Patent Pick: Fragrance Duration—A 'Pressing' Issue

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The pressure is always on for perfumers to develop means to extend fragrance duration. In this patent application, Unilever inventors take that pressure in a new direction: i.e., vapor pressure.

Prolonged delivery of fragrance components in personal care
U.S. Patent Application 20160015616
Publication date: Jan. 21, 2016
Assignee: Conopco, Inc./ Unilever

Disclosed in this patent application is a personal care composition having a highly volatile fragrance incorporating alpha pinene, beta pinene, hexyl acetate, limonene, (+)-citronellal, dihydromyrcenol, alpha citronellol, beta citronellol, genaniol, lilial or combinations thereof in conjunction with tricyclodecane amide.

According to the inventors, the tricyclodecane amide prevents the fast volatilization of the highly volatile fragrance components when the personal care composition is applied to skin or hair. It is theorized that the “cage” structure of the tricyclodecane amides may have a specific interaction with highly volatile fragrances that reduces their headspace vapor pressure and therefore prolongs their release. In addition, the amide suppresses sebum production, in turn boosting UV-A, UV-B and SPF photoprotection.

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