side edge on the stick 5, then the user may need to exert a slight additional traction force in order to detach the sticks from the mask body 2.

As mentioned above, attaching the mask body 2 to the sticks will facilitate the rolling operation for packaging the mask.

Attachment strength shall be determined so that the mask body 2 may easily detach from the stick 5 under a slight additional traction from the user at the end of the unrolling.

According to a first embodiment (not illustrated) , the mask body 2 can, for example, be slightly glued to the sticks 5, namely by way of a tacky material that is applied locally on the stick. Local tackiness of the stick will provide for an additional friction that will help retain the mask body 2 onto the stick 5. Light glue, such as glue used for removable sticky paper notes may be used, for example.

According to a second prefer embodiment, and as shown on figures 9 and 10, the mask body 2 can also be attached to the sticks 5 by way of punching holes 10 that are made through both the mask body 2 and the corresponding stick 5. Punched holes may advantageously be arranged along a longitudinal line of the stick 5. The number of holes punched through the mask body 2 depends on the desired retention force. As shown on figures 9 and 10, three holes have been punched. More generally, the number of holes shall be between two and ten. Diameter of the punched holes may be between 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm.

When punching holes 10 through the mask body 2 and the sticks 5, this will lead to small residual flaps from the mask that will be bent inside the stick 5 through the hole 10 in said stick 5.

Said flaps (not visible) will help retain the mask body 2 onto the sticks 5 by way of an increased friction. Nevertheless, the mask body 2 will still be easily detachable.

Punching may be assisted by heat (for example between 160℃ et 220℃) , either during punching or after punching, in order to slightly melt the material of the mask body and increase interaction with the material of the stick 5.

Another possibility is to use sticks 5 (Figure 12) comprising a longitudinal slit 11 in which a corresponding end part of a side edge of the mask body 2 is introduced.

The slit 11 may extend over the whole length of the stick 5 or only over a part, preferably a central part, of the length of the stick 5.

The slit 11 will provide an additional retention of the mask body 11 in a rolling direction. However, once unrolled, the mask will be easy to extract from the slit 11.

Advantageously, the slit 11 is resilient and the stick 5 is configured so that the slit 11 is able to pinch or clip the mask body 2. When assembling and packaging, the slit 11 will be slightly open and part of a side edge of the mask body 2 will be inserted through said slit 11. Upon releasing, the slit 11 will pinch on the mask body 2 and improve retention.

Figures 10 and 12 respectively show other kinds of stick 5, namely a hollow stick, like a straw, and a plain solid rod stick that may also be used to roll the mask body 2.

Figures 14 and 15 are illustrations of a stick 5 carrying protruding bristles 15 in order to help removably retain the mask body 2 onto the stick.

The bristles 15 or tines protrude from the surface of the stick 5. Bristles or tines will act like a scratch band and interact with the mask body 2, in order to cause friction and help slightly retain the mask body 2 onto the sticks. Preferably, the bristles or tines are arranged locally along a longitudinal line of the corresponding stick and do not cover all the periphery of the stick.

It is important to note that each disclosed way of slightly attaching the mask body 2 to the stick may be implemented alone or in combination depending on the desired retention force. In addition, none of the disclosed way of slightly attaching the mask body 2 to the stick is limited to a holding device comprising two lateral sticks and may be used in a holding device for a facial mask having only one stick, rolled either from a side or top or bottom of the mask body.

Claims

A wearable facial mask (1) comprising a mask body (2) formed from a flexible sheet substrate, said facial mask being deployable from a packaged configuration to a wearable configuration, the mask comprising, at least in its packaged configuration, a holding device comprising at least one stick (5) around which the mask body is at least partially rolled, said mask being characterized in that the mask body comprises a peripheral edge from which the mask body is rolled onto the stick and that is detachably attached to said stick.
A facial mask (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral edge is a wing (6) or tab protruding from a central part of the mask body (2) .
A facial mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the mask body (2) is detachably attached to the stick (5) at a partly peripheral attachment area of said stick, the mask body being wound loosely around the rest of the periphery of the stick.
A facial mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the mask body (2) is detachably attached to the stick (5) at an attachment area of said stick, said attachment area extending along a substantially longitudinal direction of the stick.
A facial mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the mask body (2) is detachably attached to the stick (5) by way of a tacky material being present locally on an attachment area of said stick.
A facial mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the mask body (2) is detachably attached to the stick (5) by way of holes (10) punched both through the mask body and into the stick.
A facial mask (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the mask body (2) is at least partially melted at the punched holes (10) .
A facial mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the stick (5) shows a slit (11) extending along a longitudinal direction of said stick, a peripheral edge part of the mask body (2) being inserted into said slit.
A facial mask (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the slit (11) is configured so as to be able to elastically clip onto the inserted part of the mask body (2) .
A facial mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the mask body (2) is detachably attached to the stick (5) by way of bristles (15) protruding from an attachment area of said stick and acting like a scratch band interacting with the mask body.
A facial mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the holding device comprises two lateral vertical sticks onto which the mask body is rolled.
A facial mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the holding device comprises at least one horizontal sticks, said stick being preferably located, when deployed, at a bottom edge of the mask body.
A face mask (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the mask body (2) is impregnated with a cosmetic composition.