FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates generally to a skin care product and a method of making such skin care products.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention includes a skin care product comprising at least one capsule, with this capsule comprising : a matrix, one or more active ingredients embedded/contained in said matrix, said product being characterized in that at least said matrix has a high ROS affinity. [0003] The invention further includes a method for the making of capsules to be incorporated into a skin care product. This method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: melting a solid lipophilic part at approximately 50±5°C, obtaining a melted lipophilic part, solubilizing/dispersing in water: one or more water-soluble active ingredients, at least one lipophilic component rich in unsaturated fatty acids, at least one surfactant and/or suspension agent and/or humectant, at least one antioxidant agent, obtaining an aqueous solution or suspension, cooling said aqueous solution or suspension to a temperature lower than 10°C, obtaining a cooled aqueous solution or suspension, adding said melted lipophilic part to said cooled aqueous solution or suspension, under stable agitation, obtaining an emulsion, screening said emulsion through a mesh with holes with a size on the order of 0.1- 10 pm, obtaining a microemulsion, composed of said at least one capsule, drying said microemulsion in a vacuum at a controlled temperature lower than 40°C and/or adding preservatives to the microemulsion.

DESCRIPTION

[0004] This invention is for a skin care product.

[0005] A method for the making of such a product is also the subject of the invention.

[0006] In recent times, skin care products such as creams, lotions, or serums, composed of a fluid substance, usually a gel, that incorporates capsules containing one or more molecules of cosmetic active ingredients, have been widespread.

[0007] In this description, “active ingredient” refers to a substance that possesses a biological activity or that influences the appearance and condition of the skin.

[0008] In this description, “biological activity” refers to the fact that said substance has an effect on a biological tissue, in this case the skin, or a cosmetic effect on it.

[0009] These active ingredients are, for example: vitamins and/or coenzyme Q10 and/or antioxidants and/or peptides.

[0010] Today, the types of damage caused by an excess, or in any case an imbalance, in ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) are well known, the most serious of which is the acceleration of aging of the skin.

[0011] In particular, more damage is done to the skin in areas with the greatest concentration of ROS.

[0012] ROS determine lipid peroxidation. [0013] Lipid peroxidation is a process that occurs due to “free radicals” containing molecular oxygen with an unpaired electron (“peroxyl”).

[0014] Because of this, lipids containing unsaturated fatty acids and their esters are directly oxidized by the molecular oxygen and the damage is capable of propagating itself through a chain reaction, in which lipids with an unpaired electron tend to reintegrate the loss by taking them from contiguous molecules, until it also involves the proteins of the central nucleus and the DNA.

[0015] Some of the possible damage caused by these reactions are: lipid peroxidation, amino acid and protein peroxidation, enzymatic alterations, damage to protein structures.

[0016] The ROS generated within mitochondria can retroact and directly damage the mtDNA and other mitochondrial components.

[0017] The ROS can also damage nuclear DNA, which leads to the activation of the tumor suppressor.

[0018] For these reasons, the oxidative modification of some proteins can be an important factor in aging.

[0019] There are therefore well-known and widespread products containing active ingredients that interact with and inhibit ROS activity.

[0020] These active ingredients have a notable affinity with ROS.

[0021] In this description, the term “affinity” refers to the tendency of chemical elements and/or compounds to react together.

[0022] In particular, the affinity between active ingredients and ROS is measured through the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC). [0023] The higher the ORAC number, the more sensitive the molecule measured is to ROS, that is, it has an affinity toward them.

[0024] These well-known techniques have some drawbacks.

[0025] Although known products as of today include active ingredients sensitive to ROS, they have the drawback of being incorporated into capsules with an oxidization-stable matrix, or containment casing.

[0026] This matrix is generally made up of polymers and/or saturated lipids that are oxidization-stable (or with a reduced polyunsaturated content).

[0027] In this description, “stable matrix” refers to a matrix with an ORAC < 500 pmol/100g.

[0028] The expression “high affinity to ROS” used herein refers to a matrix with an ORAC > 500 pmol/100g.

[0029] The matrices used in known products as of today have the purpose of protecting the active ingredients incorporated and/or making them more bioavailable and/or increasing cutaneous penetration and/or gradual release.

[0030] In this description, “bioavailable” means the substance is capable of entering the circulatory system.

[0031] For these reasons, however, the active ingredients are conveyed equally on all areas of the skin on which the product is applied regardless of the localized concentration of ROS and are not limited to the areas of greatest concentration of ROS, where they would be most needed.

[0032] Furthermore, the production of such products requires the use of chemical solvents, which can be toxic, and high temperatures in the order of 100°C. [0033] This results in an economically and energetically expensive process.

[0034] The task of this invention is to produce a skin care product and a procedure for its production capable of improving a known technique in one or more of the aspects indicated above.

[0035] In the context of this task, one goal of the invention is to produce a skin care product with capsules in a matrix that is highly sensitive to ROS and capable of conveying the active ingredients incorporated within it to areas with ROS, particularly those with the greatest concentration of ROS.

[0036] Another purpose of the invention is to produce a skin care product with capsules that have greater affinity to ROS than similar known products as of today.

[0037] One more purpose of the invention is to refine a method for the production of a skin care product that does not require the use of chemical solvents and high temperatures.

[0038] Furthermore, this invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the known technique as an alternative to any existing solutions.

[0039] Another purpose of the invention is to produce a skin care product and method for its production that is highly reliable and relatively easy to implement, at a competitive cost. [0040] This task, as well as these and other purposes described in detail below, are achieved by a skin care product comprising at least one capsule, with this capsule comprising : a matrix, one or more active ingredients embedded/contained in said matrix, said product being characterized in that at least said matrix has a high ROS affinity.

[0041] This task, as well as these and other goals that are better described below, are achieved by a method for the making of capsules to be incorporated into a skin care product. This method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: melting a solid lipophilic part at approximately 50±5°C, obtaining a melted lipophilic part, solubilizing/dispersing in water: one or more water-soluble active ingredients, at least one lipophilic component rich in unsaturated fatty acids, at least one surfactant and/or suspension agent and/or humectant, at least one antioxidant agent, obtaining an aqueous solution or suspension, cooling said aqueous solution or suspension to a temperature lower than 10°C, obtaining a cooled aqueous solution or suspension, adding said melted lipophilic part to said cooled aqueous solution or suspension, under stable agitation, obtaining an emulsion, screening said emulsion through a mesh with holes with a size on the order of 0.1-10 pm, obtaining a microemulsion, composed of said at least one capsule, drying said microemulsion in a vacuum at a controlled temperature lower than 40°C and/or adding preservatives to the microemulsion.

[0042] Additional features and advantages of the invention will emerge more from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, form of execution of the skin care product and the method for its production, according to the invention, illustrated in, indicatively and without limitation, the following description.

[0043] A skin care product, according to the invention, comprising at least one capsule, preferably multiple capsules, each comprising: a matrix, one or more active ingredients, embedded/contained in said matrix.

[0044] One of the peculiarities of the invention is that the matrix of the capsules has a high affinity to ROS.

[0045] In particular, this matrix comprises up to 70% by weight of polyunsaturated fatty acids with a high affinity to ROS. [0046] In this way, the matrix increases the sensitivity of the capsules to ROS and breaks contact with them, releasing the active ingredients contained within it.

[0047] Specifically, each of these capsules is composed of: a solid lipophilic part with a melting point above 50°C, with a percentage by weight between 0.1% and 10%, a lipophilic part of unsaturated fatty acids with a percentage between 10% and 70% by weight, surfactants and/or suspension agents and/or humectants, with a percentage by weight between 0.1% and 10%, active ingredients, with a percentage by weight between 0.01% and 20%.

[0048] This lipophilic solid part includes, for example: Acacia Decurrens and/or Jojoba and/or sunflower seed wax and/or polyglycerol -3 esters.

[0049] This lipophilic part of unsaturated fatty acids includes at least one lipophilic component rich in unsaturated fatty acids such as, for example, linoleic acid and/or linolenic acid and/or alpha linoleic acid and/or oleic acid.

[0050] In this description, “rich in unsaturated fatty acids” means that it includes more than 10% fatty acids by weight.

[0051] Such surfactants and/or suspension agents and/or humectants are, for example: Polysorbate 20 and/or xanthan gum and/or glycerin.

[0052] These active ingredients are: at least one water-soluble active ingredient and at least one antioxidant agent.

[0053] The water-soluble active ingredients are, for example: vitamins, peptides, minerals, growth factors, antioxidants, natural extracts.

[0054] The antioxidant agents are, for example: vitamin E, vitamin C, BHT (butylhydroxytoluene), BHA (butylhydroxyanisole), bisulphites. [0055] One of the peculiarities of the invention consists of its production process, and in particular, the production process for its capsules.

[0056] The production process includes the following steps: melting a solid lipophilic part at approximately 50±5°C, obtaining a melted lipophilic part, solubilizing/dispersing in water: one or more water-soluble active ingredients, at least one lipophilic component rich in unsaturated fatty acids, at least one surfactant and/or suspension agent and/or humectant, at least one antioxidant agent, obtaining an aqueous solution or suspension, cooling this aqueous solution or suspension to a temperature lower than 10°C, obtaining a cooled aqueous solution or suspension, adding the melted lipophilic part to the cooled aqueous solution or suspension, under stable agitation, obtaining an emulsion, screening the emulsion through a mesh with holes with a size on the order of 0.1-10 pm, obtaining a microemulsion, composed of a capsule, drying the microemulsion in a vacuum at a controlled temperature lower than 40°C and/or adding preservatives to the microemulsion.

[0057] In this description, “stable agitation” includes constant stirring between 100 rpm and 1000 rpm.

[0058] These preservatives are, for example: sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, isothiazolinones, phenoxyethanol, formaldehyde eliminators, chelators.

[0059] Thus obtained, these capsules can then be incorporated into a serum/cream/lotion to be functionalized by mixing them with this serum/cream/lotion at a temperature below 40°C, at low speed, for a maximum of 10 min.

[0060] In this description, “low speed” means a rotation speed between 100 rpm and 200 rpm. [0061] After incorporating these capsules into this serum/cream/lotion, possibly packaging the result in hermetically-sealed containers avoids exposing them to the air and the formation of ROS within the product.

[0062] The matrices of the capsules and the capsules themselves have an ORAC > 500 pmol/100 g.

[0063] In this way, the capsules have a greater affinity to ROS than the products existing today.

[0064] In practice, it has been found that the invention achieves the task and the goals set of producing a skin care product with capsules in a matrix that is highly sensitive to ROS and capable of conveying the active ingredients incorporated within the areas with ROS, and in particular, those with the greatest concentration of ROS.

[0065] The invention produces a skin care product with capsules having a greater affinity to ROS than similar products known as of today.

[0066] Furthermore, the invention refines a method for the production of a skin care product that does not require the use of chemical solvents and high temperatures.

[0067] Thus conceived, the invention is susceptible to numerous modifications and variants, all falling under the inventive concept; furthermore, all the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

[0068] In practice, any materials may be used, so long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the contingent dimensions and forms, according to needs and the state of the art.

[0069] When the characteristics and techniques mentioned in any claim are followed by reference indications, such indications have been added for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims, and consequently, such reference indications have no limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by such reference indications as examples.