Hair Conditioning Agents Patents: Who Leads, Where Gaps Are 2026
- 70.0% concentration. The top five assignees account for 4,830 of 6,898 records in scope, leaving a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants below tenth place.
- Filing peaked in 2017. 307 records that year against 9 in the still-filling 2026 count, with a documented -64% swing from 179 filings in 2021 to 64 in 2024.
- Claim density sits in three classes. A61K, A61Q and C11D each cover more than 43% of records, while D06M, C08L, C08F, C08G and D01F sit under 10% — the likely white space.
Filing growth compares 2021 (179 records) with 2024 (64) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 6,898 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the hair conditioning agent patent record actually shows
Hair conditioning agents sit at the intersection of surfactant chemistry, cationic polymer science and cosmetic formulation, and the patent record reflects that split. Filings under this search span medicinal preparations (A61K), cosmetics use (A61Q) and detergent and cleaning compositions (C11D), with a smaller but consistent presence in polymer-composition and fibre-treatment classes. The dataset covers 6,898 published records from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 cut-off, ranked across 100 assignees.
Filing activity peaked in 2017 and the most recent complete year, 2024, sits well below that peak. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the years closest to the cut-off are still filling in and should not be read as a decline on their own; the -64% change from 2021 to 2024 is the only trend figure the underlying data currently supports.
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Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 6,898-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how it splits across the IPC subclasses that define this field.
Filing activity, 2017-2026
Filings ran at 307 in 2017, the peak year on record, and the documented three-year change from 2021 (179) to 2024 (64) is a -64% move. 2025 and 2026 counts are still incomplete due to publication lag and should not be read as the current run rate.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
A61K and A61Q together cover more than half the dataset (59.9% and 50.6% of 6,898 records respectively), with C11D close behind at 43.7%. Because records can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add to more than 100%; smaller classes such as D06M (9.2%), C08L (7.9%), C08F (3.5%), C08G (2.9%) and D01F (2.9%) mark narrower, less-crowded filing areas.
Shares are the percentage of the 6,898 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Hair Conditioning Agents with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about hair conditioning agents and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited prior art
Composition containing a cationic polymer with a high charge density and a conditioning agent (US20040157754A1)
The compositions of the present invention relate to improved shampoo compositions having from about 5 to about 50 weight percent of a detersive surfactant, at least about 0.05 weight percent of a cationic polymer having a molecular weight of from about 10,000 to about 10,000,000 and a charge density of from about 1.4 meq/gm to about 7.0 meq/gm, at least 0.05 weight percent of a conditioning agent material, and at least about 20.0 weight percent of an aqueous carrier.Filed by Procter & Gamble, published 2004-08-12 — a formulation claim tying cationic polymer charge density to a detersive surfactant system.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WO1998035006A1 | Liquid cleaning composition | 809 |
| 2 | US4915854A | Ion-pair complex conditioning agent and compositions containing same | 736 |
| 3 | WO1995022311A1 | Personal washing compositions | 612 |
| 4 | US20070207109A1 | Personal care compositions containing cationic synthetic copolymer and a detersive surfactant | 610 |
| 5 | EP0111965A2 | Detergent compositions containing cationic compounds having clay soil removal/anti-redeposition properties | 554 |
| 6 | US5540853A | Personal treatment compositions and/or cosmetic compositions containing enduring perfume | 447 |
| 7 | US4704272A | Shampoo compositions | 393 |
| 8 | US5837661A | Conditioning shampoos containing polyalkylene glycol | 376 |
| 9 | US5942217A | Uncomplexed cyclodextrin compositions for odor control | 355 |
| 10 | US6649155B1 | Anti-dandruff and conditioning shampoos containing certain cationic polymers | 342 |
Citation counts are shaped by document age within this corpus and favour older filings; treat them as a signal of influence rather than current relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the concentration and trend data mean for filing strategy
The numbers point to a field where claim space around core cationic-polymer conditioning chemistry is heavily occupied, while adjacent processing and fibre-treatment classes remain comparatively open.
Filing is concentrated at the top
The five leading assignees account for 4,830 of the 6,898 records in scope, and the top ten extend that to 77.7%. Below tenth place the ranking thins quickly into single- and few-filing entrants, which is where freedom-to-operate work usually finds more room.
Activity has cooled from its 2017 peak
307 filings in 2017 remain the high point of the dataset. The 2021-to-2024 window shows a documented drop from 179 to 64 filings, a decline worth watching rather than a signal that the underlying chemistry is exhausted — new sensory and silicone-alternative angles keep surfacing in later filings.
Core chemistry classes carry most of the volume
A61K, A61Q and C11D between them cover the large majority of records, meaning most filings compete directly over surfactant-and-polymer conditioning formulations. Smaller classes such as D06M and the polymer-synthesis groups (C08L, C08F, C08G) see far fewer filings relative to the 6,898-record base.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to hair conditioning agents, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Unilever N.V. | Unilever PLC | 200 |
| Unilever N.V. | Hindustan Unilever Ltd. | 53 |
| Unilever PLC | Hindustan Unilever Ltd. | 51 |
| Procter & Gamble Co. | Archroma | 50 |
| Unilever N.V. | CONOPCO INC | 30 |
| Unilever PLC | CONOPCO INC | 30 |
| Procter & Gamble Co. | SIVIK MARK ROBERT | 21 |
| Sederma SA | LINTNER KARL | 17 |
Co-assignee activity is limited to 10 documented pairs, concentrated among affiliated entities within the same corporate groups rather than cross-company joint filings.
Who holds the ground, and where the gaps sit
A small group of consumer-products companies holds most of the granted and published claim space; everyone else files in narrow, specific niches.
One filer dominates the ranking
The leading assignee's 3,905 records dwarf the fifth-place count of 119 and tenth-place count of 92, meaning the concentration at the very top is driven overwhelmingly by a single company's filing programme rather than an even spread among the leaders.
Most ranked filers hold small positions
Once past the top ten, filing counts drop sharply. That long tail is where smaller formulation houses, ingredient suppliers and regional players sit, often with claims narrow enough to be workable around rather than blocking.
Recent-year filing has slowed across the leaders
The leading assignee's latest-year count fell sharply year over year, and several other leading filers show zero latest-year activity. Given publication lag, this reads as incomplete recent data rather than an abandonment of the space.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Procter & Gamble Co. | 2 | -94% |
| Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Inc. | 1 | — |
| Unilever N.V. | 0 | — |
| Unilever PLC | 0 | — |
| Colgate-Palmolive Company | 0 | -100% |
| Rhodia Operations SAS | 0 | — |
| Sederma SA | 0 | — |
| Hindustan Unilever Ltd. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, white-space filing, or tracking a competitor's programme.
Check freedom to operate against the top filer
With one assignee holding 3,905 of 6,898 records, any new conditioning-agent formulation should be checked against that portfolio specifically before assuming the broader field is open.
Run a freedom-to-operate searchExplore the under-claimed IPC branches
D06M, C08G, C08F and D01F each sit under 10% of records — worth a closer look for narrower, more fileable claims than the crowded A61K/A61Q/C11D core.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack leading-assignee filing momentum
Latest-year counts across the leading filers have dropped sharply, but publication lag means the real 2025-2026 picture is not yet visible. Set up monitoring rather than drawing conclusions now.
Set up assignee monitoringCommon questions about hair conditioning agent patents
One assignee leads the ranking with 3,905 of the 6,898 records in scope, far ahead of the fifth-place holder at 119 and tenth place at 92. The top five assignees combined account for 70.0% of all records, and the top ten reach 77.7%. This means most of the documented claim space in cationic-polymer and surfactant-based conditioning formulations sits with a small group of large consumer-products companies, with a long tail of smaller filers below them.
Filing peaked in 2017 at 307 records and has trended down since. The clearest documented change is a -64% shift from 179 filings in 2021 to 64 in 2024, which is the most recent year with a reasonably complete count. Years closer to the 2026-07-31 cut-off are understated because publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so the apparent drop in 2025-2026 should not yet be read as the current filing rate.
The bulk of records fall under three IPC subclasses: A61K (medicinal preparations, 59.9% of the 6,898 records), A61Q (cosmetics use, 50.6%), and C11D (detergents and cleaning compositions, 43.7%). Smaller but active classes include D06M (textile chemical treatment), C08L, C08F and C08G (polymer compositions), and D01F (fibre features), each under 10% of records. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC codes, these percentages add to more than 100%.
The lower-density IPC classes — D06M, C08G, C08F and D01F, each covering under 10% of the 6,898 records — carry far less filing pressure than the core A61K/A61Q/C11D formulation classes. This suggests more room to file narrowly around fibre-surface treatment, condensation-polymer carriers, and addition-polymer conditioning systems than around the heavily claimed cationic-surfactant space that dominates the leading assignee's portfolio.
US20040157754A1, assigned to Procter & Gamble and published in 2004, claims shampoo compositions combining a detersive surfactant with a cationic polymer defined by specific molecular weight and charge density ranges, plus a separate conditioning agent and an aqueous carrier. It does not block every conditioning formulation — only those matching its specific compositional ranges and structure. Formulations using different charge-density windows, alternative conditioning chemistries such as silicone alternatives, or different polymer classes fall outside its literal claim scope, though a full freedom-to-operate review should check dependent claims and prosecution history directly.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.