Patent ID: 7993677

Claim:
A method of preparing density-controlled beads dispersible in a liquid medium for incorporation into cosmetic products, with the beads comprising as ingredients: (i) an active agent; (ii) an effective quantity of a density-control agent that reduces the density of the resulting beads to promote uniform dispersion in the liquid medium by providing the bead with a desired bulk density; and (iii) a gelling agent that is liquid at elevated temperatures, the method comprising: (a) dissolving the gelling agent in water at an elevated temperature sufficient to dissolve the gelling agent to form a first mixture, the gelling agent being dissolved in a proportion of gelling agent to water effective to form a gel at a lower temperature than the elevated temperature; (b) dispersing the density-control agent in water or oil at room temperature to form a second mixture; (c) adding the second mixture to the first mixture to form a third mixture; (d) cooling the third mixture to a discharge temperature below the elevated temperature but above the gelling point of the first mixture; (e) discharging the third mixture through a needle to form droplets or globules, the third mixture being discharged while at the discharge temperature; and (f) cooling the droplets or globules to form beads.