| abstract |
An aqueous anti-dandruff shampoo composition which comprises: (I) a cleansing surfactant selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactant, zwitterionic or amphoteric surfactant and nonionic surfactant; (II) suspended particles of an anti-dandruff agent, (III) an anti-settling, thickening polymer, wherein the anti-settling, thickening polymer, comprises: (a) 40 to 74.5 wt% of structural units of C1-4 alkyl acrylate; (b) 20 to 50 wt% of structural units of methacrylic acid; (c) 0.2 to < 5 wt% of structural units of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS); (d) 5 to 25 wt% of structural units of a specialized associated monomer having the following structure wherein R1 is a linear saturated C10-24 alkyl group; wherein R2 is a hydrogen or a methyl group (preferably, wherein R2 is a methyl group); and wherein n is an average of 20 to 28; with the proviso that the structural units of the specialized associated monomer (d) are derived from one of (i) a single specialized associated monomer (preferably, a single specialized associated monomer wherein R1 is selected from the group consisting of a linear saturated C12 alkyl group, a linear saturated C18 alkyl group and a linear saturated C22 alkyl group; more preferably, a single specialized associated monomer wherein R 1 is selected from the group consisting of a linear saturated C12 alkyl group and a linear saturated C18 alkyl group); (ii) two specialized associated monomers, wherein R1 is, respectively, a linear saturated C12 and a linear saturated C18 alkyl group; or (iii) two specialized associated monomers, wherein R1 is, respectively, a linear saturated C18 alkyl group and a linear saturated C22 alkyl group; (e) 0 to 1 wt% of structural units of acrylic acid; and (f) 0 to 2 wt% of structural units of multi-ethylenically unsaturated crosslinking monomer or chain transfer agent; and wherein the sum of the weight percentages of structural units (a)-(f) is equal to 100 wt% of the anti-settling, thickening polymer; and the use of such a composition in a method of treating hair or scalp. |