GB2102288A - Hair conditioning compositions containing volatile silicones - Google Patents

Abstract

A hair conditioning composition comprises water, a quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agent, and a polydimethyl cyclosiloxane having an atmospheric boiling point of 150 DEG C. to 250 DEG C. present at from 1 to 4 percent by weight of the composition. Preferably the composition also contains 0.5 to 5 weight percent of a quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agent, 0.5 to 10 weight percent of a long chain fatty alcohol having 11 to 18 carbons in the long chain, and 0.1 to 2 weight percent of a tertiary amidoamine having a structure conforming to the formula R<1>-C(=O)NH-R<2>-N(R<3>)2 wherein R<1> is a fatty chain having 11 to 17 carbon atoms, R<2> is an alkylene group having 2 or 3 carbon atoms and R<3> is ethyl or methyl. Such compositions provide improved detangling and combing ease and a creamy feel on wet hair.

Description

SPECIFICATION Hair conditioning compositions containing volatile silicones The present invention relates to hair conditioning compositions, and more particularly to hair conditioners which contain volatile silicones and provide improved combing properties.

Hair conditioning compositions, including creme rinses, are well known in the art for improving combing ease for wet and dry hair. These compositions are typically aqueous emulsions which contain a quaternary amine compound as the principal conditioning agent. The quaternary nitrogen-containing compound can be a polymeric material having a plurality of quaternary nitrogen atoms per molecule or a molecule having at least one long carbon atom chain and an average of one quaternary nitrogen atom per molecule.

U.S. Patent No. 3,993,744, Cella et al., describes the inclusion of cationic compounds, such as quaternary nitrogen-containing compounds, and silicones in conjunction with perfluorinated compounds in hair treatment compositions. The silicones specifically described by Cella et al. are polyoxyethylene polymethyl silixanes which are presumed to be water-soluble or dispersible. Both the quaternary nitrogen-containing compounds and silicones disclosed are utilized in relatively small amounts, for example, at about 0.05 weight percent of the composition.

High molecular weight silicones having viscosities greater than about 100 centistokes at 25"C.

are also known to provide lubricity or sheen to various cosmetic preparations. This is described in U.S.

Patents No.2,942,008, No. 3,594,409, No. 3,824,303 and No.4,014,995.

Volatile silicones are said by one manufacturer to be useful in various cosmetic compositions such as antiperspirants, deodorants, hair sprays, hair colouring and hair grooming products, powder and colour products and stick products, and because of their low viscosity and surface tension provide a light silky feel on hair and skin. These silicones, and a very volatile silicone (hexamethyl disiloxane, boiling point of 100 C.) are also reported to be non-greasy but to provide subtle lubrication.

None of this art teaches or suggests that the low molecular weight, low viscosity, volatile silicones of the present invention would provide improved combing and creaminess of the composition when incorporated into hair conditioning compositions.

According to a first aspect of the present invention a hair conditioning composition comprises water, a quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agent, and a polydimethyl cyclosiloxane having an atmospheric boiling point of 1 500 C. to 2500C. present at from 1 to 4 percent by weight of the composition.

It was unexpected that the low viscosity, low molecular weight, volatile silicones useful herein would provide either the improved overall combing or the creamy on-hair feel provided by the conditioning compositions of this invention. This finding was unexpected since both a very volatile silicone having a boiling point of about 1000C. and a high molecular weight, non-volatile silicone both provided the hair with an oily feel and poorer overall combing properties.

The compositions according to the present invention are preferably stable emulsions in which water comprises the external phase, although compositions containing phases which separate after standing for more than about one hour are satisfactory.

The volatile silicones utilized in the present invention are preferably water-insoluble cyclic compounds having an average of about 3 to 6 -[0-Si(CH3)2]- (polydimethyl cyclosiloxanes) repeating group units per molecule and boil at atmospheric pressure at from 1 500 C. to 2500C. The polydimethyl cyclosiloxanes having an average of about 4 to about 5 repeating units per molecule, the tetramer and pentamer, are particularly preferred.

The particularly preferred polydimethyl cyclosiloxanes having boiling points at ambient pressures in the range of 1 700C. to 2200C., and viscosities at 250C. of from about 2 to about 6 centistokes. These materials are commercially available under the designations Silicone SF-i 173 and Silicone SF-1202 from General Electric, and Silicone 344 Fluid and Silicone 345 Fluid from Dow Corning Corporation, the tetramer being listed first in each instance.

Volatile silicones are preferably present at from 1.5 to 3 percent by weight of the conditioning composition.

Water typically constitutes at least 80 weight percent of the weight of the conditioning composition, and more preferably about 90 weight percent.

The quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agents are preferably present at from 0.5 to 5 percent by weight, more preferably from 2 to 3 weight percent, of the composition as an active ingredient.

Both polymeric quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agents having a plurality of quaternary nitrogen atoms per molecule, and conditioning agents having one quaternary nitrogen atom and at least one long carbon atom chain per molecule are useful herein. Conditioning agents having one quaternary nitrogen atom and at least one long carbon atom chain containing from 12 to 1 8 carbon atoms per molecule are preferred over the polymeric materials because the polymers tend to give the hair a greasier feel when wet than do the lower molecular weight compounds.

The preferred class of conditioning agents having one quaternary nitrogen atom and one long chain having from 1 2 to 1 8 carbon atoms per molecule include a broad range of compounds. However, the preferred individual conditioning agents can be broadly divided into three sub-classes based upon the structure of the groups bonded to the quaternary nitrogen atom, i.e., (a) compounds having one long carbon chain and three identical or different short chain alkyl groups containing one or two carbon atoms, (b) compounds having one long carbon chain, one benzyl group and two identical or different short chain alkyl groups having one or two carbon atoms, and (c) compounds having two long carbon chains and two identical or different short chain alkyl groups having one or two carbon atoms.

The first of the above sub-classes can be exemplified by compounds such as cetyldimethylethylammonium bromide, lauryltrimethylammonium chloride and stearyltri (2hydroxyethyl) ammonium chloride. These compounds are given the less cumbersome names Quaternium-1 7, Laurtrimonium chloride and Quaternium-1 6, respectively, in the CTFA Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1 977, published by the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, Inc., hereinafter referred to as the CTFA Dictionary.

Illustrative conditioning agents of the second of the before-mentioned sub-classes include stearyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride and lauryldimethylbenzylammonium chloride. These conditioning agents are named stearalkonium chloride and lauralkonium chloride, respectively in the CTFA Dictionary.

Illustrative conditioning agents of the third of the before-mentioned sub-classes include distearyldimethylammonium chloride and dilauryldimethylammonium chloride. These compounds are named Quaternium-5 and Quaternium-47, respectively, in the CTFA Dictionary.

It is noted that the long carbon chain of the before-mentioned conditioning agents need not be solely or primarily of one chain length, i.e., the long chain need not be cetyl, myristyl, lauryl or stearyl.

Rather, conditioning agents whose long carbon chain contains a mixture of lengths can be used. Such conditioning agents are conveniently prepared from naturally occurring materials, such as tallow, coconut oil, soya oil and the like, or from synthetically produced mixtures. Examples of conditioning agents having mixed carbon chain lengths include dimethyldi(hydrogenated tallow)ammonium chloride, dialkyldimethylammonium chloride wherein the alkyl group is a saturated group consisting primarily of 1 6 carbon atoms and N-(soya alkyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride. These conditioning agents are named Quaternium-1 8, Quaternium-31 and Quaternium-9, respectively, in the CTFA Dictionary.

Useful water-soluble or dispersible polymeric conditioning agents include those prepared from polydiallyldimethylammonium salts as is described in U.S. Patents No. 3,288,770 and No. 3,412,091.

These polymers can be prepared by polymerizing diallyldimethylammonium chloride or bromide, or other suitable diallyldimethylammonium salts, using a free radical generating polymerization catalyst, such as a peroxide or hydroperoxide, then employing a suitable anion exchange resin. The resulting polymers are polydiallyldimethylammonium salts, such as polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride. The homopolymer so produced has been given the name Quaternium-40 in the CTFA Dictionary.

The copolymer formed using acrylamide and a diallyldimethylammonium salt is also useful herein.

The CTFA Dictionary name for the diallyldimethylammonium salt copolymerized with acrylamide is Quaternium-41.

Both Quaternium-40 and Quaternium-41 are commercially available under the respective designations MERQUAT-1 00 and MERQUAT-550 from Merck 8 Company, Inc. MERQUAT-1 00 is sold as a 40 weight percent aqueous solution of the polymer, and has a Brookfield viscosity at 250C. in the range of about 8,000--12,000 centipoises (cps). MERQUAT-550 is sold as an 8 weight percent aqueous solution of polymer, and has a Brookfield viscosity at 250C. in the range of about 7,500-1 5,000 cps.

Another quaternary nitrogen-containing polymer useful herein is a cationic guar. This material has a 3-trimethyl-ammonium-2-hydroxypropyl groups bonded to the mannopyranosyl and galactopyranosyl units which make up the guar chains; chloride ions being the anion usually associated with the polymer.

The named adopted by the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association for this material, although not appearing in the above CTFA Dictionary, is Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride. A suitable cationic guaris supplied under the designation COSMEDIA GUAR C 261 by Henkel, Inc., while a similar material is sold under the designation JAGUAR C-13-S by Stein, Hall 8 Company, Inc.

A copolymer prepared from about 80 weight percent N-vinyl pyrrolidone and about 20 weight percent N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, quaternized with dimethyl sulphate is also useful herein.

This material is named Quaternium-23 in the CTFA Dictionary. Quaternium-23 is available from GAF Corporation under the designation GAFQUAT-755 and GAFQUAT-734.

Yet another polymeric conditioning agent useful herein is a copolymer prepared from acrylamide and N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, quaternized with dimethyl sulphate. Viscosities of 1 weight percent aqueous solutions of these polymers typically have Brookfield viscosities of about 35 to about 1200 cps.

These copolymers are named in the CTFA Dictionary as Quaternium-39, and are available under the designation RETEN from Hercules, Inc. Commercially available polymers include those designated RETEN SPX 1104, SPX 1105 and SPX 1106.

Still another useful water-soluble polymeric conditioning agent for use herein is a quaternary nitrogen-containing hydroxyethyl cellulose having a backbone chain of anhydroglucose units with pendant substituent groups bearing a full positive charge spaced along the anhydroglucose backbone.

The pendant substituent groups are spaced about the anhydroglucose units along the chain, thereby making the substituent groups themselves pendant and spaced along the chain. These hydroxyethyl cellulose derivatives contain a plurality of quaternary nitrogen-containing groups with each ,anhydroglucose unit having from zero to three quaternary nitrogen-containing groups; and their preparation is described in United States Patent No. 3,472,840.

These cationic, hydroxyethyl cellulose derivatives are named Quaternium-1 9 in the CTFA Dictionary, and are commercially available under the designation POLYMER JR from the Union Carbide Corporation. The presently available materials include POLYMER JR-125, POLYMER JR-400 and POLYMER JR-30M.

The long chain fatty alcohols having from 11 to 1 8 carbon atoms in the chain can also be constituents of the conditioning emulsions of the present invention. These alcohols can be used alone, or in admixture with each other. When included in the compositions, the alcohol is preferably present at from 0.5 to 10 weight percent of the composition, and more preferably at from 2 to 5 weight percent.

Lauryl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, and the like, and mixtures thereof may be used. In addition, mixtures of natural or synthetic fatty alcohols having fatty chain lengths of from 11 to 1 8 carbons are also useful. Several such mixtures are available commercially, and are exemplified by the material containing a mixture of synthetic alcohols with 1 2 to 1 5 carbons in the alkyl chain sold under the designation Neodol 25 by Shell Chemical Company, and the material containing a mixture of synthetic alcohols with chain lengths of 12 to 1 6 carbons sold under the designation Alfol 121 6 Alcohol by Conoco Chemicals.

Fatty alcohols of the above discussed carbon chain lengths which are ethoxylated to contain an average of one or two moles of ethylene oxide per mole of fatty alcohol can be used in place of the fatty alcohols themselves. Examples of such useful ethoxylated fatty acids include ethylene glycol cetyl ether, polyoxyethylene (2) stearyl ether, and the like; the exemplary compounds having CTFA Dictionary names of Ceteth-1 and Steareth-2, respectively.

A tertiary amidoamine can also be present in the hair conditioning compositions of this invention, and is present in particularly preferred compositions at a concentration of from 0.1 to about 2 weight percent of the composition, and more preferably at from 0.25 to 1 weight percent.

The tertiary amidoamines useful herein have structures conforming to the formula R1-C(=O)NH-R2-N(R3)2 wherein R1 is a fatty chain having 11 to 17 carbon atoms, R2 is an alkylene group having 2 or 3 carbon atoms and each R3 is ethyl or methyl. Exemplary, useful, tertiary amidoamines include dimethylaminopropyl stearamide, diethylaminoethyl stearamide and dimethylaminopropyl myristamide. The R1 group of the tertiary amidoamines can also be prepared from materials having differing chain lengths, and thus the R1 group can be prepared from coconut, soya and tallow fatty acids, or the like.

The hair conditioning compositions of this invention suitably are near neutral to slightly acidic in pH value. Thus, the hair conditioners of this invention preferably have pH values of from about 4 to about 8, and more preferably from about 5.5 to about 6.5.

Ingredients in addition to water and the previously discussed ingredients can also be present in the composition of this invention. These ingredients include, but are not limited to, polyhydric alcohols, such as propylene glycol or glycerine, hydroxyethylated fatty alcohols having from about 12 to 1 8 carbon atoms in the fatty chain and an average of about 1 5 to about 30 moles of ethylene oxide added per mole of alcohol, inorganic salts such as sodium or potassium chlorides, perfume, colorants, preservatives and the like.Suitable hydroxyethylated fatty alcohols include the previously described fatty alcohols having from about 11 to 1 8 carbon atoms which contain the desired amount of hydroxyethylation such as polyoxyethylene (20) cetyl ether, polyoxyethylene (30) stearyl ether, polyoxyethylene (15) lauryl ether, the polyoxyethylene glycol ether of synthetic fatty alcohols having about 11 to 1 5 carbons in the fatty chain and an average of 20 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol, and the polyethylene glycol ether of fatty alcohols containing primarily cetyl and stearyl alcohol and an average of 20 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol. These exemplary hydroxyethylated fatty alcohols are given the following CTFA Dictionary names, respectively: Ceteth-20, Steareth-30, Laureth-15, Pareth-i 5-20 and Ceteareth-20.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways and some examples of hair conditioning compositions embodying the invention and some comparative compositions outside the invention will now be described by way of example.

EXAMPLE 1: HAIR CONDITIONING EMULSION 1 A hair conditioning composition according to the present invention was prepared having the ingredients and amounts listed below.

Amounts Ingredient (Weight percent) 1) Quaternium-3 (68%active) 3.3 2) Cetyl alcohol 3.25 3) Volatile silicone1 2.0 4) Promulgen G2 1.0 5) Dimethyaminopropyl stearamide 0.5 6) Propylene glycol 0.5 7) Perfume 0.4 8) Potassium chloride 0.3 9) Panthenol dl 0.1 10) Citric acid 0.1 11) Preservative solution (7 ppm active) 0.2 12) Deionized water q.s. 100.0 1 A polydimethyl cyclosiloxane having a boiling point of 1 760C. sold under the designation Silicone SF-1 1 73 by General Electric was used.

2 Promulgen G is the designation given by Robinson-Wagner Company, Inc. for its mixture of stearyl alcohol and Ceteareth-20. Ceteareth-20 is defined in the CTFA Dictionary as the polyethylene glycol ether of Cetearyl alcohol that conforms generally to the formula R(OCH2CH2)nOH where R represents a blend of cetyl and stearyl radicals and n has an average value of 20.

The conditioning emulsion was prepared by addition of the citric acid, Quaternium-3 1, propylene glycol and dimethylaminopropyl stearamide to the water with agitation. The resulting admixture was heated to a temperature of 62.80C. with continued agitation. After a substantial homogeneous admixture was achieved, cetyl alcohol and Promulgen G were added with agitation, and the temperature of the new admixture was raised to 68.30C. Agitation at 68.30C. was continued for 30 minutes and the temperature of the mixture was lowered to 46.1 OC. Potassium chloride was thereafter added with the agitation continuing until a substantially uniform admixture was obtained. Panthenol dl, the volatile silicone, perfume oil and preservative solution were then added with agitation.Agitation was continued while allowing the emulsified hair conditioning composition to cool to 32.20C. at which time the composition was packaged.

Hair was treated with such a composition following usual conditioning product evaluation methods. The composition provided the wet hait with a creamy feel and good combing. Combing studies (see later) indicated superior wet and dry combing and detangling properties were imparted to the hair by this composition.

EXAMPLE 2: HAIR CONDITIONING EMULSION 2 A second emulsified hair conditioning composition in accordance with the present invention was prepared as for Emulsion 1 except that the volatile silicone of that composition was replaced with a volatile silicone having a boiling point of about 190--2100C. sold under the designation Silicone SF-1202 by General Electric.

EXAMPLE 3: HAIR CONDITIONING EMULSION 3 A third emulsified hair conditioning composition in accordance with the present invention was prepared which contained the ingredients and their amounts as are listed below. This composition was prepared in a manner substantially identical to the composition of Example 1 with the following exceptions: Stearolkonium chloride replaced Quaternium-3 1, glycerine replaced propylene glycol, diethylaminoethyl stearamide replaced dimethylaminopropyl stearamide, Promulgen D replaced Promulgen G, and panthenol dl was absent from the composition.

Amount Ingredient (Weight Percent) 1) Stearalkonium chloride (20 percent active) 10.5 2) Cetyl alcohol 3.25 3) Volatile silicone1 2 4) Promulgen D3 1 5) Glycerine 6) Diethylaminoethyl stearamide 0.5 7) Perfume Oil 0.4 8) Potassium chloride 0.2 9) Preservative solution (7 ppm active) 0.2 10) Citric acid 0.08 11) Water q.s. 100.0 1 See Example 1.

3 Promulgen D is the designation given by Robinson-Wagner Co., Inc. for its mixture of Cetearyl alcohol and Ceteareth-20.

Hair was treated with such a composition. Evaluation of the treatment again indicated a creamy consistency on wet hair and good detangling and combing properties resulting from the use of this composition.

EXAMPLE 4 A composition containing 3.3 weight percent Quaternium-31 (68% active) dissolved in deionized water was made.

EXAMPLE 5 A composition containing the same amount of Quaternium-3 1 as used in Example 4 was made up with deionized water and included 2 weight percent Silicone SF-1 173 (as detailed in Example 1) replacing an equal amount of water.

COMPARATIVE, QUANTITATIVE COMBING STUDIES Comparative quantitative combing studies were performed on various compositions using an Instron Tensile Testing apparatus adapted with a comb. Standard 6 inch tresses of brown or bleached waved hair (De Meo Brothers, New York) were used for the determinations. Measurements were taken of the maximum force or peak load to comb through the tress, as well as of the total energy required to comb through the tress. Of these measurements, the total energy measurement is believed to provide a more reliable indication of a composition's combing ease or detangling ability because it provides a total combing picture rather than just a portion.

In each determination, a standard amount of conditioning composition in proportion to an amount which would be used on a whole head was applied to wet, freshly shampooed hair, allowed to remain in contact with the hair for about 1 minute and then rinsed from the hair with tap water. Wet combing measurements were made directly after the rinsing step, while dry combing measurements were made after the hair had been equilibrated for about 15-24 hours in a room kept at 22.20C and 60 percent relative humidity. The first combing stroke through each tress is considered to be a measure of ease of detangling, while a subsequent combing stroke is considered to measure the conditioning properties of the composition.

The five compositions were as follows: A) A composition substantially like that of Example 1, but containing water in place of the volatile silicone, thereby simulating a commercially available hair conditioner.

B) The composition of Example 1; C) The composition of Example 2; D) The composition of Example 1 in which the volatile silicone of that composition was replaced by a non-volatile silicone (polydimethylsiloxane) sold under the designation Silicone SF 96-50 by General Electric; and E) The composition of Example 1 in which the volatile silicone of that composition was replaced by a very volatile silicone (hexamethyl disiloxane, boiling point 100 C.) sold under the designation Q 2 1096 by Dow Corning.

Compositions B and C are in accordance with the present invention but compositions A, D and E are outside the present invention.

A creamy feel was noted when Compositions B and C were applied to wet hair. Compositions containing the very volatile and non-volatile silicones appeared and felt somewhat oily on the wet hair.

The data from each measurement of total energy or peak force required to comb through the tresses were ranked on a scale of 1 through 5; the number 1 being given to the lowest value and the number 5 being given to the highest value. The rankings were then summed over all of the eight determinations made to obtain an overall picture of the effectiveness of each composition. Thus, the lowest overall sum reflects the composition providing the best overall combing properties. The rankings and Ranking Sums are listed in Tables 1 and 2 below for total energy and peak force to comb, respectively.

TABLE 1 Ranking of Total Energy to Comb Brown Hair Bleached/Waved Hair Wet Dry Wet Dry Composition l* S** I S I S I S Ranking Sums A 5 5 5 2 1 5 2 3 28 B 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 4 15 C 4 4 1 5 4 4 1 1 24 D 2 3 4 3 5 2 5 2 26 E 3 2 3 4 3 3 4 5 27 * I = initial combing stroke, related to ease of detangling.

** S = subsequent combing stroke, related to conditioning.

TABLE 2 Ranking of Peak Force to Comb Brown Hair Bleached/Waved Hair Wet Dry Wet Dry Composition l* S** I S I S I S Ranking Sums A 5 5 2 3 1 5 5 3 29 B 1 1 4 2 2 1 3 4 18 C 3 3 1 1 4 4 2 2 20 D 2 4 5 4 5 3 1 1 25 E 4 2 3 5 3 2 4 5 27 * and **, see Table 1.

Examination of the above Tables, and particularly the Ranking Sums, demonstrates that the compositions of this invention, B and C, provided easier over-all combing than any of the other compositions studied. This superiority was found when either total energy or peak force measurements are examined.

Thus, one or the other of compositions B or C was the best in seven of the eight determinations of the total energy measurements (Table 1). In addition, hair treated with Compositions B or C required the least peak force in five of the eight determinations (Table 2).

The above results demonstrate the superior and unexpected results achieved when the volatile silicones of the invention are incorporated into a hair conditioning composition. The selected volatile silicones useful herein provide superior detangling and subsequent combing ease to wet and dry brown and bleached/waved hair compared to similar silicones which are more or less volatile (Compositions E and D, respectively), or when compared to a commercial-type conditioner which contained no silicone (Composition A). In addition, while use of the non-cyclic, but otherwise similar silicones produced oily looking and feeling conditioners, the volatile silicones useful herein provided pleasant, creamy compositions when placed on-wet hair.

FURTHER COMPARATIVE QUANTITATIVE COMBING STUDIES The efficacy of using volatile silicones in hair conditioning preparations was further demonstrated by a comparison of combing forces between a first composition (Example 4) containing only deionized water and a quaternary nitrogen conditioning agent and a second composition according to the present invention (Example 5) containing the same two ingredients with the addition of a volatile silicone.

Bleached/waved hair tresses were treated with either of the two compositions of Example 4 or 5 as is described above under "Comparative, quantitative combing studies" with comparisons being made for both wet and dried, treated hair. Data for the peak force to comb through the tresses for the average of the first six strokes of the comb (detangling and subsequent strokes) were statistically analyzed using a Student's t test. The reductions in force using the composition of Example 5 were significant at at least the 95 percent confidence level. These data are reported below in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Peak Force (in grams) Wet Combing Dry Combing Force Force Composition of Example 4 11.27 8.48 Composition of Example 5 7.55 6.01 Percent Force Reduction* 33 29 * Percent force reduction was obtained by subtracting the force obtained using Composition 2 from that using the Composition of Example 5, dividing the resulting number by the force from using the Composition of Example 4 and multiplying that number by 100.

The above data and reductions in peak force to comb through the tress illustrate the efficacy of the compositions according to the present invention.

Claims (14)

1. A hair conditioning composition comprising water, a quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agent, and a polydimethyl cyclosiloxane having an atmospheric boiling point of 150"C. to 2500C. present at from 1 to 4 percent by weight of the composition.

2. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in Claim 1 in which the polydimethyl cyclosiloxane is present at 1.5 to 3 percent by weight of the composition.

3. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 in which the polydimethyl polysiloxane boils at a temperature of from 1 700 C. to 2200 C. at atmospheric pressure.

4. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in Claim 1,2 or 3 in the form of an emulsion having water as the external phase.

5. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising 0.5 to 5 weight percent of a quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agent.

6. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in Claim 5 in which the quaternary nitrogencontaining conditioning agent is present at 2 to 3 percent by weight of the composition.

7. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising 0.5 to 10 weight percent of a long chain fatty alcohol having ii to 1 8 carbons in the long chain.

8. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in Claim 7 in which the long chain fatty alcohol is present at about 2 to about 5 weight percent of said composition.

9. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in Claim 7 or 8 in which the long chain fatty alcohol is selected from the group consisting of cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol or mixtures thereof.

10. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising 0.1 to 2 weight percent of a tertiary amidoamine having a structure conforming to the formula R1-C(=O)NH-R2-N(R3)2 wherein R1 is a fatty chain having 11 to 1 7 carbon atoms, R2 is an alkylene group having 2 or 3 carbon atoms and R3 is ethyl or methyl.

11. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in Claim 10 in which the tertiary amidoamine is present at 0.25 to 1 weight percent of the composition.

12. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in Claim 10 or 11 in which the tertiary amidoamine is dimethylaminopropyl stearamide or diethylaminoethyl stearamide or mixtures thereof.

13. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agent contains one quaternized nitrogen atom and one carbon chain having 12 to 18 carbon atoms per molecule.

14. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the quaternary nitrogen-containing conditioning agent is selected from the group consisting of (a) compounds having one long carbon chain and three identical or different short chain alkyl groups containing one or two carbon atoms bonded to the quaternary nitrogen atom, or (b) compounds having one long carbon chain, one benzyl group and two identical or different short chain alkyl groups having one or two carbon atoms bonded to the quaternary nitrogen atom, or (c) compounds having two long carbon chains and two identical or different short chain alkyl groups having one or two carbon atoms bonded to the quaternary nitrogen atom or mixtures thereof.

1 5. A hair conditioning composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the water comprises at least 80 weight percent of the composition.

1 6. A hair conditioning composition substantially as described herein with reference to Examples 1,2,3or5.