now it has been discovered that keratotic plugs can be removed by applying to facial skin a cosmetic product in the form of a flexible non - occlusive substrate sheet impregnated with an adhesive composition containing an anionic or nonionic polymer . in a dry state , the composition is non - tacky to the touch . the product is used by either directly wetting the composition on the sheet or indirectly by wetting the face in areas to be contacted by the composition . in either instance , the wetting agent interacts with the composition so it becomes tacky and sufficiently mobile to flow into skin pores . pure water is the preferred wetting agent . however , other fluid systems or gels could be employed . suitable fluids would include alcohols such as ethanol , propanol , propylene glycol , polyethylene glycol , polypropylene glycol and especially mixtures of these alcohols with water . gels would normally consist of fluid ( particularly water ) and structuring agents such as carbomer . subsequent to wetting the composition is allowed to dry over the area of treatment . during drying the keratotic plugs stickingly adhere to the composition . advantageously the drying period ranges from 1 minute to 5 hours , preferably from 5 minutes to 1 hour , optimally from 10 to 20 minutes . thereafter , the dried composition with adhered plugs is peeled from the skin . mobility of the composition may be measured by yield point . the yield point should range from 1 to 400 pascals , preferably from 20 to 200 , optimally from 50 to 100 pascals . the composition will include a polymer which may either be anionic , nonionic or mixtures thereof . further , there may be utilized combinations of different anionic or nonionic polymers . examples of nonionic polymers suitable for film deposition are the copolymers of vinyl acetate and crotonic acid , terpolymers of vinyl acetate , crotonic acid and a vinyl ester of an alpha - branched saturated aliphatic monocarboxylic acid such as vinyl neodecanoate ; copolymers of methyl vinyl ether and maleic anhydride ( molar ratio about 1 . 1 ) wherein such copolymers are 50 % esterified with a saturated alcohol containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as ethanol or butanol ; and acrylic copolymers , terpolymers , etc ., containing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid esters of acrylic or methacrylic acid with one or more saturated alcohols having from 1 to 22 carbon atoms such as methyl methacrylate , ethyl acrylate , ethyl methacrylate , n - butyl acrylate , t - butyl acrylate , t - butyl methacrylate , n - butyl methacrylate , n - hexyl acrylate , n - octyl acrylate , lauryl methacrylate and behenyl acrylate , glycols having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms such as hydroxypropyl methacrylate and hydroxyethyl acrylate , styrene , vinyl caprolactam , vinyl acetate , acrylamide , alkyl acrylamides and methacrylamides having 1 to 8 carbon atoms in the alkyl group such as methacrylamide , t - butyl acrylamide and n - octyl acrylamide , and other compatible unsaturated monomers . one specific example is the emulsion polymerized terpolymer of methacrylic acid , n - butyl acrylate and ethyl acrylate ( e . g ., in a weight percent ratio of 31 : 42 : 27 , respectively ). further examples of nonionic film forming polymers are homopolymers of n - vinylpyrrolidone and copolymers of n - vinylpyrrolidone with compatible nonionic monomers such as vinyl acetate and terpolymers of ethyl acrylate , butyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate . nonionic polymers containing n - vinylpyrrolidone in various weight average molecular weights are available commercially from isp corporation such as homopolymers of n - vinylpyrrolidone having an average molecular weight of about 630 , 000 under the trademark pvp k - 90 and those having an average molecular weight of about 1 , 000 , 000 sold under the trademark of pvp k - 120 . particularly preferred is poly ( methyl vinyl ether / maleic anhydride ) as an unneutralized resin available from isp corporation under the trademark gantrez ® s - 97 bf . anionic film forming polymers often are derived from the nonionic types which include carboxylic acid functions . alkaline agents are employed to neutralize the carboxylic acid or anhydride transforming them into anionic salts . examples of suitable neutralizing agents include 2 - amino - 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ( ampd ); 2 - amino - 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ( aepd ); 2 - amino - 2 - methyl - 1 - propanol ( amp ); 2 - amino - 1 - butanol ( ab ); monoethanolamine ( mea ); diethanolamine ( dea ); triethanolamine ( tea ); monoisopropanolamine ( mipa ); diisopropanol - amine ( dipa ); triisopropanolamine ( tipa ); and dimethyl stearamine ( dms ). most preferred is amp . particularly preferred anionic polymers are the salts of poly ( methyl vinyl ether / maleic anhydride ) and polystyrene sulfonic acid . the former is obtained by at least partial neutralization of gantrez ® s - 97 bf and the latter available from the national starch & amp ; chemical company under the trademarks versa tl - 501 and flexan ® 130 having respective molecular weights of about 500 , 000 and 100 , 000 . other polymer films which may be employed and are commercially available are listed in the table below . most polymers suitable for the present invention will be relatively brittle when dried . therefore , they require a supporting surface which is a flexible substrate sheet . substrate sheets of the present invention must be non - occlusive to allow water evaporation from the deposited polymer as the film maturates . non - occlusivity or breathability is achieved either through use of a hydrophobic substrate having physical porosity ( e . g . pore channels ) or a hydrophilic substrate wherein the material of construction inherently allows for breathability . suitable materials include cellulosics such as rayon , wool , cotton , linen and combinations thereof . they may be woven or nonwoven . nonwoven rayon is a preferred substrate . ordinarily hydrophobic substrates are unsuitable . for instance , untreated polyethylene is hydrophilic but hydrophilically treated ( e . g . coated ) polyethylene may be useful . however , if hydrophobic substances are so constructed with a fiber geometry to allow for breathability , they may also be employed . under these conditions , polyesters , polyamides , vinyl resins and other thermoplastic fibers could be suitable . materials formed from combinations of cellulosic with thermoplastic fibers may also be employed subject to breathability . for instance , a hydrophilic polypropylene / rayon combination can be employed for the present invention . it is important to employ a ratio of composition to substrate in amount ranging from 0 . 1 : 1 to 1 , 000 : 1 , preferably 0 . 5 : 1 to 100 : 1 and optimally 0 . 8 : 1 to 10 : 1 by weight . the polymer ordinarily will constitute from 50 to 100 %, preferably from 75 to 99 %, optimally from 85 to 95 % by weight of the composition deposited onto the substrate sheet . fig1 provides a cross section of a tape typical of the present invention . the tape is formed of a flexible non - woven rayon substrate sheet 2 . random fibers 4 are shown laying longitudinally 4 a or cut 4 b by the cross section . on one surface of the substrate sheet is deposited a composition formed essentially of a polymer 6 which at least partially impregnates the surface . impregnated polymer 6 a is seen as a coating on internal fibers . when wetted , composition 6 turns tacky and can flow into skin pores to adhesively contact keratotic plugs . certain additives may be included along with the deposited polymer . most useful may be a surfactant which can be selected from anionic , cationic , nonionic or amphoteric actives . illustrative nonionic surfactants are alkoxylated compounds based on c 10 - c 22 fatty alcohols and acids , and sorbitan . these materials are available , for instance , from the shell chemical company under the neodol trademark . copolymers of polyoxypropylene - polyoxyethylene , sold by the basf corporation under the pluronic trademark , are sometimes also useful . alkyl polyglycosides available from the henkel corporation or alkyl glucamides may also be utilized for purposes of this invention . anionic type surfactants include fatty acid soaps , sodium lauryl sulphate , sodium lauryl ether sulphate , alkyl benzene sulphonate , mono - and di - alkyl acid phosphates and sodium fatty acyl isethionate . amphoteric surfactants include such materials as dialkylamine oxide and various types of betaines ( such as cocoamidopropyl betaine ). the surfactant when present may range from 0 . 01 to 10 % by weight of the total composition deposited onto the sheet . minor adjunct ingredients may also be included such as fragrances , skin care additives , opacifiers and colorants , each in their effective amounts to accomplish their respective functions . the following examples will more fully illustrate the embodiments of this invention . all parts , percentages and proportions referred to herein and in the appended claims are by weight unless otherwise indicated . a non - woven resin bonded 100 % rayon white non - apertured fabric from vertec was employed as a flexible substrate . flexan ® 130 ( sodium salt of sulfonated polystyrene as a 30 % polymer in aqueous solution ) was deposited onto the rayon fabric . the fabric for each test strip was a small disk accurately weighed . these disks were submerged in the polymer adhesive solution for about 5 seconds . thereafter they were dried . higher loadings were obtained by repeated multiple submergence . to achieve lower loading levels , the 30 % aqueous solution was diluted downward to a level of 15 % solids and 7 . 5 % solids . these diluted solutions were then used for receiving fabric which was submerged therein . an area of a panelist &# 39 ; s face was chosen which contained several plugged pores . these plugged pores were then counted . water was applied to the area and the adhesive patch was placed over it . next , the patch was allowed to dry and then it was peeled off . the number of removed plugs were counted on the adhesive patch . the percent plugs removed was calculated to reflect adhesive patch efficiency . from these values maximum and minimum loading levels were determined .  %   loading =  ( wt .  of   rayon   with   adhesive - wt .  of   dry   rayon ) ( wt .  of   dry   rayon ) × 100 %   plugs   pulled = #   of   plugs   pulled #   of   plugged   pores × 100 the experiments reported in table i reveal that there is an optimum loading range for a given adhesive polymer or formulation on a given fabric . it is to be noted that different polymers with different drying rates and even different fabrics may strongly influence plug removal levels . a variety of polymers were evaluated for their adhesive effects in removing keratotic plugs from the skin . the polymers listed in table ii below were coated onto a non - woven resin bonded rayon ( 1 ounce / square yard ). a knife - over - roll was utilized in the coating operation . after coating , the non - woven polymer impregnated substrate sheets were dried at 75 ° c . in a convection oven . they were then cut into small patches . similar to the test procedure described under example 1 , the test patches were applied to the face of panelists in an area containing several plugged pores . the plugged pores were counted . water was applied to the patch and it was then placed over the test area with wet side down . next , the patch was allowed to dry whereupon it was peeled off . the number of plugs removed were counted as they appeared on the adhesive patch . percentage of plugs removed were calculated to reflect efficiency of the test product . poly ( methyl vinyl ether maleic anhydride ) gantrez s - 97 bf was coated by knife - over - roll ( 25 mil .) over various nonwoven materials . after coating , the nonwoven materials were dried at 75 ° c . in a convection oven and then cut into small patches . the test procedure was similar to that reported under example 2 . results are reported in table iii . the foregoing description and examples illustrate select embodiments of the present invention . in light thereof , various modifications would be suggested to one skilled in the art all of which are within the purview and spirit of this invention .
a cosmetic product is provided for removing keratotic skin plugs . the product includes a flexible non - occlusive substrate sheet onto which a composition containing an anionic or nonionic polymer is deposited . the composition is treated to become dry non - tacky to the touch yet upon being wetted for use the composition again turns tacky and mobile . the method of application involves either directly moistening the product or indirectly moistening by first wetting a consumer &# 39 ; s face in an area where the product is applied . thereafter , water is allowed to evaporate leaving a film to which the keratotic plugs are bonded . the film is then peeled away concommittingly removing the plugs .