Consumers are frequently seeking to style their scalp or facial hair, for example to provide a certain hairstyle for their scalp hair or, in other cases, style their eyebrows or, in the case of male persons, their beards, moustaches and/or sideburns, by decorating them and, once styled, it is desirable that the hair remains held in the styled position, or conserves a decorated condition. After styling, there is a tendency for hair to return from its styled to its unstyled condition. For example, hair may return to its natural shape if moistened or under high humidity conditions. Therefore, there is a need to provide hair products that retain hair in a styled condition.
Aerosol hairspray products frequently comprise a pressure-resistant container, a valve, a nozzle, a propellant, and a hairstyling formulation. A hairspray formulation is typically ejected from such products via aerosol-forming spraying device. For example, Rollat et al in U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0110353 relates to a composition for cosmetic treatment of keratin materials, packaged in an aerosol device comprising: (a) at least one propellant and (b) a hairstyling composition comprising at least one polyurethane having a number-average molecular weight ranging from 400 000 to 5 000 000 g/mol, in a cosmetically acceptable medium comprising water.
Another example, Gringore et al in U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0078507 refers to a composition packaged in an aerosol device, containing: at least one propellant; and a hairstyling composition comprising: (i) at least one non-polyurethane anionic or non-ionic fixative polymer and (ii) at least one anionic acrylic associative polymer; wherein at least one propellant is present in an amount greater than 20% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition.
Birkel et al in U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0068849 relates to an aerosol hairspray product for styling and/or shaping hair wherein the product comprises: a container; a spraying device; a propellant; a hairstyling formulation comprising: (a) at least about 50% water; and (b) from about 0.01% to about 20% of a hairstyling polymer, wherein the hairstyling polymer is selected from the group consisting of: acrylate copolymers of two or more monomers of (meth)acrylic acid or one of their simple esters; acrylate/hydroxyester acrylate copolymers of butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, ethyl acrylate and hydroxyethyl methacrylate; polyurethane-14/AMP-acrylates polymer blend; and mixtures thereof.
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA in U.S. Pat. No. 9,132,079 refers to agents for treating keratin-containing fibres, in particular human hair, and methods for the use of such agents are provided. The agent includes at least a specific copolymer of the N-vinylpyrrolidone and at least a polymer with structural units derived from maleic acid ester. The agent is contained in a cosmetically acceptable carrier.
However, in spite of the fact that there are many sprayable compositions for styling hair, a problem with many existing products used for “fixing” hair such that it is held in a styled position with e.g. a heated styling comb, after spraying is that they have a tendency to confer an unnatural hardness and shine. They can also be friable, which may result in loss of holding the hair in a styled position when external forces are applied. It is also desirable for hair products to be, in some cases, translucent or transparent such that they are invisible to the human eye when applied to hair, or in other cases, semi-transparent or opaque which may be used for ornamentation or colouring.
The present invention has the objective of providing other additional translucent, transparent, semi-transparent or opaque sprayable hair products, which exhibit a high level of hold to hair such that hair can be held in a particular position for prolonged periods of time and retain a natural matte appearance after styling with e.g. a heated styling comb.
A further problem with many existing products used for “fixing” hair such that it is held in a styled position is that they tend to lose their shape in conditions of high temperature and humidity.