now it has been discovered that a very rapid self - tanning with reduced streaking , improved color intensity and tone can be accomplished by delivering to the skin a self - tanning agent in combination with a crosslinked non - emulsifying siloxane elastomer and a volatile siloxane . moreover , the composition can be formed into a highly stable emulsion . improved skinfeel properties are also achieved with this combination of components . accordingly , a first essential element of the present invention is that of a self - tanning agent , especially a c 3 - c 24 alpha - hydroxy alcohol or aldehyde in an amount from 0 . 1 to 40 %, preferably from 1 to 20 %, optimally between 2 and 15 % by weight . the alpha - hydroxy alcohol or aldehyde may be selected from dihydroxyacetone , glucose , xylose , fructose , reose , ribose , pentose , arabinose , allose , tallose , altrose , mannose , galactose , lactose , sucrose , erythrose , cyclodextrin , glyceraldehyde and combinations thereof . most preferred is dihydroxyacetone . crosslinked non - emulsifying siloxane elastomers are the second essential element of this invention . they will have an average number molecular weight in excess of 2 , 000 , preferably in excess of 1 , 000 , 000 and optimally will range from 10 , 000 to 20 million . the term &# 34 ; non - emulsifying &# 34 ; defines a siloxane from which polyoxyalkylene units are absent . advantageously the elastomers are formed from a divinyl monomer reacting with si - h linkages of a siloxane backbone . elastomer compositions are commercially available from the general electric company under product designation general electric silicone 1229 with proposed ctfa name of cyclomethicone and vinyl dimethicone / methicone cross polymer , delivered as 20 - 35 % elastomer in a cyclomethicone carrier . a related elastomer composition under the ctfa name of crosslinked stearyl methyl dimethyl siloxane copolymer is available as gransil sr - cyc ( 25 - 35 % elastomer in cyclomethicone ) from grant industries , inc ., elmwood park , n . j . the commercial products from general electric and grant industries ordinarily are further processed by subjecting them to a high pressure ( approximately 5 , 000 psi ) treatment in a sonolator with recycling in 10 to 60 passes . sonolation achieves a resultant fluid with elastomer average particle size ranging from 0 . 2 to 10 micron , preferably 0 . 5 to 5 micron . viscosity is best when ranging between 300 and 20 , 000 cps at 25 ° c . as measured by a brookfield lv viscometer ( size 4 bar , 60 rpm , 15 sec .). amounts of the elastomer may range from 0 . 1 to 30 %, optimally from 1 to 15 %, most preferably from 3 to 10 % by weight . a third essential element to be incorporated into the compositions of this invention is that of a volatile siloxane . this material may be present in amounts from 10 to 80 %, preferably from 20 to 60 %, optimally from 30 to 50 % by weight . the term &# 34 ; volatile &# 34 ; refers to those materials having a measurable pressure at ambient conditions . volatile polyorganosiloxanes useful herein may be cyclic or linear . preferred cyclic silicones include polydimethylsiloxanes containing from about 3 to about 9 silicon atoms , preferably containing from about 4 to about 5 silicon atoms , generally known as cyclomethicones . preferred linear silicone oils include the polydimethylsiloxanes containing from about 3 to about 9 silicon atoms . the linear volatile silicones generally have viscosities of less than about 5 centistokes at 25 ° c ., while the cyclic materials have viscosities of less than about 10 centistokes , the preferable range being from 0 . 1 to 8 centistokes . examples of silicone oils useful in the present invention include : dow corning 244 , dow corning 245 , dow corning 344 , dow corning 345 and dow corning 200 ( manufactured by the dow corning corporation ); silicone 7207 and silicone 7158 ( manufactured by the union carbide corporation ); sf1202 ( manufactured by general electric ). humectants may also be included as components of compositions according to the present invention . these humectants are polyhydric alcohols intended for moisturizing , reducing scaling and stimulating removal of built - up scale from the skin . most important for the present invention , the polyhydric alcohols enhance skin colorization of the self - tanning agent . typical polyhydric alcohols include polyalkylene glycols and more preferably alkylene polyols and their derivatives . illustrative are propylene glycol , dipropylene glycol , polypropylene glycol , polyethylene glycol , sorbitol , hydroxypropyl sorbitol , hexylene glycol , 1 , 3 - butylene glycol , 1 , 2 , 6 - hexanetriol , glycerin , ethoxylated glycerin , propoxylated glycerin and mixtures thereof . most preferably the humectant is glycerin . amounts of humectant may range anywhere from 1 to 50 %, preferably from 10 to 40 %, optimally from 25 to 35 % by weight . another optional component is that of an emollient which may be selected from hydrocarbons or esters . petrolatum is the most preferred emollient conditioning agent . other hydrocarbons that may be employed include mineral oil , polyolefins such as polydecene , and paraffins such as isohexadecane ( e . g . permethyl 99 ® and permethyl 101 ®). ester emollients may be those selected from one or more of the following classes : 1 . triglyceride esters such as vegetable and animal fats and oils . examples include castor oil , cocoa butter , safflower oil , cottonseed oil , corn oil , olive oil , cod liver oil , almond oil , avocado oil , palm oil , sesame oil , squalene , kikul oil and soybean oil . 4 . alkyl esters of fatty acids having 10 to 20 carbon atoms . methyl , isopropyl , and butyl esters of fatty acids are useful herein . examples include hexyl laurate , isohexyl laurate , isohexyl palmitate , isopropyl palmitate , decyl oleate , isodecyl oleate , hexadecyl stearate , decyl stearate , isopropyl isostearate , diisopropyl adipate , diisohexyl adipate , dihexyldecyl adipate , diisopropyl sebacate , lauryl lactate , myristyl lactate , and cetyl lactate . 5 . alkenyl esters of fatty acids having 10 to 20 carbon atoms . examples thereof include oleyl myristate , oleyl stearate , and oleyl oleate . 7 . polyhydric alcohol esters . ethylene glycol mono and di - fatty acid esters , diethylene glycol mono - and di - fatty acid esters , polyethylene glycol ( 200 - 6000 ) mono - and di - fatty acid esters , propylene glycol mono - and di - fatty acid esters , polypropylene glycol 2000 monooleate , polypropylene glycol 2000 monostearate , ethoxylated propylene glycol monostearate , glyceryl mono - and di - fatty acid esters , polyglycerol polyfatty esters , ethoxylated glyceryl monostearate , 1 , 2 - butylene glycol monostearate , 1 , 2 - butylene glycol distearate , polyoxyethylene polyol fatty acid ester , sorbitan fatty acid esters , and polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters are satisfactory polyhydric alcohol esters . 8 . wax esters such as beeswax , spermaceti , myristyl myristate , stearyl stearate . cosmetic compositions of the present may either be anhydrous or aqueous emulsions . when anhydrous , the amount of water will be confined to range from 0 to 5 %, preferably not above 2 %, optimally not above 0 . 5 % by weight . when the compositions of this invention are in emulsion form , the amount of water will range from 5 to 50 %, preferably from 7 to 30 %, optimally from 10 to 20 % by weight . the emulsions may be of the oil - in - water , water - in - oil or duplex variety . aqueous to oily phases can range in weight from 10 : 1 to 1 : 10 , preferably from 1 : 1 to 1 : 5 , optimally from 1 : 1 to 1 : 2 . most preferable for the present invention are water - in - oil emulsions having a low internal ( water ) phase volume . these emulsions will normally consist essentially of self - tanning agent , elastomer , polyhydric alcohol , cyclomethicone and water . anhydrous systems optimally will consist essentially of self - tanning agent , elastomer , petrolatum and cyclomethicone . beyond the basic components , other materials may be included depending upon the particular type of cosmetic composition sought . for instance , surfactants may be formulated into the compositions . these may be selected from nonionic , anionic , cationic or amphoteric emulsifying agents . they may range in amount anywhere from about 0 . 1 to about 20 % by weight . illustrative nonionic surfactants are alkoxylated compounds based on c 10 - c 22 fatty alcohols and acids , and sorbitan . these materials are available , for instance , from the shell chemical company under the neodol trademark . copolymers of polyoxypropylene - polyoxyethylene , sold by the basf corporation under the pluronic trademark , are sometimes also useful . alkyl polyglycosides available from the henkel corporation may also be utilized for purposes of this invention . anionic type surfactants include fatty acid soaps , sodium lauryl sulphate , sodium lauryl ether sulphate , alkyl benzene sulphonate , mono - and di - alkyl acid phosphates and sodium fatty acyl isethionate . amphoteric surfactants include such materials as dialkylamine oxide and various types of betaines ( such as cocoamidopropyl betaine ). preservatives can desirably be incorporated into the compositions of this invention to protect against the growth of potentially harmful microorganisms . while it is in the aqueous phase that microorganisms tend to grow , microorganisms can also reside in the oil phase . as such , preservatives which have solubility in both water and oil are preferably employed in the present compositions . suitable traditional preservatives are hydantoin derivatives , propionate salts , and a variety of quaternary ammonium compounds . cosmetic chemists are familiar with appropriate preservatives and routinely choose them to satisfy the preservative challenge test and to provide product stability . particularly preferred preservatives are methyl paraben , propyl paraben , imidazolidinyl urea , sodium dehydroxyacetate and benzyl alcohol . the preservatives should be selected having regard for the use of the composition and possible incompatibilities between the preservatives and other ingredients . preservatives are preferably employed in amounts ranging from 0 . 01 % to 2 % by weight of the composition . minor adjunct ingredients may also be included such as fragrances , antifoam agents , opacifiers and colorants , each in their effective amounts to accomplish their respective functions . the following examples will more fully illustrate the embodiments of this invention . all parts , percentages and proportions referred to herein and in the appended claims are by weight unless otherwise indicated . this example illustrates an anhydrous skin tanning composition . components listed in the table below are added together in a vessel at 60 ° c . and mixed with a homogenizing agitator . thereafter they are subjected to sonolation at 800 - 1 , 000 psi for five to ten minutes . the resultant product is a non - greasy semi - solid with a very silky afterfeel and excellent self - tanning properties . table i______________________________________component weight % ______________________________________petrolatum 18 . 5 ge 1229 30 dc 344 fluid ® 41 . 5 dihydroxyacetone 10______________________________________ a water - in - oil emulsion of low internal phase is prepared in a manner similar to that of example 1 . the resultant tanning product will be fluid and highly penetrating when rubbed into the skin . it will exhibit an excellent smooth , silky afterfeel . the product will tan skin in a uniform , non - streaking manner . table ii______________________________________component weight % ______________________________________glycerin 20 ge 1229 20 water 12 dc 244 fluid ® 40 dihydroxyacetone 8______________________________________ this example illustrates another anhydrous skin tanning composition according to the present invention . the formulation may be prepared in a manner essentially similar to that of example 1 utilizing the components listed in the table below . the resultant product will have a smooth , silky afterfeel and impart a tan of excellent color . table iii______________________________________component weight % ______________________________________petrolatum 22 gransil sr - cyc 43 dc 244 fluid ® 33 cyclodextrin 2______________________________________ illustrated in the table below are a series of anhydrous and aqueous self - tanning emulsion formulations according to the present invention . these examples can be prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 1 . table iv______________________________________ example no . ( weight %) component 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12______________________________________dihydroxyacetone 5 10 15 10 10 10 2 20 30 petrolatum 2 10 45 -- -- -- -- 10 10 isohexadecane 18 10 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- glycerin -- -- -- 10 -- -- 8 -- 10 propylene glycol -- -- -- -- 10 -- -- -- -- polyethylene glycol -- -- -- -- -- 10 -- -- -- crosslinked siloxane 30 20 10 10 10 10 10 15 20 elastomer water -- -- -- 40 40 40 50 40 10 cyclomethicone 45 50 30 30 30 30 30 15 20______________________________________ comparative performance characteristics were evaluated for a set of sunless tanner formulations listed in table v . table v______________________________________ example ( weight %) component a b c______________________________________do 245 fluid 52 . 0 52 . 0 52 . 0 em - 90 0 . 75 0 . 75 0 . 75 gransil sr - cyc 8 . 0 -- -- dc 200 ( polydimethylsiloxane ) -- 8 . 0 -- trasil ( cycloethoxymethicone ) -- -- 8 . 0 propylene glycol 25 . 0 25 . 0 25 . 0 water 11 . 25 11 . 25 11 . 25 dihydroxyacetone 3 . 0 3 . 0 3 . 0______________________________________ each of the samples were prepared in a manner similar to that described for example 1 . sample a was an elegant cosmetic cream . sample b was a liquid which separated upon standing . sample c was a slightly viscous liquid which also separated upon standing . efficacy was tested by applying equal amounts of each sample over equivalent areas on the arms of a panelist . approximately 1 cc of each formulation was applied over a 5 cm square area . intensity , uniformity and tone were assessed after 24 hours . results are reported in table vi . table vi______________________________________sample color intensity streakiness color tone______________________________________a +++++ - brown excellent b + - yellow brown c ++++ --- yellow brown______________________________________ the greater the number of (+) or (-) symbols the larger the respective beneficial or detrimental effect . as can be seen from table vi , the best combination of properties was seen from sample a . a very high degree of color intensity was achieved with excellent brown tone and acceptable uniformity . sample exhibited a high degree of unacceptable streakiness . the foregoing description and examples illustrate select embodiments of the present invention . in light thereof , various modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art , all of which are within the purview and spirit of this invention .
a self - tanning cosmetic product is provided for imparting a natural - appearing tan to skin . besides the self - tanning agent , compositions of this invention will include a crosslinked non - emulsifying siloxane elastomer and a volatile siloxane .