DESC:Field of Invention:
The invention is in the field of personal care products. More particularly, the current invention relates to a reconstitutable powder for personal care.

Background of the Invention:
Personal care or toiletries are consumer products used in personal hygiene and for beautification. Traditionally, most of these products are sold as liquid products. The major disadvantages with respect to liquid products are in terms of storage, packaging, the degree of preservation required, and convenience of use. Further, since liquid are mainly water based there is a chance of leakage arising out of improper handling during transportation or sudden bumping of the vehicle while trading a particularly uneven road. Further, Liquid cleansing products typically are sold in bottles. The cost of the bottle frequently contributes significantly to the overall cost of the product.

With a view of overcoming these drawbacks posed by liquid detergents, inventors have come up with a solution which constitutes usage of powder. However, usage of powder has its own set of disadvantages which may encompass soap residues left behind on your clothes, after washing. This leads to a need of follow-up wash (es).

Therefore, an ideal solution would be to devise a product which combines advantages of both powder and liquid, while simultaneously minimising the individual disadvantages posed by the powder and liquid products.

One solution for above problems is provided by EP1574203 (EP ‘203). Accordingly, the product as disclosed in EP ‘203 is a rehydratable personal care product which is converted to liquid as and when required. Since, the end-user product is a liquid product, the disadvantage of liquid as enumerated hereinbefore are not completely eliminated.

Therefore, the best solution would be to overcome all the disadvantages as listed above would be to devise a product which does not form a liquid after reconstitution. This could be achieved by forming a gel as an end-use product.

Hence, the current inventors have invented a novel product which is a solid while transportation and can be converted to a more usable gel formulation.

Summary of Invention:
With a view of overcoming the above problems current inventors provide a solution which forms gel as an end-use product.

In an aspect, the invention is a reconstitutable surfactant based powder product for personal care which has good solubility in water and forms a stable gel when dispersed in water.

Detailed Description of the Invention:
Described herein is a reconstitutable surfactant based powder product which has good solubility in water and forms a stable gel when dispersed in water.

The reconstitutable surfactant based powder of the invention is a dry mixture of surfactants that provide cleansing. Said Reconstitutable powder consists of a polymer/gum system conferring gelling and stability to the formulation upon reconstitution. The reconstitutable surfactant based powder may also contain effective amount of stabilizers and buffers, appropriate natural or artificial conditioning agents, natural ingredients like Aloe Vera and Neem, fragrances and colours.

In an embodiment, the reconstitutable powder of the invention comprise of a 12-22% polymer/gum system conferring gelling and stability to the formulation upon reconstitution, 0.001 to 10 % by weight one or more dry powder extracts, 5-95% by weight surfactants and co-surfactants, 2-30% by weight one or more thickening and stabilizing agents, 0-5% by weight of water. The powder formulation further comprises 0.3 to 2 % by weight chelating agent, buffering agents and 0.4 to 3% by weight preservatives. Preferably, dry powder extracts of Aloe Vera and Neem are coated/ adsorbed on Silica to provide the reconstitutable powder of the invention with 0.2 to 1.0 % by weight fragrance and impart conditioning and germ washing property the formulation. In an Optional embodiment, the powder formulation may further comprise, conditioning agents, herbal extracts, fragrance, colour and anticaking agents.

In accordance with above embodiment, the polymer/gum system may be selected from, but not limited to, Cellulose, Gaur Gum, xanthan gum, trimethyl cellulose (TMC), Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC), or combinations thereof.

In accordance with above embodiment, the chelating agent could be selected from EDTA, Disodium EDTA, Nitrilotriacetic acid, or combinations thereof.

The powder formulation can be used directly or with water preferably after reconstitution, to prepare cleansing products such as shampoo, body wash, hand wash and household cleaning products.

In an embodiment, the powder sachet is provided with an empty pump bottle. The empty bottle is filled with water up to a recommended level, into which the sachet is to be emptied. The, hence, filled bottle is shaken for 2-3 min to disperse the powder well. It takes approximately two (2) hours to get a good gel that can be easily pumped out of bottle. Accordingly, the 9 gms to 10 gms of the reconstitutable powder of the invention is mixed in 200 ml water.

In an embodiment, the invention provides a kit for cleansing. The kit contains a sachet containing the reconstitutable powder and container for reconstituting the reconstitutable powder and dispensing reconstituted gel. Preferably, the container for reconstituting the reconstitutable powder and dispensing reconstituted gel is a pump bottle made up of a transparent material. Said container could be demarcated to indicate specific volume, preferably 200 ml.

EXAMPLE
Several examples are set forth below to further illustrate the nature of the invention and the manner of carrying it out. However, the invention should not be considered as being limited to the details thereof.
Example 1:
Sr. No. INCI Name Range %
1 Silicon Dioxide 0.2 to 3.0
2 Fragrance 0.2 to 1.0
3 Polymer/Gum (Cellulose & Gaur Gum) 12 to 22
5 Chelating agent 0.3 to 2
6 Preservative 0.4 to 3
7 Colour 00.020 to 0.008
8 Aloe Vera Extract 00.001 – 0.005
9 Neem Extract 00.001 – 0.005
10 Anionic Surfactant (Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate & Sodium lauryl Sulphate) 5 -90.0
Total 100.000
Process for reconstitution of powder:
a. Filling an empty pump bottle with 200 ml of water;
b. empting the sachet containing 9 gm to 10 gm of reconstitutable powder to the filled pump bottle of step (a);
c. shaking the filled pump bottle of step (b) for dispersing the powder, and
d. Allowing the bottle to stand to get good gel for about 2 hours.

,CLAIMS:
1. A reconstitutable surfactant based powder having good solubility in water and forming a stable gel when dispersed in water comprises,
a. 12 to 22 % by weight a polymer/gum system;
b. 0.001 to 10 % by weight one or more dry powder extracts;
c. 5-95 % by weight surfactants and co-surfactants;
d. 2-30 % by weight one or more thickening and stabilizing agents;
e. 0.3 to 2 % by weight one or more chelating agents,;
f. 0.4 to 3 % by weight one or more preservatives;
g. 0-5% by weight of water.

2. The reconstitutable powder as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the dry powder extract is selected from Aloe Vera and Neem and/or other natural extracts coated over silica.

3. The reconstitutable powder as claimed in claim 1, further comprises one or more buffering agents; one or more conditioning agents, one or more herbal extracts, one or more fragrance, one or more colour and one or more anticaking agents.

4. The reconstitutable powder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reconstitutable powder is used for shampoo, body wash, hand wash and household cleaning products.

5. The reconstitutable powder as claimed in claim 4, wherein the reconstitutable powder is used for hand wash.

6. The reconstitutable powder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the polymer/gum system is selected from group consisting of cellulose, guar gum, xanthan gum, trimethyl cellulose (TMC), Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC), or combinations thereof.

7. The reconstitutable powder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chelating agent is selected from group consisting of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), Disodium Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Na2-EDTA), Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) or combinations thereof.

8. The reconstitutable powder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surfactant is an Anionic Surfactant selected from group consisting of Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate, Sodium lauryl Sulphate, cocamidopropyl betaine and related compounds or combinations thereof.

9. A method for reconstituting the reconstitutable powder as claimed in any of the preceding claims comprises of:
a. filling an empty pump bottle with water;
b. empting the sachet of reconstitutable powder to the filled pump bottle of step (a);
c. shaking the filled pump bottle of step (b) for dispersing the powder, and
d. allowing the bottle to stand to get good gel.

10. A kit for cleansing comprising:
a) a sachet containing the reconstitutable powder as claimed in claims 1 to 7, and
b) a container for container for reconstituting the reconstitutable powder and dispensing reconstituted gel.

11. The kit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the container is a pump bottle.