Personal care compositions and, particularly, personal care compositions for alleviating dandruff are disclosed herein. The personal care compositions may include from about 0.1 to about 5 wt. % of an anti-dandruff agent comprising dipotassium glycyrrhizate; from about 6 to about 30 wt. % of a surfactant system; from about 0.1 to about 5 wt. % of a cationic polymer, wherein the personal care composition has a pH of about 2.5 to about 5 and all weight percentages are based on the total weight of the personal care composition. The surfactant system typically comprises from about 5 to about 20 wt. % of an anionic surfactant, from about 0.5 to about 7 wt. % of an amphoteric surfactant, and optionally, from about 0.5 to about 7 wt. % of a non-ionic surfactant.

A hair care composition is disclosed comprising a cationically modified guar polymer having a cationic degree of substitution of from 0.35 to 0.70, an ethoxylated alkyl sulfate anionic surfactant having a formula RO(CH.sub.2CH.sub.2O).sub.nSO.sub.3M, wherein R is an alkyl or alkenyl group having from 8 to 18 carbon atoms; M is a solubilising cation comprising sodium, potassium, 5 ammonium, substituted ammonium or mixtures thereof; n is the degree of ethoxylation of from 0.5 to 3 and from 0.01 to 10% by weight of an anti-dandruff agent selected from azole based anti-fungal agents, piroctone olamine, metal pyrithione salts, selenium sulfide or mixtures thereof; wherein the degree of substitution is measured using .sup.1H NMR and the spectrum is recorded at 25° C.

A hair conditioner composition with a gel network, a soluble anti-dandruff active, and a preservation system. The preservation system can include an ingredient selected from the group consisting of glycol, glyceryl ester, glyceryl ethers and combinations thereof. There may be no visible crystals of the soluble anti-dandruff active in the condition composition.

The present invention relates to an acyl-CoA synthetase homolog protein from microorganisms of the genus Mortierella, a polynucleotide encoding the protein, and so on. The invention provides polynucleotides comprising an acyl-CoA synthetase homolog protein gene from, e.g., Mortierella alpina, expression vectors comprising these polynucleotides and transformants thereof, a method for producing lipids or fatty acids using the transformants, food products containing the lipids or fatty acids produced by the method, etc.

The invention relates to a cosmetic composition which comprises: (i) one or more anionic surfactants, (ii) at least 3.5% by weight of one or more fatty acids, relative to the total weight of the composition, and (iii) one or more antidandruff agents, the anionic surfactant(s)/fatty acid(s) weight ratio being from 0.5 to 3.5. The invention also relates to the use of said composition for washing and conditioning the hair.

The present invention relates to an antimicrobial composition derived from a natural substance. Since the composition effectively suppresses Filobasidium, an organism that has been newly identified as causing dandruff, the present invention can effectively prevent and/or treat seborrhoeic dermatitis and dandruff. Also, since the antimicrobial composition of the present invention includes a natural substance as an active ingredient, little consumer aversion will result. Also, it is expected that the antimicrobial composition of the present invention can be used for developing an antidandruff agent having a reduced content of materials which are typically used as antidandruff agents and the safety of which is questionable.

The present invention is directed to a personal care composition comprising from about 14% to about 40% of one or more surfactants; from about 0.1% to about 10% of one or more surfactant soluble agents having a C log P greater than 3.0; wherein when the personal care composition is diluted to about 1.5% surfactant concentration has a ratio of surfactant diffusion coefficient to soluble agent diffusion coefficient greater than 1.2.

The present invention relates to a surfactant composition, consisting of 70 wt %-99.9 wt % sophorolactone, 0-1 wt % sophorolipid acid, less than 0.1% residual substrate, and remainder water. The invention further relates to products comprising this composition or hydrolysates thereof. The invention also relates to uses of these products and hydrolysates.

The present invention is directed to a scalp care composition comprising from about 1% to about 99% of an aqueous carrier; from about 0.05% to about 10% of a nonionic, water-soluble, cross-linked N-vinyl lactam homopolymers; and from about 0.001% to 10% of an insoluble zinc salt.

A body lubricating and moisturizing formulation utilizes a mucilage-containing extract derived from a plant such as okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (Hibiscus esculentus). The formulation may be provided as a free liquid such as a solution, suspension, foam or spray or alternatively impregnated into an absorbent solid article such as a wipe, swab, a bandage or a gauze. Application of the formulation to a mucosal or external bodily tissue result in the application of a layer of mucilage that lubricates and moisturizes the tissue as well as protects it from external damage from foreign particles and UV irradiation. The formulation may be impregnated into a cloth pad to provide an eyelid wipe.