A hair cosmetic composition including (a) at least one compound selected from fatty acids containing a linear or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 12-40 carbon atoms, salts thereof and fatty acid esters composed of one of the fatty acids and a polyhydric alcohol; (b) at least one aromatic alcohol represented by the general formula (1): ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 means a hydrogen atom or a methyl or methoxy group, Y denotes a single bond or a linear or branched alkylene or alkenylene group having 1-3 carbon atoms, Z is a hydrogen atom or a hydroxyl group, and p and q stand individually for a number of 0-5; and (c) at least one cationic surfactant. The hair cosmetic composition has neither sticky nor oily feel to the touch, is excellent in hair-conditioning effects of, for example, giving users a moistured feel of the hair and imparting softness and smoothness to the hair, gives resilience to the hair and is superb in effects of preventing damage to the hair and of keeping the waves or curls of the hair beautiful.

This invention relates to a topical composition for treating amino acid based substrates comprising a protected thiol compound having the formula where R is a functional group, S is sulfur, and Pr is a heterocyclic protecting group, and m is an integer between 1 and 100. The invention further relates to systems which comprise this protected thiol compound and an activating mechanism. The protected thiol compounds of the present invention may be used in hair care compositions, textile care compositions, cosmetic compositions, oral care compositions, skin care, nail care, laundry care, acne care and animal care compositions. Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a modified UV absorber and a modified antioxidant, methods for making them and compositions conprising them.

The present invention relates to cosmetic compositions that comprise: a) a safe and effective amount of an acylating bonding agent having the structure: ##STR1## wherein X represents a cosmetic benefit agent that may or may not be attached to a chemical linker and R represents N.sub.3, Cl, Br or OM wherein M is an activated ester; and b) a cosmetically acceptable carrier for the bonding agent wherein the composition is administered topically to mammalian proteinaceous substrates and wherein the bonding agent reacts with a protein contained in the substrate such that the bonding agent, and thus the cosmetic benefit agent, is covalently attached to the substrate. The invention further relates to methods of using the compositions described above as well as various products that include the claimed compositions.

The present invention relates to cosmetic compositions that comprise: a) a safe and effective amount of a bonding agent selected from the group consisting of aldehydes and ketones having the structure ##STR1## wherein X represents a cosmetic benefit agent that may or may not be attached to a chemical linker and R represents hydrogen, straight or branched alkyls, substituted or unsubstituted aryls, and combinations thereof; and b) a cosmetically acceptable carrier for the bonding agent wherein the composition is administered topically to mammalian proteinaceous substrates and wherein the bonding agent reacts with a protein contained in the substrate such that the bonding agent, and thus the cosmetic benefit agent, is covalently attached to the substrate. The invention further relates to methods of using the compositions described above as well as various products that include the claimed compositions.

The present invention relates to cosmetic compositions that comprise: a) a safe and effective amount of a three membered functional cyclic bonding agent having the structure ##STR1## wherein X represents a cosmetic benefit agent that may or may not be attached to a chemical linker and Y represents O, NH, S, or Se; and b) a cosmetically acceptable carrier for the bonding agent wherein the composition is administered topically to mammalian proteinaceous substrates and wherein the bonding agent reacts with a protein contained in the substrate such that the bonding agent, and thus the cosmetic benefit agent, is covalently attached to the substrate. The invention further relates to methods of using the compositions described above as well as various products that include the claimed compositions.