COSMETIC PRODUCT

Abstract: A cosmetic product comprising a solid mass of cosmetic material and a body (20) is formed in the body by application of suction to a slurry of the cosmetic material contained in a tapered cavity (22) in the body. Heat may be applied to effect drying, either simultaneously with or subsequent to the application of suction. The cavity (22) tapers in cross-section to its open top (24), through which the cosmetic material is exposed in the cosmetic product. A porous membrane (18) supported by an apertured surface (10) contacts the cosmetic material during application of suction and provides a textured surface in the cosmetic product. The material is retained in the body (20) by application of adhesive to the material and the body in the region of the open bottom (26) of the body. The slurry comprises cosmetic substances, for example colourant and filler, a resin, fat, wax or oil as a binder and one or more materials dissolving or emulsifying the binder.

Description: COSMETIC PRODUCT DESCRIPTION This invention relates to cosmetic products of the type comprising a solid mass of cosmetic material. Most cosmetic products of this type presently on the market are produced by compression of loose powder in a receptacle which is subsequently used as a constructional unit of a make-up kit or compact, the receptacle usually being received in the kit or compact in a correspondingly-shaped recess. This method suffers from various disadvantages: it is wasteful of materials because the compressed powder is contained in its own receptacle which is in turn housed in the make¬ up kit or compact; the pressure-application process is costly and time-consuming and not always reliable; some powders are difficult to compress at readily-attained pressures; the presses available tend to be able to handle circular and rectangular receptacles only; and the receptacles tend to be of tin-plated steel which is prone to corrosion, for example when exposed to moisture contained in glue which is often used to secure the receptacle in its recess. More recently, it has been attempted to overcome the disadvantages of compressed powder products by the use of techniques involving slurries of cosmetic materials which can be poured directly into suitable cavities in a body part of. the cosmetic product. These techniques are however subject to their own limitations. For example, in one technique, the slurry contains as binder a C- 2 to C22 fatty alcohol, preferably cetyl or stearyl alcohol. This limits the variety of textures attainable in the cosmetic material. Furthermore, the technique involves the use of siloxanes in the slurry; this is expensive and leads to very slow drying of the set slurry. Moreover, at least a portion of the siloxane is lost irrecoverably during drying. In addition, the body part cavity must be formed with a grid or grille for retaining the set cosmetic material. An object of the present invention is to overcome, or at least alleviate, one or more of the abovementioned disadvantages of the slurry techniques. In accordance with the invention there is provided a method of producing a cosmetic product comprising set cosmetic material, the method including the step of subjecting a slurry of cosmetic material retained in a shaping means to vacuum or suction in order to remove liquid therefrom. The application of vacuum or suction may be followed by a drying step, in which further liquid is removed. If the slurry contains a binder and a solvent therefor, the vacuum or suction application step will usually involve the removal from the slurry of both binder and solvent. The subsequent drying step will result predominantly in the evaporation of solvent. Accordingly, in performing such methods, the slurry will normally contain a sufficient excess of binder to allow for loss thereof during vacuum application. Instead of following application of vacuum or suction by drying however, the application of heat and vacuum may be simultaneous and constitute a vacuum drying step, in which substantially solvent only is removed from the slurry. In such cases, an excess of binder is not necessary. The set cosmetic material may be removed from the shaping means to produce the cosmetic product. In this way, products such as cores for subsequent association with cases to form cosmetic pencils may be produced, vacuum or suction preferably being applied to the core end face. Other products include self-supporting sticks and blocks of cosmetic material. However, in a preferred aspect of the invention, the shaping means comprises a body which has a cavity in which the slurry is retained, the body forming a part of the cosmetic product. In accordance with the invention there is also provided a method of producing a cosmetic product comprising a body having a cavity which contains solid cosmetic material and has an open top, in which method a slurry of cosmetic material is supplied to the cavity and vacuum or suction is applied to the material in the cavity in order to remove liquid therefrom. A suitable slurry comprises an inert filler, a binder, cosmetic colouring substance and a solvent for the binder, the solvent preferably dissolving the binder at room temperature. The liquid removed by application or vacuum or suction may thus be the solvent and the binder. The liquid is preferably collected as it is removed and thus recovered for re-use. After application of vacuum or suction, the body and cosmetic material may be subjected to heat in order to remove further solvent from the cosmetic material. The temperature and duration of the drying can be respectively higher and shorter than with the known processes mentioned above. The vacuum or suction is preferably applied to the cosmetic material through the open top of the cavity, the face of the cosmetic material to which the vacuum or suction is applied thus being the exposed face presented to the user of the cosmetic product. The cavity advantageously is additionally apertured, preferably at its bottom. In such cases the vacuum or suction may be applied through any or all of the open top and the additional aperture or apertures. Advantageously, the vacuum or suction is applied to the cosmetic material through a porous means, with which the body is in contact, the body preferably being supported by the porous means whilst the vacuum or suction is applied from below. The body is conveniently supported by the porous means at the time of introduction of the cosmetic material into the cavity. Advantageously, the porous means comprises a porous membrane which preferably remains in position extending over the cavity after removal of the body from the influence of vacuum or suction and, more preferably, during any subsequent drying step. The porous means preferably comprises a porous support element below the membrane, the support element conveniently forming a part of a vacuum or suction apparatus and being formed by, for example, a perforate or sintered glass shelf. The membrane may be of, for example, paper or a non-woven textile material. The porous means, preferably a membrane mentioned above, may have a textured surface which contacts the cosmetic material and produces an attractive textured surface on the cosmetic material in the final product. In particularly preferred methods according to the invention, at the time of application of the vacuum, the body is in an inverted position with its open top facing downwards. Advantageously, the cavity tapers in cross- section towards the open top of the cavity. In such a case, any shrinkage of the cosmetic material after introduction into the cavity can be compensated for by upward movement of the set material in the cavity and, if desired, application of an adhesive substance to the set material in the region of an aperture of the cavity other than its open top. The invention also provides a method of producing a cosmetic product comprising a body having a cavity which contains solid material and has an open top and at least one further aperture, in which method a slurry of cosmetic material is supplied to the cavity, the material is caused or allowed to set in the cavity and the set material is secured to the body by application of an adhesive substance to the set material and the body in the region of an aperture of the cavity not being its open top. Furthermore, the invention also provides a slurry for use in forming a solid mass of cosmetic material, the slurry comprising one or more cosmetic substances, for example a colouring material and a filler, a binder comprising a resin, fat, wax or oil and one or more substances capable of dissolving or forming an emulsion with the binder. The binder is preferably lanolin or a lanolin derivative. Suitable solvents are, for example, acetone, isopropanol, water or mixtures thereof. The use of siloxane solvents can thus be avoided. Methods according to the present invention can produce cosmetic products much more quickly than the known slurry technique mentioned above. Considerable production economies are therefore attainable. Moreover, recovery of solvent material can be much improved and the use of expensive solvent materials avoided. A wider variety of product textures is also possible. An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawing of this specification. The drawing has a single figure which is a schematic vertical section view of an apparatus in use in forming a cosmetic product. The apparatus shown in the figure comprises an apertured support surface 10 forming the top surface of a vessel 12 which is connected by its side-arm 14 to a source (not shown) of vacuum or suction. The lower part of the vessel 12 is formed as a removable receptacle 16 in which liquid can be collected. A porous membrane 18 in the form of a filter paper overlies the top surface 12 and supports a body 20 to be incorporated in a cosmetic product. The body 20 has a cavity 22 which extends through the body from an open top 24, shown lowermost because the body is inverted, to an open bottom 26. The cross-section of the cavity tapers towards its open top. In the manufacture of a cosmetic product comprising the body 20 and a solid mass of cosmetic material occupying the cavity 22, the membrane 18 is first laid on the top surface 12. Afterwards, the body 20 is placed on the membrane in the inverted position shown . A slurry of cosmetic material is then poured into the cavity. Typical slurries comprise a solvent, for example acetone, water or isopropanol, of mixtures thereof, and further material as follows: cosmetic colouring material - 1 to 40 wgt % filler 5 to 70 wgt % binder 5 to 59 wgt % The colouring material may be any acceptable cosmetic colouring. The filler may comprise, for example, talc, mica, kaolin, china clay, CaCθ3, Siθ2, AI2O3, hydrated AI2O3, other clay materials, BaSθ4, starch, and mixtures thereof. The binder could 5 comprise a resin, fat, wax or oil, for example a lanolin derivative, soluble in the solvent used. Alternatively, an insoluble wax could be used in the form of, for example, an emulsion. After pouring of the mixture into the cavity 22, 0 the slurry sets and vacuum is applied through the side arm 14. The application of vacuum draws excess liquid from the set slurry occupying the cavity. The liquid, comprising solvent and binder, is collected in the receptacle 16 and can be re-used subsequently, if 5 necessary after purification. After release of the vacuum, the body 20, together with the membrane 18, is removed from the surface 12 and transferred to a drying oven where excess solvent is evaporated. At the end of a suitable drying step, the set ° cosmetic material is secured in the body b means of an adhesive material applied to the bottom face of the material and the body in the region of the cavity bottom 26. If any shrinkage of the material should occur during the application of vacuum or heat, the mass can simply be moved upwardly in the container until the inclined edges of the container and mass are in contact. It will be noted that no locking grid or perforations are required to secure the mass in the body. The method of the invention can be carried out either on a batch basis or on a continuous basis. In the latter bodies charged with slurry are subjected to vacuum whilst being conveyed on a moving support surface and then conveyed to a drying oven.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A method of producing a cosmetic product, the method including the step of subjecting a slurry comprising cosmetic material retained in a shaping means to suction in order to remove liquid therefrom. 2. A method according to claim 1, in which the cosmetic material is dried by being subjected to heat, either simultaneously with or subsequently to the application of suction. 3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, in which the shaping means comprises a body which has a cavity in which the initial slurry is retained, the body forming part of the cosmetic product. 4. A method according to any preceding claim, in which the body has a cavity which tapers in cross- section towards an aperture thereof. 5. A method according to claim 3 or 4, in which suction is applied through an aperture of the cavity, through which the cosmetic material is exposed in the cosmetic product. 6. A method according to claim 4 or 5, in which suction is applied with the body orientated with its said aperture facing downwards. 7. A method according to claim 5 or 6, in which suction is applied through a porous membrane with which the cosmetic material is in contact during the suction- application step and, preferably, any drying step. 8. A method according to claim 7, in which the cosmetic material is supported by the membrane, through which suction is applied from below. 9. A method according to claim 7 or 8, in which the membrane surface contacting the cosmetic material is textured so as to produce a correspondingly-textured surface on the cosmetic product. 10. A method according to any of claims 7 to 9, in which the porous membrane is supported by rigid, porous support element. 11. A method of producing a cosmetic product comprising a body having a cavity which contains solid material and has an open top and at least one further aperture, in which a slurry of cosmetic material is supplied to the cavity, the material is caused or allowed to set in the cavity and the set material is secured to the body by application of an adhesive substance to the set material and the body in the region of an aperture of the cavity not being its open top. 12. A slurry for use in forming a solid mass of cosmetic material, the slurry comprising one or more cosmetic substances, a binder comprising a resin, fat, wax or oil and one or more substances capable of dissolving or forming an emulsion with the binder.

Inventors: CARR RAYMOND, CARR, RAYMOND
Applicants: ATLAS COSMETICS LTD, ATLAS COSMETICS LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A61K7
IPC codes: A45D33, A61K8, A61Q1