Pearlescent shampoo and method for preparation of same

In a method for preparing an improved pearlescent shampoo containing a pearlescing agent that includes the steps of providing a liquid medium containing water, an amount of surface active agent effective for cleaning and about 0.25 to about 1.5 parts by weight per 100 parts shampoo of a water-dispersible derivative of cellulose having alkyl and hydroxyalkyl substituents on the cellulose anhydroglucose rings wherein the alkyl substituent is selected from the group consisting of methyl and ethyl and the hydroxyalkyl substituent is selected from the group consisting of 2-hydroxyethyl, 2-hydroxypropyl and 2-hydroxybutyl, which liquid medium is heated to a temperature above the melting point of the pearlescing agent and below the boiling point of the medium;

• admixing with stirring a pearlescing agent at a temperature above the melting point of said pearlescing agent with said heated liquid medium;
• maintaining the admixture so formed with stirring at a temperature above the melting point of said pearlescing agent and below the boiling point of the lowest boiling ingredient of the liquid medium for a time sufficient to form a substantially homogeneous admixture that is substantially transparent to visible light;
• and thereafter reducing the temperature to form a shampoo that exhibits pearlescence;
• the improvement which comprises:
• blending and solubilizing a fatty acid ester whose fatty acid portion is derived from a C.sub.16 -C.sub.22 fatty acid and whose alcohol portion is derived from a C.sub.14 -C.sub.22 fatty alcohol as the pearlescing agent in a substantially anyhydrous nonionic surfactant as solubilizing agent at a weight ratio of between about 4 to about 15 parts of said solubilizing agent per part pearlescing agent to form a substantially homogeneous, liquid, anhydrous pearlescing base, said solubilizing agent being selected from the group consisting of polyoxy(C.sub.2 -C.sub.4)alkylene derivatives of C.sub.8 -C.sub.22 fatty alcohols containing from about 1 to about 100 oxyethylene, oxypropylene, and oxyethylene-oxypropylene condensation units per molecule, polyoxyethylene derivatives of C.sub.8 -C.sub.22 alkyl phenols containing an average of from about 3 to about 150 oxyethylene units per molecule, copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, mono- and di-(C.sub.2 -C.sub.4)alkanolamides of C.sub.8 -C.sub.22 and mixtures thereof, said blending and solubilizing being carried out prior to said admixture of said pearlescing agent and said liquid medium, and at a temperature above the melting points of both said solubilizing agent and pearlescing agent and below the boiling point of said solubilizing agent;
• thereafter admixing said heated, substantially homogeneous, liquid, anhydrous pearlescing base with said heated liquid medium in an amount to provide about 0.01 to about 1.0 parts by weight of said pearlescing agent per 100 parts by weight of shampoo to form an admixture;
• and
• admixing a C.sub.2 -C.sub.4 alkylene glycol ester of a C.sub.12 -C.sub.22 fatty acid as a pearlescence accelerating agent to the substantially homogeneous admixture formed after admixture of said pearlescing base and said liquid medium and prior to reducing to said temperature to ambient room temperature, said pearlescence accelerating agent being admixed in a crystalline state and in an amount sufficient to provide about 0.01 to about 0.2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the shampoo;
• said shampoo so formed exhibiting pearlescence within a time period of about 5 days at ambient room temperature.

A method for preparing a substantially anhydrous pearlescing base concentrate which comprises the steps of:

• (a) blending and solubilizing a pearlescing agent comprised of a fatty acid ester whose fatty acid portion is derived from a saturated C.sub.16 -C.sub.22 fatty acid and whose alcohol portion is derived from a C.sub.14 -C.sub.22 fatty alcohol is a substantially anhydrous nonionic surface active agent as solubilizing agent at a weight ratio of between about 1 to about 25 parts of said solubilizing agent per part pearlescing agent and at a temperature above the melting points of both said solubilizing agent and said pearlescing agent and below the boiling point of said solubilizing agent to form a substantially homogeneous, liquidm anhydrous pearlescing base concentrate, said nonionic surface active agent being selected from the group consisting of polyoxy(C.sub.2 -C.sub.4)alkylene derivatives of C.sub.8 -C.sub.22 fatty alcohols containing from about 1 to about 100 oxyethylene, oxypropylene, and oxyethylene/oxypropylene condensation units per molecule, polyoxyethylene derivatives of C.sub.8 -C.sub.22 alkyl phenols containing an average of from about 3 to about 150 oxyethylene units per molecule, copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, mono- and di-(C.sub.2 -C.sub.4)alkanolamides of C.sub.8 -C.sub.22 and mixtures thereof;
• and
• (b) cooling said concentrate to ambient room temperature.