(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) (19) World Intellectual Property Organization International Bureau (10) International Publication Number (43) International Publication Date W O 2013/092293 A2 27 June 2013 (27.06.2013) W P O P C T

(51) International Patent Classification: Marg. Chakala, Andheri (East), Mumbai 400 099 (IN). A61K 8/31 (2006.01) A61K 8/92 (2006.01) IVANOVA, Katya, Ivanova; Unilever R & D Port Sun A61K 8/89 (2006.01) A61Q 5/00 (2006.01) light, Quarry Road East, Bebington, Wirral Merseyside CH63 3JW (GB). (21) International Application Number: PCT/EP2012/075057 (74) Agent: NEWBOULD, Frazer, Anthony; Unilever Patent Group, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, NL-3 133 AT Vlaardin- (22) International Filing Date: gen (NL). 11 December 2012 ( 11.12.2012) (81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every (25) Filing Language: English kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM, (26) Publication Language: English AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BN, BR, BW, BY, BZ, CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, (30) Priority Data: DO, DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, 3597/MUM/201 1 22 December 201 1 (22. 12.201 1) IN HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KM, KN, KP, 12154692.3 9 February 2012 (09.02.2012) EP KR, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD, (71) Applicant (for all designated States except AE, AG, AU, ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NL BB, BH, BN, BW, BZ, CA, CY, EG, GB, GD, GH, GM, IE, NO, NZ, OM, PA, PE, PG, PH, PL, PT, QA, RO, RS, RU, IL, IN, KE, KN, LC, LK, LS, MT, MW, MY, NA, NG, NZ, RW, SC, SD, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TH, TJ, OM, PG, QA, RW, SC, SD, SG, SL, SZ, TT, TZ, UG, US, TM, TN, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, ZA, VC, ZA, ZM, ZW): UNILEVER N.V. [NL/NL]; Weena ZM, ZW. 455, NL-3013 AL Rotterdam (NL). (84) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every (71) Applicant (for AE, AG, AU, BB, BH, BN, BW, BZ, CA, kind of regional protection available): ARIPO (BW, GH, CY, EG, GB, GD, GH, GM, IE, IL, KE, KN, LC, LK, LS, GM, KE, LR, LS, MW, MZ, NA, RW, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, MT, MW, MY, NA, NG, NZ, OM, PG, QA, RW, SC, SD, UG, ZM, ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, RU, TJ, SG, SL, SZ, TT, TZ, UG, VC, ZA, ZM, Z W only): UNI¬ TM), European (AL, AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, LEVER PLC [GB/GB]; Unilever House, 100 Victoria EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, Embankment, London Greater London EC4Y 0DY (GB). MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, SM, TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, GW, (71) Applicant (for IN only): HINDUSTAN UNILEVER ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG). LIMITED [IN/IN]; Unilever House, B.D. Sawant Marg Chakala Andheri (East), Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 099 Declarations under Rule 4.17 : (IN). — as to applicant's entitlement to applyfor and be granted a patent (Rule 4.1 7(H)) (71) Applicant (for US only): CONOPCO, INC., D/B/A UNI¬ LEVER [US/US]; 800 Sylvan Avenue, AG West, S. Wing, — as to the applicant's entitlement to claim the priority of the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 (US). earlier application (Rule 4.1 7(in)) (72) Inventors: DESAI, Dolly, Himanshu; Hindustan Unilever Published: Ltd, Research Centre, B.D. Sawant Marg. Chakala Andheri — without international search report and to be republished (East), Mumbai 400 099 (IN). SERRAO, Godfrey; upon receipt of that report (Rule 48.2(g)) Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Research Centre, B.D. Sawant

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© (54) Title: A OIL COMPOSITION (57) Abstract: The invention relates to a hair oil composition that provides the right balance of nourishment, manageability and feel to the hair as desired by the consumer. The present inventors have found that using a combination of mineral oil, and cetyl dimethicone, in a selected concentration range is able to provide all of the desired benefits and additionally superior sensorials. A HAIR OIL COMPOSITION

Technical Field The invention relates to a hair oil composition. The invention more particularly relates to a hair oil composition that provides the right balance of nourishment, manageability and feel desired by the consumer.

Background of the invention People, especially in tropical countries like those in the South Asian region regularly use hair oils to provide nourishment and health to their hair. Traditionally, vegetable oils like , mustard oil and/ or sesame oil are used. This habit of oiling the hair with vegetable oils, in the temperate countries, is not common as they consider hair oils to be sticky and believe that oils impede the manageability of their hair. Rather, the people in the temperate regions use shampoos to wash their hair and hair conditioners to provide the desired feel and manageability to the hair.

The present inventors have been working on providing the right balance of nourishment, manageability and feel such that hair oils could be better used by the traditional consumers while non-users or infrequent users start to use hair oils on a regular basis for these benefits, so that one product is able to provide all users with most of the desired benefits.

WO01 95866 A 1 (Unilever) discloses a hair oil comprising blend of (i) 1% to 95%, by weight of a first oily component which is one or more glyceride fatty esters and (ii) 5 to 90% by weight of a second oily component which is one or more hydrocarbon oils of average carbon chain length less than 20 carbon atoms. While this composition does provide some nourishment and manageability, it does not disclose use of silicone oil which along with the mineral oil and vegetable oil at the narrow range of concentration claimed is able to provide superior sensorial properties.

JP2009221 143 A (Shisheido Co LTd.) discloses a hair cosmetic composition providing excellent floss, smooth touch, moist and dry feeling to the hair. The application provides a hair composition with 1 to 15wt% vegetable oil, a volatile oil, a high molecular weight dimethylpolysiloxane, and dimethylpolysiloxane containing a hydroxyl group, a polyoxyethylene group and/or a polyoxypropylene group. It was found that high molecular weight silicone oils like dimethylpolysiloxane, and dimethylpolysiloxane containing a hydroxyl group, a polyoxyethylene group and/or a polyoxypropylene group were not compatible with the vegetable oils and were found to separate out during storage.

US20050053636A1 (Von Der Techt et al.) discloses a cosmetic or dermatological care oil having 90 to 99.5 wt% of a mineral oil and/or ester oil and from 0.5 to 10wt% by weight of a wax. The application further discloses that the ester oil may include triglyceride oil.

The present inventors have found that using a combination of mineral oil, vegetable oil and silicone oil, in a selected concentration range is able to provide all of the desired benefits and additionally superior sensorials.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide for a hair oil composition that provides the desired nourishment while ensuring that the hair is not too sticky and feels smooth and manageable to the consumer.

Summary of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a hair oil composition comprising a . 70 to 88% of a mineral oil; b. 6 to 22 % of a vegetable oil; and, c . 2 to 8% of cetyl dimethicone.

According to another aspect of the invention the hair oil composition of the invention is delivered through a dispenser comprising a container comprising the composition, and a dispensing nozzle capable of being attached to a pump.

Detailed description of the invention These and other aspects, features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. For the avoidance of doubt, any feature of one aspect of the present invention may be utilized in any other aspect of the invention. The word "comprising" is intended to mean "including" but not necessarily "consisting of" or "composed of." In other words, the listed steps or options need not be exhaustive. It is noted that the examples given in the description below are intended to clarify the invention and are not intended to limit the invention to those examples per se. Similarly, all percentages are weight/weight percentages unless otherwise indicated. Except in the operating and comparative examples, or where otherwise explicitly indicated, all numbers in this description and claims indicating amounts of material or, physical properties of materials and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word "about". Numerical ranges expressed in the format "from x to y" are understood to include x and y. When for a specific feature multiple preferred ranges are described in the format "from x to y", it is understood that all ranges combining the different endpoints are also contemplated.

By "Hair oil composition" as used herein, is meant to include a composition for application to the human hair to provide nourishment for proper health of hair. Additionally, on application of the hair oil, the hair should be manageable i.e. does not get tangled, should not be too sticky and the hair should feel smooth and silky to the touch. Such a composition has been invented by the present inventors by a selective combination of mineral oil, vegetable oil and silicone oil at fairly narrow ranges of concentrations.

The composition comprises 70 to 88%, preferably 76 to 86% mineral oil by weight of the hair oil composition. The mineral oil preferably comprises light liquid paraffin oil (LLPO). The mineral oil preferably has a kinematic viscosity in the range of 2 to 12 cSt, more preferably 3 to 9 cSt at 40 °C. The mineral oil concentration as claimed has to be carefully included in the composition of the invention to balance the stickiness often encountered with high concentration of vegetable oils. The present inventors have found that using a concentration of mineral oil higher than the claimed range makes the composition "too-light" where the consumers find the composition to be very free-flowing. Using a concentration of mineral oil lower than the claimed range makes the composition suffer from stickiness which is one of the problems which is sought to be solved by way of the present invention.

The composition of the invention comprises 6 to 22 % , preferably 8 to 20% vegetable oil by weight of the hair oil composition. Vegetable oils having a viscosity in the range of 25 to 75 cP at 30 °C are preferably used in the composition of the invention. The vegetable oil is preferably selected from coconut oil, olive oil, sesame oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, oil, argon oil or a mixture thereof. Of these coconut oil, olive oil, sesame oil, palm oil and sunflower oil are preferred for inclusion in the composition of the invention. The vegetable oils at the claimed concentrations provide the optimized levels of nourishment to the hair and together with the mineral oil and silicone oil provide the right balance of manageability and feel. Using too high a concentration of vegetable oil gives the product a more sticky feeling which is one of the negative attributes sought to be minimized, by way of the present invention. When too low a concentration of vegetable oil is used, the desired amount of nourishment to the hair is not provided and the desired rheology of the hair oil is not obtained. Of the vegetable oils, coconut oil is preferably included at 1 to 6%, sesame oil at 1 to 9%, and sunflower oil at 1 to 9% by weight of the composition. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention the vegetable oil comprises coconut oil, sunflower oil and sesame oil.

The composition of the invention comprises 2 to 8%, preferably 4 to 6% cetyl dimethicone by weight of the composition. The cetyl dimethicone for inclusion in the composition of the invention preferably has a viscosity in the range of 200 to 500 cP at 25 °C. The amount of cetyl dimethicone to be included in the composition of the invention is very judiciously selected based on the balance of feel, manageability and cost. It is found that other high molecular weight silicone oils like dimethylpolysiloxane, and dimethylpolysiloxane containing a hydroxyl group, a polyoxyethylene group and/or a polyoxypropylene group are not compatible with the vegetable oils and separate out during storage.

The inventors also had to solve the problem of ensuring that the composition of the invention has the right rheology such that the oil is easily dispensable from a bottle and is free flowing at a wide range of temperatures so that consumers from the coldest areas to the hottest regions are able to use the hair oil. The rheology of the oil should be such that it is easily pourable from a bottle or dispensable using a pump attached to the bottle. Further, the habit of applying oil on the hair usually comprises the step where the consumer takes the desired amount of oil in the palm of the hand, rubs the oil on the two palms and then applies it on the hair with the two palms. The product should be such that the sensory feel of the oil on the palm should be liked by the consumer. The present inventors have ensured that the hair oil is carefully formulated to meet all of these rheology and palm-feel requirements.

The hair oil composition of the invention preferably comprises certain other functional and sensory cues to enhance the natural character of the compositi ln this direction, certain natural ingredients like finely sliced dried petals of flowers may be included. Petals of flowers like rose, hibiscus, or lotus are preferred.

The hair oil composition of the invention may include an emulsifier. When present the emulsifier is in an amount less than 2wt%, preferably less than 1wt%, still preferably less than 0.5wt%. In an optimal embodiment emulsifier is absent.

The hair oil composition of the invention may include water. When present, water is in an amount less than 10wt%, preferably less than 5wt%, more preferably less than 2wt% and most preferably less than 1wt%. In an optimal embodiment water is absent.

Preferably the oil content in the hair oil composition is more than 95wt%, preferably more than 98wt% and still preferably more than 99wt%.

Additionally, the hair oil composition of the invention may comprise certain other beneficial ingredients like sunscreen agents, vitamins, antioxidants, colorants, perfumes, conditioners, preservatives, and natural extracts. Sunscreen which may be included in the composition preferably are those of the UVA organic sunscreen or UVB organic sunscreen classes. Preferred sunscreens are 4-tert.- butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane (sold commercially as Parsol 1789) and / or octyl methoxy cinnamate (commercially available as Parsol MCX). Perfumes of very many different types may be used, but the perfumes preferably comprise oils of flowers like rose or hibiscus. A preferred antioxidant is butyl hydroxy toluene (BHT). Suitable colourants may be included a preferred one being lycopene.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of nourishing hair comprising the step of applying a composition of the invention on the desired hair surface. The hair oil composition of the invention may be delivered to the consumer in a bottle, jar, tube or sachet. The dispensing orifice may preferably be provided with a suitable nozzle for controlled dispensing of the contents of the dispenser. When a nozzle is provided, it is preferred that the dispenser is provided with an appropriate closure on the nozzle for closing the outlet when desired. Alternately, a preferred aspect of the invention provides for a dispenser comprising a container comprising the hair oil composition of the invention, and a dispensing nozzle capable of being attached to a pump. The pump on such a dispenser is preferably hand actuated.

The invention will now be illustrated by way of the following non-limiting examples.

Example 1: Hair oil composition of the invention

A hair oil composition as per the invention was prepared by mixing the following ingredients listed in Table - 1 .

Table - 1

Ingredient Wt% Mineral oil , LLPO 78.0 Sesame seed oil 6.0 Coconut oil 4.0 Sunflower seed oil 4.0

Almond oil 1.0 Olive oil 1.0 Cetyl dimethicone (DC2502) 5.0 Dried sliced rose petals 0.2 Perfume and preservative To 100 The hair oil as prepared above was used by consumers to oil their hair and it was reported that the consumers experienced excellent sensories in terms of feel and manageability. Further they reported that they perceived their hair to be strong and had fewer hair fall. A hair oil composition comprising a . 70 to 88% of a mineral oil; b. 6 to 22 % of a vegetable oil; and, c . 2 to 8% of cetyl dimethicone.

A composition as claimed in claim 1 comprising 76 to 86% mineral oil.

A composition as claimed in claim 1 or 2 comprising 8 to 20% vegetable oil.

A composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising 4 to 6% silicone oil.

A composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said mineral oil is light liquid paraffin oil (LLPO).

A composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims where said mineral oil has a kinematic viscosity in the range of 2 to 12 cSt at 40 °C.

A composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said vegetable oil is coconut oil, olive oil, sesame oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, argon oil or a mixture thereof.

A composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the vegetable oil has a viscosity in the range of 25 to 75 cP at 30 °C.

A composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the cetyl dimethicone has a viscosity in the range of 200 to 500 cP at 25 °C. 10 . A composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims having a

viscosity in the range of 12 to 20 cP at 25 °C.

11. A composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising functional and sensory cues selected from dried petals of rose, hibiscus, or lotus flower.

12 . A method of nourishing hair comprising the step of applying a composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims to the desired hair surface.

13 . A dispenser comprising a container comprising the composition as claimed in any one of preceding claims 1 to 13 , and a dispensing nozzle capable of being attached to a pump.