Patents and texture analysis in cosmetic/personal care claim substantiation

In the cosmetics and personal care industry, the difference between a product that consumers pick up and one they put back down is often entirely textural. Creaminess, smoothness, spreadability, hold strength, rub-off resistance - these are the properties that drive purchase decisions and brand loyalty. They are also, increasingly, the properties at the heart of patent disputes.

Why quantitative texture data is essential in Cosmetics IP

The cosmetics industry is intensely competitive, with global players spending billions annually on formulation innovation. When a brand develops a compact powder with genuinely superior impact resistance, or a lipstick with a uniquely smooth break force, the value of that innovation is only fully protected if the patent can define those properties numerically.

A claim specifying a pressure resistance of between 0.2 and 1.0 kg measured using a TA.XT.plus Texture Analyser with an Stable Micro Systems 3mm Cylinder Probe at 0.5 mm/s - that is a claim with teeth. This is precisely why L'Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Beiersdorf, Croda and Wacker Metroark have all incorporated Texture Analyser data into their patent filings. See the full scope of cosmetics and skincare testing and personal care applications.

Patent highlights

L'Oreal

Make-up - Compact powder compositions (L'Oréal)  (EP2773428 | WO2017102563 | WO2018166991 | US10610463)

L'Oréal has filed multiple patents for pressed compact powders - foundations, eyeshadows and blushers - each using the TA.XT.plus Texture Analyser with an 3mm Cylinder Probe to measure pressure resistance. Products are defined by a pressure resistance of 0.1–2.5 kg (moving the spindle 1.5 mm at 0.5 mm/s), with the precise window varying by formulation system. In every case, the instrument-generated value is the numerical pillar on which the product differentiation claim rests. Without it, the claim that the powder has 'good cohesion and good impact strength' would be unverifiable.

L'Oréal, Croda, Wacker Metroark

Hair care - Hair styling compositions (WO2018166991)

L'Oréal used a TA.XTplus Texture Analyser to assess treated hair samples in a three-point bend configuration, cycling specimens to a defined deformation and calculating the change in bending force from cycle 1 to cycle 10 - quantifying flexible, natural-feeling hold. Croda used a TA.XT2 Texture Analyser to measure sample hardness before and after formulation changes in their malodour-reduction aptamer patent, ensuring that modifications made for odour control did not compromise tactile performance. Wacker Metroark used a TA.XTplus to measure friction and combing force on treated hair tresses, providing the numerical basis for claims of improved manageability.

Unilever

Antiperspirant soft solid composition (WO2001051020)

Unilever's antiperspirant patent used the Stable Micro Systems TA.XT2i equipped with a Spherical Probe to define a hardness window of 0.003 to 0.5 N/mm² for their soft solid formulations. Competitor products were also characterised using the same protocol, building a quantitative competitive landscape that positioned the invention clearly within the IP space - a particularly powerful strategy in patent prosecution.

Antiperspirant process (WO2001076409)

A linked patent for the injection moulding manufacture of antiperspirant soft solids used identical Texture Analyser parameters. By grounding a manufacturing process claim in instrument-measured product properties, Unilever ensured the patent covered both the formulation and the production method - dual-layer protection that only quantitative texture data makes possible.

Beyond these headline names, Beiersdorf's cosmetic shaving stick patent used the TA.XT2i to specify a penetration force profile that correlates directly with the sensory experience of 'creamy and pleasant' on application. Procter & Gamble's dimethicone-based skin care composition patent used the TA.XT2i to perform a tack test on the film formed by the composition - transforming a subjective skin-feel benefit into a quantifiable, patent-ready metric. Scientists at Shanghai Shuishi Cosmetics used texture analysis to characterise the peel and adhesion profile of their novel nail cosmetic formulation, and Estée Lauder used the TA.XTplus to measure the film properties of their 'Long Wear Skincare Compositions,' substantiating claims of transfer, smudge and flake resistance.

The Texture Analyser as a cosmetic IP platform

The Stable Micro Systems' Texture Analyser - with its portfolio of Cylinder Probes, Hemispherical Probes, Tensile Grips, Hair Combing Rigs and Lipstick Cantilever attachments - addresses virtually any mechanical property claim in the personal care space. Explore hair and haircare testing, cosmetics and skincare and our cosmetics case studies.