Hair Relaxer

Abstract

Described is a hair smoothing agent comprising a water-soluble alkali metal silicates. Also described is a concentrate comprising a water-soluble alkali metal silicate that can be added to a cosmetically acceptable medium.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A concentrate for the preparation of a hair smoothing agent, the concentrate comprising:
 a) 1 to 65% by weight of soluble silicates,   b) 0.5 to 80% by weight of an alkyl polyglycoside,   c) 0 to 50% by weight of a polyol,   d) 0 to 5% by weight of a complexing agent, and   e) 0 to 10% by weight of sodium hydroxide.   
     
     
         2 . The concentrate of  claim 1 , wherein the alkyl polyglycoside comprises has a structure
   R 1 O-[G] p    (I),
   
       wherein R 1  is an alkyl and/or alkenyl radical having 4 to 22 carbon atoms, G is a sugar radical having 5 or 6 carbon atoms, and p is a number from 1 to 10. 
     
     
         3 . The concentrate of  claim 1 , wherein the alkyl polyglycoside comprises an alkyl or alkenyl oligoglucoside. 
     
     
         4 . The concentrate of  claim 2 , wherein p is a number from 1.1 to 3.0 
     
     
         5 . The concentrate of  claim 2 , wherein R 1  is derived from a primary alcohol selected from butanol, caproic alcohol, caprylic alcohol, capric alcohol, undecyl alcohol, and technical-grade mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The concentrate of  claim 3 , wherein the alkyl polyglycoside comprises capryl glucoside. 
     
     
         7 . The concentrate of  claim 1 , wherein the polyol is selected from glycerol, glucose, sorbitol, and honey. 
     
     
         8 . The concentrate of  claim 7 , wherein the polyol is glycerol. 
     
     
         9 . The concentrate of  claim 1 , wherein the complexing agent comprises one or more of ethylene-diaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), 1-hydroxyethane(1,1-diphosphonic acid)(HEDP), and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA). 
     
     
         10 . The concentrate of  claim 1 , wherein the soluble silicate comprises an alkali metal silicate derived from an alkali metal hydroxide selected from sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, or potassium hydroxide. 
     
     
         11 . The concentrate of  claim 10 , wherein the soluble silicate has a molar ratio of SiO 2 :M 2 O in the range of 0.03 to 2, where M is the alkali metal. 
     
     
         12 . The concentrate of  claim 1 , comprising
 a) 15 to 50% by weight of soluble silicates,   b) 5 to 25% by weight of an alkyl polyglycoside,   c) 5 to 50% by weight of a polyol,   d) 0.3 to 0.7% by weight of a complexing agent, and   e) 0 to 10% by weight of sodium hydroxide.   
     
     
         13 . A hair smoothing agent comprising the concentrate of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         14 . The hair smoothing agent of  claim 13 , wherein the hair smoothing agent is an O/W emulsion having an aqueous phase. 
     
     
         15 . The hair smoothing agent of  claim 13 , further comprising guanidine carbonate. 
     
     
         16 . The hair smoothing agent of  claim 14 , wherein the aqueous phase comprises 0.01 to 8% by weight, measured as SiO 2 , of the soluble silicates of the concentrate. 
     
     
         17 . The hair smoothing agent of  claim 13 , wherein the hair smoothing agent has a pH value of greater than or equal to 12. 
     
     
         18 . The hair smoothing agent of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more of an emulsifier, and an emollient. 
     
     
         19 . A process for the preparation of a hair smoothing agent, the process comprising stirring the concentrate of  claim 1  into a cosmetically acceptable medium. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 19 , further comprising adding an alkali metal hydroxide into the cosmetically acceptable medium.