Use of polyurethanes with carboxylate functionality for hair fixative applications

An aqueous based hair fixative composition that comprises

• (A) an effective percent by weight, based on the total weight of the hair fixative composition, of a fully reacted carboxylated linear polyurethane prepared from
• (i) one or more 2,2-hydroxymethyl-substituted carboxylic acids, represented by the formula ##STR2## in which R represents C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl, present in a sufficient amount by weight to give 0.35-2.25 milliequivalents of carboxyl functionality per gram of polyurethane,
• (ii) 10-90% by weight, based on the weight of the polyurethane, of one or more organic compounds, having a number average molecular weight of greater than 1000, selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, and
• (iii) one or more organic diisocyanates selected from the group consisting of methylene-di-p-phenyl diisocyanate, methylene-bis-(4-cyclohexylisocyanate), isophorone diisocyanate, and toluene diisocyanate and present in a sufficient amount to react with the active hydrogens of the 2,2-hydroxymethyl-substituted carboxylic acid and the organic compounds, excepting the hydrogen on the carboxylate of the 2,2-hydroxymethyl-substituted carboxylic acid;
• (B) an effective amount of one or more cosmetically acceptable organic or inorganic bases, selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol, histidine, tris(hydroxymethyl)-aminomethane, triethanolamine, and triethylamine, to neutralize a sufficient proportion of the available carboxyl groups on the polyurethane to make the polyurethane soluble or dispersible in water or in a mixture of water and polar organic solvent;
• and
• (C) a solvent comprising
• (i) water, and
• (ii) 0-90%, by weight of the solvent, of one or more polar organic solvents selected from the group consisting of ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, dimethyl ether, acetone, methylethyl ketone and dimethoxymethane.