Curable nail composition and methods for strengthening and repairing nails

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a curable nail strengthening composition comprising a polymerizable material, at least one penetrating agent, and at least one curing agent. The strengthening composition penetrates the nail and is cured within the nail plate without cross-linking the nail proteins. Methods for strengthening and repairing nails are also disclosed.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 783,135, filed Mar. 14, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.FIELD OF INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to curable compositions for structurally improving and reinforcing nail plates and methods for strengthening, improving toughness, durability, appearance and for repairing damaged nail plates, as well as to protect and support nail plates so they can grow and lengthen naturally.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Natural nail plates, particularly the fingernails and toenails of humans, are comprised of multiple layers of translucent cells that are created within the nail matrix at the base or root of the nail plate and slowly transported toward the end of the fingertip, with the entire journey usually taking 4-6 months for fingernails and up to one year for toenails. Each nail plate ce...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent deals with a curable composition that can strengthen and increase durability of nail plates. It contains a polymerizable material, a penetrating agent, a curing agent, and a rheological thickening agent. The composition can be used to reinforce and prevent additional damage to nail plates, as well as provide spot treatment to areas that require additional reinforcement. The composition can also be opacified or colored to camouflage damaged areas or longitudinal grooves in nail plates. Overall, this invention provides a useful tool for improving the strength and durability of nail plates.

Problems solved by technology

Nail plates can become damaged during everyday activity through exposure to harsh or corrosive chemicals, overexposure to water, mechanical damage created from overly aggressive and improperly performed manicures or artificial nail application / removal procedures, over application / incorrect use of certain types of nail treatments / hardeners or due to infection or illness.

Some people may also inherently have or develop thin / weak nail plates which easily tear, break or peel.

Damaged or weakened nail plates may be more susceptible to infection, excessive staining / discoloration or further continued damage.

Nail plates that are overly strong or hard can lose flexibility which can result in a loss of toughness and increased brittleness, cracking and / or breaking or may lead to damage to the underlying nail bed.

Nails plates that are too weak do not have sufficient toughness often because they are overly flexible, which results in tearing, fracturing, as well, increased potential for nail bed damage.

These compositions do not provide cross-linking within the keratin fibrils inside the cells of the nail plate, but instead, internal cross-linking creates greater cohesion and durability within the coating on the surface of the nail plate.

These compositions, while improving the strength of the overall nail plate and protecting its surface from external damaging elements, do not improve flexibility of the plate.

Also, necessary periodic removal and subsequent repeated application of the polymerizable coating often results in plate roughening, thinning, weakening and increased cracking, splitting and / or delaminating (peeling) of the upper layers of the nail plate from the bulk of the nail plate.

Therefore, these coatings can increase damage to the nail plate in the process of protecting it and therefore aren't always useful or desirable, especially for thin, weak nail plates.

This is due to the inherently slow reaction times of methylene glycol with keratin protein.

Eventually, these reactions result in a permanent surface hardening, which provides increased scratch and indentation resistance, but produces a significantly less flexible nail plate that becomes increasingly rigid.

Continued use of methylene glycol hardening compositions over time continually adds additional cross-linking to the keratin proteins which eventually leads to nail plate over-hardening and results in embrittlement and eventually breakage, thereby defeating the original purpose for using a nail hardener compositions.

These types of nail hardeners provide useful benefits only for overly flexible nail plates and provide little to no positive benefits to other types of nail plates.

These hardeners are detrimental for use on already brittle nail plates, or those with surface damage which increases porosity, speeding absorption to cause even faster nail plate embrittlement, splitting, chipping, cracking and surface delamination.

Nor do these compositions have any ability to fill in, reinforce or mask the longitudinal grooves of varying depth within the nail plate that are typical with advancing age.

Nail hardening compositions containing dimethyl urea work in the same fashion as methylene glycol and also provide a significant increases in strength and surface hardness, at the cost of decreased flexibility of the nail plate.

However, the slower reaction rates when compared to methylene glycol compositions translate into slower rates of increasing nail plate rigidity and require longer periods of continued applications before users notice any significant changes.

Horsetail extract containing products are the most common example of a naturally derived extract, but even these enjoy only limited usage by consumers.

Both extracts are said to contain high amounts of silica in the form of silicon dioxide (1-10%), which is claimed to cause nail plate hardening after repeated applications.

These compositions usually require up to several applications per day for several weeks or more, but even then rarely provide any significant improvements in nail strength or durability.

The nail plate provides an effective barrier against most substances unless penetrating agents are employed and even then does not readily absorb silicon dioxide.

Because so little silicon dioxide can penetrate beyond even the first layers of the nail plate, compositions containing these extracts or other similar ingredients have very limited efficacy as a nail plate hardener nor do they have any significant ability to fill in and reinforce grooves that develop in the nail plate with advancing age.

These natural oils, however, are not useful on overly flexible nail plates.

Natural oils do not protect the surface of the nail plate from external damage, nor can they provide any benefits for longitudinal ridges in the nail plate, and they must be applied repeatedly, often several times per day and continually on a daily basis to provide benefits

Natural oil compositions have wider appeal than those based on natural extracts, but are only effective for overly brittle nails.

The natural oils do not provide the same degree of benefits for overly flexible nails, provide little to no benefit to prevent existing cracks or damage from worsening, and do not have any positive effect on longitudinal ridges in the nail plate and must be applied daily to have any long-term effectiveness, and are often perceived by users as being messy and inconvenient to use.

Another issue with the currently available nail treatment compositions is the difficulty in applying the compositions.