The heat is on: Shiseido files a patent for heat-enabled formula which can enhance effects of make-up

According to its international patent, which was published on September 9, Shiseido has developed a formula and a device which would allow the application of make-up at a temperature of 30°C. to 70°C.

The maker of SHISIEDO, Anessa and Clé de Peau Beauté claimed that warming up colour cosmetic formulas would ensure augmented effects.

“It has been clarified that a higher effect can be obtained by using warmed make-up than by using cosmetics at room temperature, and it has become clear that cosmetics used by warming – hereinafter, make-up for warming use – are beginning to be developed,”​ said Shiseido in its patent filing.

However, conventional coloured cosmetic formulas cannot simply be heated because the viscosity would decrease and there would be stability problems such as dripping or separation.

Creating a stable formula for heating

To solve these issues, Shiseido said it was necessary to develop a formulation with certain thickeners that would be able to withstand heating.

The company elaborated that its heat-stable cosmetic formulation contained temperature-responsive and high-temperature stability polymers.

The firm specified in its patent that it developed the formulation with hydrophobic-modified polyether urethane, cellulose nanofibers and water.

The hydrophobic-modified polyether urethane is a temperature-responsive copolymer that acts as a thickener while the cellulose nanofibers act as a high-temperature stable polymer that does not undergo structural change and maintains stability without separating after heating.

“By using the temperature-responsive polymer and the high-temperature stability polymer together, it’s possible to adjust the temperature-responsive cosmetic for use while ensuring the high-temperature stability before and after heating… Therefore, it is possible to obtain a cosmetic that can ensure high-temperature stability while imparting a change due to heating,”​ said Shiseido.

Shiseido noted that the formula could also be mixed with ingredients that are usually blended in cosmetics, including oils, powders and waxes.

To use this formula, it has to be warmed up with a heating device which, according to the patent, the company has also developed.

According to the description, the device is fitted with a heating unit with a Peltier element, a spray, a probe and a tank for the formula.

It would be able to directly or indirectly apply the cosmetic formula onto the skin in “the form of a mist”.​

Shiseido’s previous heat-related tech

This is not the first time Shiseido has experimented with heat to improve the functionality of its products.

In October last year, Shiseido announced that it had developed a unique sun care formulation that increases ultraviolet ray protection with heat.

Dubbed the HeatForce technology, it reacts when the skin’s surface pushes past 37°C and spreads across the skin to form an even protective coating at a molecular level.ea

The technology was implemented in SHISEIDO’s The Perfect Protector sunscreen which was launched in May this year.

WIPO International Patent no. ​WO/2020/179567​​

Publication date: September 9, 2020 ​

Inventor: Takahiro Suzuki​

Applicant: Shiseido Company​