Cosmetic composition containing a cationic polymer and divalent metal salt for strengthening the hair

A homogeneous cosmetic composition for treating degraded hair comprising (a) a cosmetic vehicle selected from the group consisting of water, ethanol, isopropanol and mixtures thereof;

• (b) 0.2 to 25 percent by weight of at least one cationic polymer having an average molecular weight between about 1,000 and 3,000,000 and being selected from the group consisting of
• i. a quaternary derivative of cellulose ether of the formula ##EQU11## wherein Cell represents the residue of an anhydroglucose unit, y represents a whole number between about 50 and about 20,000 and each R, identical or different, represents a group of the formula ##EQU12## wherein a and b are 2 or 3;
• c is 1, 2 or 3;
• m and p are whole numbers from 0-10;
• n is a whole number from 0-3;
• q is 0 or 1;
• R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 each independently represent a member selected from the group consisting of alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, alkaryl, alkoxyalkyl and alkoxyaryl, said member containing up to 10 carbon atoms and such that the sum of the number of carbon atoms of R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 ranges from 3-12, with the proviso that when any one or more of R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 is alkoxyalkyl at least two carbon atoms separate the oxygen of the alkoxy moiety from the nitrogen to which the alkyl moiety is attached;
• and X.sup.- represents the anion of a mineral or or organic acid;
• ii. polymer of the formula ##EQU13## wherein n is a whole number between 20-99, m is a whole number between 1 and 80 and p is a whole number between 0 and 50, with n+m+p = 100;
• y = 0 or 1;
• R.sub.1 represents a member selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and methyl;
• R.sub.2 represents a member selected from the group consisting of ##EQU14## and C.sub.x H.sub.2x wherein x is a whole number between 2 and 18;
• R.sub.3 is selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl and tert-butyl;
• R.sub.4 is selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl and benzyl;
• X.sup.- represents a member selected from the group consisting of chloride, bromide, iodide, sulfate, bisulfate and CH.sub.3 SO.sub.3 ;
• and M represents a vinyl monomer copolymerizable with N-vinyl pyrrolidone;
• iii. a member selected from the group consisting of (1) the polycondensate of piperazine and epichlorohydrin wherein the molar proportion of piperazine to epichlorohydrin ranges from 0.5:2 to 2:0.5, and (2) the quaternary ammonium salt of the polycondensate of (1);
• iv. polymer of the formula ##EQU15## wherein X representz the residue of a starch molecule, R is selected from the group consisting of alkylene and hydroxy alkylene, wherein the alkylene of each contains from 2 to 5 carbon atoms and R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are alkyl containing 1 to 5 carbon atoms, phenyl and phenyl alkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains from 1 to 5 carbon atoms;
• and
• v. a member selected from the group consisting of (1') a copolymer of 43-16 weight percent methyl methacrylate, 54-25 weight percent dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate and 12-52 weight percent octadecyl methacrylate, and (2') the quaternary ammonium salt of the copolymer of (1');
• and
• (c) 0.01 - 0.5 mole per gram of said cationic polymer of a non-toxic salt of a divalent metal selected from the group consisting of the carbonate, silicate, nitrate, acetate, gluconate, pantothenate and lactate of calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, strontium, zinc and cadmium.