Patent Pick: Cellulose Particles Balance the Cleansing Equation

According to Johnson & Johnson (J&J) inventors, oily skin is shiny, thick and dull-colored. It often is afflicted by blemishes and can be prone to developing blackheads. The sebaceous glands in oily skin are overly productive, sending oil out from the follicles, which creates undesired greasy shine. The pores in oily skin also tend to be enlarged, giving skin a coarse look.

As this J&J patent application explains, existing treatments typically include soaps or surfactant-based cleansers, astringents with alcohol, clay or mud masks, even oil-absorbing materials such as clay or salt. While these can effectively remove shine, they also tend to dry out skin. Further, the shiny skin tends to come back quickly.

Complicating the matter is the fact that delivering skin benefits from a rinse-off composition is challenging due to the relatively short contact time between application to the skin and rinsing. Thus, there is a market need to remove oil from skin while maintaining its hydration; this patent addresses this need. (For more on this subject, see our Supplier Roundtable.)

Rinse-off skin care compositions containing cellulosic materials
U.S. Patent Application 20170128345
Publication date: May 11, 2017
Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc. 

Disclosed in this patent application is a rinse-off composition that contains hydrophobic, linear cellulose particles. Said particles having an average length from ~1 to ~1,000 μm, a particle aspect ratio from ~1,000 to ~2, and a thickness from ~1 to ~500 μm.

These are employed in a skin cleanser further containing: one cleansing agent selected from a saponified fat or a surfactant; and a cosmetically acceptable carrier.