Chosen biweekly for their relevance to personal care, "Patent Picks" are taken from publicly available sources. This edition features technologies related to sunless tanning, skin protection and anti-aging skin care.
Advanced glycation end products as active ingredients
US Patent 8202892
Publication date: June 19, 2012
Assignee: Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
According to this patent, there is a need to enrich the prior art with novel cosmetic active ingredients or complexes of active ingredients. In particular, those that provide sustained protection and/or improved skin care are of great interest.The present invention relates to the use of a cosmetic composition comprising at least one compound from the group of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and/or their precursors as an agent for skin treatment, especially for protecting and/or caring for skin. The AGEs utilized are prepared by reacting sugars with the amino acids lysine and/or arginine. They are particularly interesting actives for conditioning, protecting and revitalizing skin. Preparations comprising a whole range active ingredients are available in large numbers and in many forms. The active substance present in a fraction of 0.0001–38% w/w, based on total weight of the composition, is preferably chosen from the following products or their mixtures: self-tanning active substances, skin-lightening active substances, skin-soothing active substances, flavonoids and flavonoid-rich plant extracts, isoflavonoids and isoflavonoid-rich plant extracts,etc.
Compositions and methods for stabilizing ingredients using 2,4-pentanedione compounds
WIPO Patent Application WO/2012/078546
Publication date: June 14, 2012
Assignee: Sytheon Ltd.
Benzylidene substituted 2,4-pentanedione compounds without phenolic hydroxyl group(s) were found by the inventors of this patent to provide photostability to otherwise photosensitive compounds and compositions. The stabilizing compounds disclosed are especially applicable and beneficial with respect to sunscreen actives and sunscreen-containing compositions. Formulations described may also contain active ingredients that promote tanning by amplifying the effects of UV light, e.g., melanin, L-tyrosine, tea oil and green tea extracts.
Pharmaceutical and/or cosmetic composition containing mutant zebra fish peptides
US Patent 8188050
Publication date: May 29, 2012
Assignee: ISP Investments Inc.
This invention concerns the use of peptide fragments of the protein SLC24A5 as active agents designed to induce, increase or restore the synthesis of melanin in the melanocytes of the epidermis or of the pilar bulb, alone or in association with at least one other active agent, in a cosmetic composition or for the preparation of a pharmaceutical or dermatological composition. According to this patent, the protein SLC24A5 was recently discovered in mutant zebra fish that exhibited skin lighter than individuals of the same species. The mutant fish possess a variant form of the protein associated with the of melanosomes in its skin that are less numerous, smaller and lighter in color.
The studies conducted on this fish enabled the SLC24A5 protein to be localized in the membrane of the melanosomes, and its probable function attributed to an ion-exchange channel for sodium/calcium ions. The role of the SLC24A5 protein in the coloration of the human skin seems to be a determining factor, since the polymorphism recognized in the human gene, which is manifested respectively by the presence of an alanine or a threonine, is split up in a very differentiated way according to the phenotypes of skin color. Thus, the alanine allele has a frequency of 93% among Africans, while the threonine allele is found in 98–100% of Europeans. To date, no use of the SLC24A5 protein has been described in cosmetic or pharmaceutical compositions.
Clear cosmetic compositions containing lipophilic materials
WIPO Patent Application WO/2012/076531
Publication date: June 14, 2012
Assignee: L'Oréal, H Cao and D Burakov
Disclosed in this patent are methods for cleansing and conditioning keratinous substrates, as well as a composition comprising: a) at least one alkoxylated monoamine; b) at least one alkoxylated monoacid; c) at least one lipophilic compound; d) at least one surfactant; e) at least one cosmetically acceptable carrier; and f) optionally, at least one auxiliary ingredient; wherein the ratio by weight of b):a) is greater than 1, and wherein the ratio by weight of a)+ b):c) is greater than 2. The methods can provide hair with improved shine, conditioning, manageability and styling ability. Skin and hair active agents that may be used in the composition include moisturizers; for example, protein hydrolysates and polyols such as glycerol; glycols, for instance, sugar derivatives; natural and plant extracts; anti-inflammatory agents; depigmenting agents such as kojic acid, hydroquinone and caffeic acid; retinoids such as carotenoids and vitamin A derivatives; sunscreens; self-tanning agents and others.
Method for increasing the SPF of a cosmetic and/or dermatological preparation
US Patent Application 2120148512
Publication date: June 14, 2012
Assignee: BASF SE
Disclosed in this patent is a method for increasing the sun protection factor (SPF) of a cosmetic and/or dermatological preparation by adding at least one UVA filter during the production of the preparation wherein, in the finished cosmetic and/or dermatological preparation, a value for the ratio of the sum of the mass of the UVA filters to the sum of the mass of the UVB filters and broadband filters of at least 0.5 is established. The preparations described are primarily sunscreen preparations, which protect the skin against damage by sunlight, specifically by UV-B radiation (280 to 320 nm) and UVA radiation (> 320 nm), but also include day care products, anti-aging products and self-tanning preparations.
Water-soluble thickener and cosmetic preparation containing same
European Patent EP1746114
Publication date: June 13, 2012
Assignee: Shiseido Company, Ltd.
The present invention relates to water-soluble thickeners, specifically those that do not produce a sticky feel and are used in cosmetic preparations over a wide pH range. An objective of the invention is to provide a copolymer that serves as a water-soluble thickener with good stability, safety and usability when a copolymer that has an acrylamidealkylsulfonic acid unit as its backbone is blended into a cosmetic as a water-soluble thickener. The described polymer is different from the copolymer obtained by a homogeneous polymerization system in that it does not need to be crushed into a powder when blended into a cosmetic. In one embodiment, blending the microgel formed by this thickener with liniment compositions for skin coloring, including dihydroxyacetone, provides stable compositions that exhibit a good thickening and coloring effects.
Compositions and methods for imparting a sunless tan with functionalized adjuvants
US Patent Application
Publication date: June 7, 2012
Assignee: Conopco Inc., D/B/A Unilever
Described in this patent are compositions and methods for imparting a sunless tan with functionalized adjuvants and a tanning agent like dihydroxyacetone. The functionalized adjuvants are pyrrole and/or indole derivatives functionalized with a substituent comprising a carbonyl group. This invention relates to increasing interest to develop compositions and methods for imparting a sunless tan, especially compositions that yield a fast and natural-looking tan. The composition, when applied, unexpectedly penetrates the skin well, resulting in a longer-lasting brownish tan coloration achieved within a consumer-acceptable time.
Mirror for showing a change of skin appearance
US Patent 8192201
Publication date: June 5, 2012
Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
A tinted mirror has been developed that is treated in such as way as to reflect a modified image of the user's skin to view its potential change in color, which would follow from the application of a cosmetic product such as self-tanner. The invention may be used in a beauty salon or supermarket aisle to help subjects visualize the potential effect of the product on their skin.
Compositions comprising skin-lightening resorcinol and skin-darkening sugar amines, walnut, mugwort, soy, etc.
US Patent Application
Publication date: May 24, 2012
Inventors: S Cochran, MG Kizoulis, M Southall and M Tyerech
The disclosed composition in this patent comprises a skin-lightening resorcinol and a skin darkening agent for topical application to skin, for example, to treat the signs of aging. To enhance the effect of the self-tanning agent, compositions of the present invention may include one or more darkening enhancement ingredients to assist the self-tanning agent in developing either more rapidly or more intensely. As such, the composition may include, for example: sugar amines or various natural extracts, e.g., walnut tree extract, mugwort extract and certain pre-germinated soy seed extracts. The amount of the one or more darkening enhancement ingredients in the compositions of the invention, if included, range from approx. 0.01–10%; preferably about 0.1–5%; more preferably about 0.5–2% w/w.
Microphasic micro-components and methods for controlling morphology via electrified jetting
US Patent 8187708
Publication date: May 29, 2012
Assignee: The Regents of The University of Michigan
The current disclosure provides methods for the preparation of multiphasic micro-components, such as core-shell or anisotropic (e.g., Janus) multiphasic particles with well-defined structures, using electrohydrodynamic co-jetting of two polymer solutions containing polyelectrolytes. Control of certain variables, such as relative conductivities of the two jetting solutions, manages the particle morphologies formed, leading to a predetermined phase orientation for the same polymer system. In certain aspects, after cross-linking, core-shell particles are stable in aqueous solutions and exhibit reproducible swelling behavior, while maintaining the original core-shell geometry.
In addition, micro-components formed in accordance with the present teachings are pH-responsive based on external environmental pH. Thus, such micro-components are useful for a variety of different applications, including micro- and nano-active ingredient delivery systems. In other aspects, multiphasic micro-components can be used in personal care compositions such as soaps, exfoliating scrubs, shampoos, lotions, sunscreens, self-tanning products, antiperspirant products, nail care products, cosmetics and the like.
