CLIAMS:We Claim:

1. A storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition comprising
(i) thickening agents selected from inorganic thickeners;
(ii) acrylate copolymer;
(iii) natural/herbal materials;
(iv) surfactants;
(v)along with or without hairbenefit or cosmetically suitable agents; and wherein said (i) inorganic thickener and (ii) acrylate copolymer is present in the ratio of 1:2 to 2:1.

2. A storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein said thickening agent is selected from inorganic thickeners including aluminium magnesium silicate, bentonite, hectorite, laponite, and and mixtures there-of.

3. A storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims wherein said acrylate copolymers are selected from acrylates/aminoacrylates/C10-30 alkyl PEG-20 itaconate copolymer, acrylates ammonium methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/beheneth-25 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/C10-30alkylacrylate crosspolymer, acrylates/ceteth-20 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/ceteth-20 itaconate copolymer, acrylates/laureth-25 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates copolymer and acrylates/palmeth-25 acrylate copolymer and acrylates/steareth- 20 methacrylate copolymer. Most preferred is known with the CTFA adopted name acrylates copolymer and commercially available under the trade names such as Carbopol Aqua SF-1 from Noveon and Aculyn 33 from Rohm and Haas and combinations thereof.

4. A storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein said natural/herbal materials are present in the range of 10-60% by wt. in the said composition and which said formulation/ composition is stable for at least 6 months.

5. A storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims wherein said herbal materials include shikakai, amla, hibiscus, green gram, fenugreek, tulsi, reetha, henna, vetiver and the like.

6. A storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims wherein said surfactants are selected from anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic surfactants including but not limited to ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, lauric monoglyceride sodium sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, potassium lauryl sulfate, potassium laureth sulfate, alpha olefine sulphonate, sodium lauryl sarcosinate, cocoamphoacetate, cocoamphodiacetate, lauroamphoacetate, lauroamphodiacetate, and coco di ethanaol amide, cocomonoethanol amide, cocamide MIPA, isostearamide DEA, isostearamide MEA, isostearamide MIPA, lanolinamide DEA, lauramide DEA, lauramide MEA, lauramide MIPA, linoleamide DEA, linoleamide MEA, linoleamide MIPA, myristamide DEA, myristamide MEA, cocoamidopropylbetaine, alkyl poly glucosides and mixture thereof.

7. A process for the preparation of storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition as claimed in anyone of claims 1-7 comprising the steps of
(i) providing the surfactants in water and heating to obtain a homogeneous solution;
(ii) dispersing the inorganic thickener and acrylate copolymer separately in water and stirring until dissolution;
(iii) adding the solution of step (ii) to the mix of step (i)
(iv) adding the herbal/herbo-mineral materials to step (iii) and mixing till a homogenous paste is obtained; and
(v)optionally, adding hair benefiting agents to the mix of step (iv) with moderate agitation to prevent heavy aeration until the composition is uniform such as to obtain a storage stable paste based herbal/herbo-mineral shampoo composition therefrom.

8. A process for the preparation of storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition as claimed in claim 8
wherein said step (i) of providing surfactants in water comprises the steps of
(A) heating a solution of around 25% of the total anionic surfactant and nonionic surfactant in deionized water at a temperature in the range of 70-75 deg C till a homogenous solution is obtained;
(B) adding the remaining around 75% of anionic surfactant to the solution obtained in step (A) followed by adding the amphoteric surfactant and any other nonionic surfactant to the mix of step (A) with moderate agitation until the mix is clear and uniform;
wherein said step (ii) comprises dispersing the inorganic thickener and acrylate copolymer separately in water equal to or greater than 10 times the quantity of inorganic thickener and acrylate copolymer and mixing until the solution is homogenous.

Dated this the 1st day of January, 2014 Anjan Sen
Of Anjan Sen and Associates
(Applicants Agent)
,TagSPECI:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition comprising herbal/ herbo - mineral materials, and more particularly, relates to said paste composition, which on one hand while possessing paste-like consistency with a stable uniform dispersion of solids also possesses commercially acceptable colour and odour that is stable in presence of high content of herbal materials /herbo-minerals that is also adapted to deliver superior cleaning and conditioning benefits to the hair.

BACKGROUND ART:

The use of herbal paste to wash and clean the hair is a well known practice in certain pockets of India. Generally to make said herbal paste, herbal solids in the powder form are mixed with water to get a paste like consistency. However the preparation of herbal paste is a cumbersome process, as it involves procurement of the raw herbs, drying, pulverising it into a powder and then making a paste. During the conversion of the raw herb into powder and then into paste, a lot of dusting is involved which leads to pollution and respiratory problem. Also, another disadvantage of the herbal paste is that the shelflife of the paste is very short and has to be consumed with in a few hours post preparation, as the color, consistency and odour of the product becomes unacceptable over a period of time.
Further dosing of herbal solids/ materials in liquid shampoo has a lot of limitations like change in colour and appearance, smell, loss in consistency over a period of time due to interaction of herbals with the other ingredients like water, surfactant etc. Hence only extracts of the said herbs other than the herb itself meets the possibility of incorporation in liquid shampoos.

There are shampoo products available in market in paste form which are made from synthetic ingredients which are perceived as harsh .Herbal based paste are available in market mainly marketed as henna paste which are meant for colouring hair but has to be applied on clean hair which is cleaned with a product like shampoo. Other herbal based paste shampoos in market which are promoted for cleansing & conditioning are not stable .

As apparent from the above, it is thus a challenge in the art to provide a stable paste type shampoo composition involving herbal/ herbo-mineral materials in the range of 10-60% because in the presence of herbal solids such as Shikakai, Amla, hibiscus, green gram, fenugreek, tulsi and the like, the color and consistency of the product becomes unstable upon storage thus resulting in poor shelf life. Also the herbal / herbo-mineral materials tend to segregate/ precipitate out from the composition due to drop in viscosity of the composition over a period of time.

Hence, it is the need of the day to provide a storage stable paste shampoo formulation/ composition involving natural/herbal material, which while retaining the colour and consistency over a prolonged period of time would therefore remain shelf stable and would also be adapted to deliver superior cleaning and conditioning benefits to the hair.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:

It is thus the primary object of the present invention to provide a storage stable herbal /herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition involving herbal/natural materials with paste like consistency that would retain commercially acceptable colour, odour and consistency for a prolonged period of time even in the presence of herbal solids/ materials.

It is another object of the present invention to provide for said storage stable paste shampoo formulation/ composition which on one hand is having prolonged shelf life even in the presence of said natural/herbal materials would also be adapted to impart superior cleaning and conditioning benefits to the hair.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide for said storage stable paste shampoo composition with prolonged shelf life and acceptable colour and odour upon storage that would also provide for good foam, cleansing and conditioning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
Thus according to the basic aspect of the present invention there is provided a storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition comprising
(i) thickening agents selected from inorganic thickeners;
(ii) acrylate copolymer;
(iii) natural/herbal materials and
(iv) surfactants;
(v) alongwith or without hair benefit or cosmetically suitable agents and wherein said (i) inorganic thickener and (ii) acrylate copolymer is present in the ratio of 1:2 to 2:1.

Preferably the storage stable herbal paste shampoo composition provided said natural/herbal materials are present in the range of 50-70% by wt. in the said composition and which said formulation/ composition is stable for at least 6 months.

It is thus unexpectedly found by way of the present invention that when a shampoo composition comprises a selective combination of thickening agents selected from inorganic thickeners, acrylate copolymer present in the selective levels of 1:2 to 2:1 in the composition together alongwith surfactants with or without hair benefit or cosmetically suitable agents while allowing the incorporation of natural/herbal materials in said composition even at the levels as high as 10-60 % by wt. yet possesses commercially acceptable colour and odour and is stable even in the presence of high content of said natural/ herbal materials for at least 6 months without any loss of viscosity also facilitating superior cleaning and conditioning attributes to the hair.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided said storage stable paste based herbal/herbomineral shampoo composition wherein said thickening agent is selected from inorganic thickeners including aluminum magnesium silicate, bentonite, hectorite, and laponite and mixtures there-of.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided said storage stable paste based herbal/herbomineral shampoo composition wherein said acrylate copolymers are selected from aqueous composition of the present invention comprises thickening acrylate polymers. Non-limiting suitable ones are acrylates/aminoacrylates/C10-30 alkyl PEG-20 itaconate copolymer, acrylates ammonium methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/beheneth-25 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/C10-30alkylacrylate crosspolymer, acrylates/ceteth-20 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/ceteth-20 itaconate copolymer, acrylates/laureth-25 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates copolymer and acrylates/palmeth-25 acrylate copolymer and acrylates/steareth- 20 methacrylate copolymer. Most preferred is known with the CTFA adopted name acrylates copolymer and commercially available under the trade names such as Carbopol Aqua SF-1 from Noveon and Aculyn 33A from Rohm and Haas.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided said storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition wherein said herbal materials include shikakai, amla, hibiscus, green gram, fenugreek, tulsi, reetha, henna, vetiver.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided said storage stable herbal/herbo-mineral paste shampoo composition wherein said surfactants are selected from anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic surfactants including but not limited to ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, lauric monoglyceride sodium sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, potassium lauryl sulfate, potassium laureth sulfate, alpha olefine sulphonate, sodium lauryl sarcosinate ,cocoamphoacetate, cocoamphodiacetate, lauroamphoacetate, lauroamphodiacetate, and coco di ethanaol amide cocomonoethanol amide , cocamide MIPA, isostearamide DEA, isostearamide MEA, isostearamide MIPA, lanolinamide DEA, lauramide DEA, lauramide MEA, lauramide MIPA, linoleamide DEA, linoleamide MEA, linoleamide MIPA, myristamide DEA, myristamide MEA cocoamidopropylbetaine, alkylpolyglucosides and mixture thereof

Preferably said conditioning agents are selected from silicones, cationic polymers, hydrocarbon oils etc and mixture thereof.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for the preparation of said storage stable paste based herbal /herbo-mineral shampoo composition comprising the steps of
(i) providing the surfactants in water and heating to obtain a homogeneous solution;
(ii) dispersing the inorganic thickener and acrylate copolymer separately in water and stirring until dissolution;
(iii) adding the solution of step (ii) to the mix of step (i)
(iv) adding the herbal/herbo-mineral materials to step (iii) and mixing till a homogenous paste is obtained; and
(v)optionally, adding hair benefiting agents to the mix of step (iv) with moderate agitation to prevent heavy aeration until the composition is uniform such as to obtain a storage stable herbal paste shampoo composition therefrom.

Preferably, in said process said step (i) of providing surfactants in water comprises the steps of
(A) heating a solution of around 25% of the total anionic surfactant and nonionic surfactant in deionized water at a temperature in the range of 70-75 deg C till a homogenous solution is obtained;
(B) adding the remaining around 75% of anionic surfactant to the solution obtained in step (A) followed by adding the amphoteric surfactant and any other nonionic surfactant to the mix of step (A) with moderate agitation until the mix is clear and uniform;

wherein said step (ii) comprises dispersing the inorganic thickener and acrylate copolymer separately in water equal to or greater than 10 times the quantity of inorganic thickener and acrylate copolymer and mixing until dispersion is complete.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

As discussed hereinbefore the present invention provides for a storage stable herbal paste shampoo composition comprising a selective combination of natural/herbal materials, inorganic thickening agents, acrylate copolymer together with surfactants, conditioning agents having paste like consistency that allows the incorporation of said natural/herbal materials at the levels of 10-60 % by wt. of the composition, and yet possesses commercially acceptable colour and odour and is stable even in the presence of high content of natural/herbal materials for at least 6 months without any loss of viscosity and also favours superior cleaning and conditioning benefits to the hair.
It is thus the surprising finding of the present invention that storage stable herbal paste shampoo composition could only be achieved by selective combination of ingredients involving the incorporation of natural/herbal materials at the levels of 10-60% by wt. of the composition, which selective combination of ingredients is adapted to control the colour, appearance and stability of said paste form of herbal shampoo composition of the present invention. Also said selective ingredients of inorganic thickening agent and acrylate copolymer in selective ratio of 1:2 to 2:1 together with herbal materials, surfactants, conditioning agent appear to play a critical role in the stability of the composition by maintaining the viscosity of the composition without any viscosity drop upon storage thus preventing any segregation/ precipitation of herbal solids from the composition and in turn favouring extended shelf life.
In one aspect, the present invention provides for a storage stable paste based herbal shampoo composition comprising of (i) thickening agents selected from in-organic thickeners including aluminum magnesium silicate, bentonite, hectorite, laponite, salicylic acid anhydride , talc, multani mitti and mixture there-of (ii) acrylate copolymer selected may include but not limited to are acrylates/aminoacrylates/C10-30 alkyl PEG-20 itaconate copolymer, acrylates ammonium methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/beheneth-25 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/C10-30alkylacrylate crosspolymer, acrylates/ceteth-20 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates/ceteth-20 itaconate copolymer, acrylates/laureth-25 methacrylate copolymer, acrylates copolymer and acrylates/palmeth-25 acrylate copolymer and acrylates/steareth- 20 methacrylate copolymer. Most preferred is known with the CTFA adopted name acrylates copolymer and commercially available under the trade names such as Carbopol Aqua SF-1 from Noveon and Aculyn 33 from Rohm and Haas wherein the ratio of inorganic thickener to acrylate copolymer is in the range of 1:2 to 2:1 (iii) Herbal/herbo-mineral materials (iv) surfactants selected from anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic surfactants and mixture thereof (v) hair conditioning agents selected from silicones, cationic polymers, hydrocarbon oils etc and mixture thereof.

Example-I: Comparative Table involving compositions A-F
Ingredient A
(wt %) B
( wt %) C
(wt %) D
(wt %) E
(wt %) F
(wt %)
Sodium laureth sulphate 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5
Cocomonoethanolamide 2 2 2 2 2 2
Sodium cocoyl glycinate 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Magnesiumaluminium silicate 4 2 2 6 2 4
Acrylates copolymer 2 4 6 2 4 2
Cocoamidopropylbetaine 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
Silicone emulsion 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Shikakai ( Acacia Concinna )powder 5.35 5.35 5 3.35 17 17
Reetha ( Sapindus mukurossi) powder 5 5 5 5 8 3
Henna ( Lawsonia inermis )powder 10 10 10 10 10 5
Usilam ( Albizia amara) 5 5 3.35 5 5 5
Illupai ( Madhuca longifolia) 5 5 5 5 5 5
Vetiver ( Chyrsopogon zizanioides) powder 5 5 5 5 10 5
Fragrance 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Preservative 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Colour 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Sodium chloride 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25

Example-II: Stability of the compositions
Composition Stability (at 25-27 Deg C)
upto 6 months Viscosity (cps) at 30 Deg C
A Stable without separation Maintains viscosity between 3.5 lacs – 6.5 lacs over a period 6 months and continue to stable
B Stable without separation Maintains viscosity between 3.5 lacs – 6.5 lacs over a period 6 months and continue to stable
C Unstable and separated Has a intial viscosity of 4.5 lacs and drops to 60,000 cps over a period of 3 months with separation
D Unstable and separated Has a initial viscosity of 3.6 lacs and drops to 40000cps over a period of 3 months with separation
E Stable without separation Maintains viscosity of 6 to 15 lacs over a period of 6 months and continue to be stable
F Stable without separation Maintains viscosity of 6 to 15 lacs over a period of 6 months and continue to be stable

It is thus evident from the Table under Example I above that the ratio of inorganic thickener to acrylate copolymer present in the range of 1:2 to 2:1 in the composition under A and B of the present invention is critical to retain the stability of the composition for at least 6 months to thus be shelf stable as a product per se, which when goes beyond the range as exemplified under compositions C and D fails to deliver the desired stability. The stability of the composition of the present invention is not found to alter even upon including a range of natural/herbal actives selected from shikakai, amla, hibiscus, green gram, fenugreek, tulsi, reetha, henna, vetiver that too at the levels of 10-60% by wt. of the said composition as per the compositions E and F while maintaining the ratio of the inorganic thickener: acrylate copolymer within said selective levels. Hence the stability of the paste in terms of colour and appearance even upon incorporation of natural/herbal materials at high levels of 10-60% by wt. of the said composition could only be achieved by the selection of the ingredients present at their selective levels.

Performance evaluation of Stable Formulations under Compositions A B, E, F illustrated above:

Performance of the stable compositions of the present invention illustrated in example A , B, E & F was done in salon for cleansing, softness of hair after drying, ease of combing of dried hair. The evaluations were performed by a trained, licensed cosmetologist and the findings are illustrated hereunder.

Following use, the beautician was asked to assess the volunteers hair on cleansing, Softness of hair after drying, ease of combing of dried hair.
Performance evaluation of stable paste composition
Conditioning parameter Example A Example B Example E Example F
Cleansing 92% preferred 95% preferred 98% preference 98% preference
Dry softness 95% preference 98% preference 94% preference 93%preference
Ease of combing 92% preference 95% preference 93% preference 95%preference

The table above clearly proves that while the stability of the composition of the present invention of at least 6 months could be effectively achieved in spite of including herbal materials in the said composition as illustrated under Example II and even upon incorporating the natural/herbal materials at high levels as per compositions E, F, the same is also adapted to deliver superior cleaning and conditioning benefits to the hair with respect to high consumer acceptance of softness of the hair when dry and ease of combing.

Process of preparation of the stable paste based herbal shampoo composition

A process for the preparation of storage stable paste based herbal shampoo composition comprises the following steps of
(A) heating a solution of around 25% of the total anionic surfactant and nonionic surfactant in deionized water at a temperature in the range of 70-75 deg C till a homogenous solution is obtained;
(B) adding the remaining around 75% of anionic surfactant to the solution obtained in step (A) followed by adding the amphoteric surfactant and any other nonionic surfactant to the composition obtained in step (A) with moderate agitation until the composition is clear and uniform;
(C) dispersing the inorganic thickener and acrylate copolymer separately in water equal to or greater than 10 times the quantity of inorganic thickener and acrylate copolymer and mixing until the thickner is completely dispersed.
(D) adding the herbal materials to Step (C) and mixing till a homogenous paste is obtained and
(E)optionally, adding hair benefiting agents to the mix of step (D) with moderate agitation to prevent heavy aeration until the composition is uniform such as to obtain a storage stable paste based herbal shampoo composition therefrom.

It is thus possible by way of the present invention to provide for paste based shampoo composition involving natural/herbal material at the levels of 10-60% by wt. of the composition which when present in selective combination with inorganic thickeners, acrylate copolymers in selective levels together with surfactants, conditioning agents favour shelf stability for at least 6 months without any drop in viscosity of the said composition.