Estée Lauder files duo of patents for cooling and heating beauty devices

Writing in two separate international patent filings ​[I​​ & II​​],​ Estée Lauder subsidiary ELC Management said a reusable pump had been designed to dispense a predetermined amount of cooled product, improving shelf-life and various formulation properties. Importantly, this dispenser fitted in the hand of the user and could be used for a range of face care, skin care and hair care formulations.

The beauty major said it had also developed a multi-layer cosmetic pad that was able to heat product stocked within the pad. The pad, it said, could be used to apply a gel, lotion, serum or cream to skin, hair, hands, feed or face – for cosmetic or dermatological use.

Next-generation beauty dispensing devices​

Thus far, Estée Lauder said cosmetic cooling devices had been used to provide a range of treatments as part of a product application routine, like massaging, but noted that they often required several steps – application of a product followed by cooling or vice versa. In addition, many existing devices were “bulky or large” ​with some only fit for single or one-time use. The dispenser Estée Lauder had developed, however, was handheld in size, reusable and simultaneously cooled and dispensed product.

About cosmetic pads, Estée Lauder said there was an array of personal care pads and pouches available on the market, designed to be used as an applicator or carrier of a formulation, and there were many single-dosed formulations available. However, the pads on the market didn’t combine storage and application of a product and current products did not include exfoliation or self-heating elements. The pad Estée Lauder had designed combined all these elements into “one convenient package”​.

Better shelf-life, improved product performance​

Discussing the advantages of its two designs, the beauty major said its dispenser that dispersed a set amount of cooled product could “eliminate microbes”​ as well as control the viscosity and other properties of the product, including the activation of certain active ingredients.

“The product may be cooled from an ambient temperature to a product application temperature. A cooling circuit subassembly may control the temperature, viscosity, and additional properties of the product, thereby providing a maximum benefit of the product when applied to the user,”​ patent filing said.

Estée Lauder noted the cooling system should be able to cool product in 25 seconds or less, ideally 5 seconds or less. The company also said the dispenser should also be light weight to provide “greater ease of portability and usability”​, ideally be powered by a rechargeable battery and designed in a way that it had housing that could be “easily replaced, refilled, and reused”.​

For its heating cosmetic pad, Estée Lauder said an exfoliating substrate combined with a self-heating source could be used to “enhance treatment efficacy and provide faster results”​ compared to conventional skin care products. The preloaded formulation was released, it said, by the user inserting a finger into the pad and heating could be achieved via several methods, including a water-inorganic salt mix, air activation or battery powered heating substrate whereby a device or applicator was attached to the pad.

Estée Lauder noted that heating function should release heat between 35°C and 70°C, ideally 37°C to 50°C within one second to 45 minutes.

The rise of big beauty brand single-dose devices​

Big beauty had long innovated in the device and dispensing arena, but innovations had recently becoming smarter as technology advanced.

L’Oréal, for example, this year launched its AI-powered at-home personalised lipstick device Perso​ that blended bespoke shades and dispensed these onto a detachable palette. And last year, Coty filed a patent for a system to personalise perfumes​ using a broad-spectrum starter formulation, blending and dispensing final mixes through an automated machine.

Startups had also fast-advanced in the field of cutting-edge device development. Spanish tech startup Lesielle, for example, had designed an at-home skin care device​ that enabled consumers to select base ingredients and actives themselves which were then dispensed in single doses. French perfume startup The Alchemist Atelier had also designed an at-home ‘scent creator’ device​ that enabled consumers to blend their own fragrances.

L’Oréal tech chief Guive Balooch said inclusivity, precision and sustainability​ was certainly the future for beauty and development of devices and technology.

WIPO International Patent No. WO/2021/150641 [I]​​
Published on: July 29, 2021. Filed on: January 20, 2021.
Title: “Reusable pump dispenser”​
Inventor: ELC Management LLC – HF. Bouix, BJ. Golub and C. Jacob.

WIPO International Patent No. WO/2021/141926 [II]​​
Published on: July 15, 2021. Filed on: January 6, 2021.
Title: “Method, and system for multi-layer cosmetic pads and use thereof”​
Inventor: ELC Management LLC – F. Mohammadi, TWR. Mou, A. Martins and L. Qu