U.S. patent application number 12/855797 was filed with the patent office on 2012-02-16 for method for applying hair extensions.
Invention is credited to Tracee Leanne Teater Makinen.
Application Number | 20120037177 12/855797 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45563887 |
Filed Date | 2012-02-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120037177 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Teater Makinen; Tracee
Leanne |
February 16, 2012 |
Method for Applying Hair Extensions
Abstract
A method for affixing a plurality of extension hair strands to a
plurality of natural hair strands and accomplishing an non-chemical
removable connection using the action of allowing a
non-thermoplastic material to seep or flow and purge moisture on
its own merit as opposed to being pressed by hand. In one
embodiment, the hair extension is attached to the plait by hand,
allowing a material to flow through the strands individually
forming a whole and allowing a releasable fusing to take place
which holds the extension hair to the natural hair for an extended
period of time or until removed. In another essence, by pouring the
material over the readied attachment and allowing the material to
flow through all the hairs and, as it is purged of moisture, to
form a connection for an extended period of time or until removed.
In another embodiment, a machine or tool is used to accomplish the
pouring and seeping, then drying, which in turn fastens the
extension hairs to the natural hairs.
Inventors: |
Teater Makinen; Tracee Leanne;
(Minneapolis, MN) |
Family ID: |
45563887 |
Appl. No.: |
12/855797 |
Filed: |
August 13, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
132/201 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41G 5/008 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
132/201 |
International
Class: |
A41G 5/00 20060101
A41G005/00 |
Claims
1. A method for connecting a plurality of extension hair strands to
a plurality of natural hair strands in order to (1) increase volume
(2) elongate (3) add color without the use of chemicals via a
process of allowing a loose, liquid material to flow, seep or ooze
amongst the hairs individually to form a whole semi-smooth to
smooth water-resistant small and solid casing around and connecting
the hairs either singly, in small bundles, or masses, of loose
hairs or to connect to the natural hair a substantial piece of
wefted hair for quicker installing, and/or shorter term wear, of
the supplemental hair.
2. The method of claim 1 including the process which comprises
joining additional hair to natural hair to form an extension to,
and/or visual lengthening of volume building of, the natural
hair.
3. A process of claim 2 adding supplemental hair to the natural
hair which comprises: a. parting the natural hair into a quantity
of small sections, each of which is used to connect a plurality of
extension hair strands to; b. providing a section of extension hair
which has a distal end and a proximal end; 1. a process of claim 3b
in which strands of loose strands of hairs used to create the
attachment are made ready by cutting a bundle, or mass, of strands
loose which have been sewn together on a track or made ready by
cutting off, or removing, any glue or material holding the strands
together. 2. a process of claim 3b in which the proximal end of the
extension hair is comprised of a blunt, flat vertex. 3. a process
of claim 3b whereas the extension hair is human or synthetic. c.
preparing a plait by parting a small section in the hair to prepare
for the extension hair; d. permeating a length of the vertex of the
proximal end of the bundle of extension hair in a liquid material;
1. a process of claim 3d in which the vertex of each single
proximal strand in the said bundle has liquid material touching on
or around its embodiment. e. placing the proximal end of the
extension hair containing the liquid material onto the plait; f.
guiding the natural hair and extension hair together at the
beginning and end of the connection point; and g. allowing the
liquid material to seep or flow through all the hairs, natural and
extension, individually and forming a whole; h. allowing the
material to thy, harden and form a semblance of, or, a solid casing
which embodies the plait and extension hairs connecting them
together for a certain period of time; i. removal by bending back
and forth to break the hard casing, or semblance of a casing,
allowing the connection to be broken and the extension to be
removed from the plait, or using heat or materials which would
break down, and apart, the solid casing;
4. The method of claim 1 including the process which comprises
joining additional hair to the plait to form an extension or
addition to the natural hair, which process comprises: a. parting
the plait into a quantity of small sections, each of which is used
to connect a plurality of extension hair strands to; b. providing a
section of extension hair which has a distal end and a proximal
end; c. parting out a plait in the natural hair to prepare for the
extension hair; e. placing the proximal end of the extension hair
onto the small sectioned plait; f. holding the plait and extension
hair together; and d. with a tool or machine permeating the
proximal end of the section of extension hair and the natural hair
at the connection point with a liquid material; g. allowing the
liquid material to seep or flow through all the hairs; and h.
allowing the material to dry, harden and form a solid casing or
semblance of said casing; i. removing by bending back and forth to
break the hard casing allowing the connection to be broken and the
extension to be removed from the plait, or by using heat or
materials which would dissolve or evaporate solid casing.
5. The method of claim 1 including the process in which the
material used does not contain thermoplastic glues.
6. The method of claim 1 including the process in which the
material used is water-resistant.
7. The method of claim 1 in which the material can be broken up by
bending the connection back and forth without the use of additional
plier-type tools.
8. The method of claim 1 in which the material can be removed
without chemicals or oils.
9. The method of claim 1 in which the extension hair can be reused;
removed and attached to the hair by repeating processes as
described in claim 2.
10. The method of claim 1 including the process repeated throughout
the head of natural hair as to add volume, lengthen and produce a
collection of connections hidden in the hair.
11. The method of claim 1 including the process of cleansing the
natural hair, drying and flattening at the attachment point.
Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a method and/or process
which thickens, lengthens, and or adds alternate color to ones
natural hair using hair extensions in a comfortable manner, more
specifically without the use of adhesives or need for any chemicals
to remove from the natural hair.
[0003] 2. Prior Art
[0004] Hair that has typically been grown, or manufactured,
elsewhere is used to add to the natural hair and create a
completely new style or look for the wearer. The natural hair may
be made denser or longer or color may be added to by attaching
additional, supplemental hair to the person desiring the change.
Hair extensions differ from full head wigs and hair sections in
that the natural hair of the wearer is left out, or exposed, to
wear along with the supplemental or additional hair being attached
to the head of the wearer.
[0005] 3. State of Art
[0006] It is known to attach hair extensions to a person's existing
hair. A form of a hair extension consists of a plurality or bundle
of individual supplemental hairs, each hair usually of a consistent
length and the supplemental hair readily available in a variety of
length, color, and origin, natural or synthetic, connected via
braiding or the use of various thermoplastic materials which are
worked into the hairs causing a connection via a hot tool or
manually. Usually each extension is attached to existing hair
strands close to the client's head, perhaps about one quarter inch
away from the scalp and may be worn until the extension has grown
out, approximately 2 to 3 inches, most times 4 to 6 months, and/or
has become no longer manageable and/or desirable.
[0007] A range of methods for attaching hair extensions are
currently known for the person desiring to lengthen and/or thicken
their hair or change and/or add color without chemicals. A choice
of which method is appropriate for an individual involves the goals
desiring to be achieved, including the period of time the extension
method can be safely worn. Methods which involve the use of clips
and/or bands, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,280,826 issued on Oct. 25,
1966 to Christine M. Jenkins and 7,735,495 issued on Jun. 15, 2010
to Teresa Jo Lane and Ken Paves, allow your natural hair to be
shown which differentiates the type of method from full head wigs
yet is similar in that these types of attachments are removed daily
for sleeping and/or washing.
[0008] Methods involving braiding and sewing of individual bundles
of supplemental hairs, or full wefts of supplemental hair
stretching from proximity of one side of the head to the other, as
in U.S. Pat. No. 2,865,380, issued on Dec. 23, 1958 to Princess
Mitchell and U.S. Pat. No. 7,661,434, issued on Feb. 16, 2010 to
Carol Frazier, can be worn for sleeping and washing but tend to be
bulky for the wearer causing the hair addition to being seen and/or
felt which makes the wearer self conscious and/or
uncomfortable.
[0009] Another option through sewing or braiding individual bundles
of hair strands can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,330 issued on
Feb. 8, 1983 to Charles W. Nelson in which pieces of wire or string
are used to braid or twist in supplemental hair and then secured
with a dob of adhesive. Another similar process of braiding
individual strands and applying a hardening heat sealer to said
braid is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,748 issued on Jan. 8, 1991 to
Adriana Trimarchi. The multiple steps involved in attaching the
bundles in this and the previous stated manner are likely extremely
time consuming and would be reasonably impossible to accomplish as
applying on one's self as well as plausible to necessitate the use
of chemicals to remove the adhesive from the strands. Removal of
these individual bundles of hair strands by one's self would be
most difficult in differentiating the threads from the native hairs
which could cause cutting and tearing of the natural hairs to
release the supplemental hair from the native hair. If wire is
used, the discomfort of the poking metal would be less than
desirable for the wearer and long term wear, sleeping and washing
and rusting of metals in the hair and near the scalp would
predictably prove to be an issue to the wearer.
[0010] Other methods involve crimp-able sleeves or metal rings
which are placed around a section of the native hair and
supplemental or extension hair which will hold a small bundle of
supplemental or extension hairs to the native hair. By pressing
with a metal pincers the ring is flattened to hold the hairs once
the extension hair and natural hair has both been threaded by
another tool into the metal ring as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,246,623
issued on Jul. 24, 2007 to Marisol S. Arroyo and 7,726,321 issued
on Jun. 1, 2010 to Marisol S. Arroyo and Jose Arroyo. The
difficulty with the method is that the metal pokes at the scalp of
the wearer and causes discomfort as well as risks damage to any of
the hair by cutting said hair while employing the method. Again,
with the application of metal, there is the concern of prolonged
wear in which washing is desirable to the wearer and the metals
peeling or rusting during long term wear in the hair and near the
scalp.
[0011] An alternate method to the metal tubes is heat shrinkable
tubing as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,867 issued on Apr. 28, 1992. The
heat shrinkable tubing uses a thermoplastic material or a
thermostable adhesive to bind the hairs together involving the
necessitation of chemicals to break down and remove from the
natural hair. This typically renders the extension hair unusable at
its current length and a fresh, new bundle of extension hair is
needed if reapplication of the same or similar length is
desired.
[0012] Still another method combines the attaching bundles of
strands to the native hair which involve the system of wire or
string to assist the threading of the native hair next to the
supplemental hair through a pre-attached tube and include a guiding
and knotting mechanism as stated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,602 issued
on Apr. 25, 2006 to In-Young Chang which then instructs for either
heating or crimping by a separate tool. This tactic makes apparent
similar issues as set forth in the prior listed method of using
tubes of poking and/or discomfort along with the risk of slicing or
cutting of the native or supplemental hair, caused either by the
crimped metal tubes or the use of chemical removers and damaging
removal techniques in the case of heat shrinkable polymer and
adhesive tubing.
[0013] Another method puts into practice a polymer which is
pre-affixed at the end of the extension hairs to hold the mass of
the extension strands together as described in U.S. Pat. No.
7,036,518 issued on May 2, 2006 to Hui Suk Park. When the polymer
is heated with an application tool, the polymer is melted to the
hairs and thus the end of the extension bonds to the strands of the
client's native hair. Once dry, these formations can tend to be so
solid and concrete they become uncomfortable to the wearer through
pulling hairs as well as threaten the overall well-being of the
natural hair by adversely removing native strands from the head of
the wearer prior to their time of natural shed. These formations
also require the use of chemicals and metal plier-type tools for
removing. Again, the use of chemicals typically renders the
extension hair unusable at its current length and a fresh, new
bundle of extension hair is needed if reapplication at the same, or
similar, length is desired.
[0014] A method of attaching small bundles of loose strands is
described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,534 issued on Jan. 3, 1967 to Jess
Dorkin references the use of urethane adhesives. The exact method,
employed in which the attachment is achieved, is not described.
Another process using what is described as a primary adhesive adds
the step of an additional sealant in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,745 issued
on Dec. 17, 1991 to Byung J. Cheh. Another similar process involves
small bundles comprised of a number of extension hairs is applied
to small partings of natural receiving hair with a thermoplastic
material or thermostable adhesive including chemically thermal hot
melt glues which are polyamide based as well as cellulose
polyesters and cellulose polyether heated and then manually
manipulated into the hairs binding them together as in the method
described in detail of how this attachment is achieved with said
adhesives and thermoplastic materials, is U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,387
issued on Jun. 19, 1990 to Salvatore Megna. These are then removed
with an additional heated or non-heated tool and/or a chemical
needed to break down the material before allowing the material to
be removed from the hair.
[0015] The disadvantages of the products and methods in the above
whether applied via a heated tool during attachment or pre-applied
to the supplemental hair before attachment and then fused to the
hair using an alternate heated tool, first lie in the need to
manually press and manipulate the heated material into the hairs,
which after continuous handling of the material to achieve an
attachment and an acceptable shape, discomfort sets in for the
person or professional which is applying the supplemental hair
extension. There is also the issue of not pressing or manipulating
the product correctly into all the hairs to bind each individual
hair so shedding of the extension hairs can occur far more than is
desirable by the wearer, causing gaps in the complete installation
or thinning of the extensions before its full potential of
time-worn is achieved, accomplished, or seen. These application
methods are impossible to remove without chemicals or oily matter.
The difficult removal of thermoplastic material, thermostable
adhesive, polymer and urethane adhesives cause many native hairs to
be torn, broken or compromised in some manner due to the wearing
and removing of these types of product. Furthering the careful
effort it takes to remove the above described hot glue from the
natural hair even with the use of chemicals and/or oils, making the
removal nearly impossible to do on one's own and then renders the
extension hair unusable at its current length.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0016] This present invention differs from others in the fact a
thermostable material or other water-resistant liquid material is
allowed to free-flow and seep through and around natural hairs and
extension hairs forming a smooth to semi-smooth casing which binds
the plait and extension strands together in a manner which is
sufficiently flexible to accommodate the shape of the wearers head,
allowing single hairs to move safely within its embodiment and is
releasable without necessitating the assistance of harsh chemicals
which tend to render extension hair unusable.
[0017] An object of my invention is to encourage a method that the
extension can be held in the natural hair for an extended,
prolonged, semi-permanent to permanent amount of time without
seeing damage consisting of pulling out, breaking, tearing to the
natural hair by the binding product used or the chemicals and/or
metal tools used to remove the binding product.
[0018] An object of my invention is to provide a process to attach
a multiplicity of extension hairs, bundles or masses of hairs, to
the natural hairs in a manner which does not necessitate manual
manipulation with the fingers which typically can cause discomfort,
pain or burns.
[0019] An object of my invention would be to utilize a method which
allows one's self the ability to place and remove the supplemental
hair with ease without the use of additional tools, chemicals
and/or the assistance of a professional or additional person to
place or remove the supplemental hair thus facilitating a
do-it-yourself option to the method of which useable components can
be packaged together in a kit allowing for home use for what
otherwise was typically only realized in a professional venue such
as a hair salon or beauty spa.
[0020] An object of my invention is to encourage the use of
material which would normally not be used in a process of binding
or creating an attachment for supplemental hairs to be held to
native hairs by allowing the product, on its own to seep through
and around the hairs, to produce solid, smooth, water resistant
casing which holds the hairs together until such time as removal of
the supplemental hair is desired.
[0021] An object of my invention is to supply a method which allows
removal to occur without the need for, or assistance from,
chemicals, oils or metal plier-type tools which can cause pulling,
discomfort to the scalp or damage to the hair and/or scalp from
which, and whilst, the supplemental hair is being removed.
DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is an illustration of the back of a head. The hair is
parted (65) and a small portion (100) is readied for attachment by
a small disc-like guide or protector held in place with a clip.
(55)
[0023] FIG. 2 is an illustration of an ideal bundle for use in
accordance with the principles of the present invention. As shown,
the hair bundle comprises multiple hair strands, approximately
50-250 strands of hair that may be human, natural or synthetic
having a proximal end (12) and distal end (13). The bundle of hairs
is held between the thumb and forefinger at about 2 centimeters
from the proximal end (12) having, preferably, a blunt cut edge. A
thermostable material (110) may be used which is, prior to use,
liquefied in a small electric warmer (57). The proximal (12) end is
submerged into the thermostable material (110) ideally 1 to 1.5
centimeters.
[0024] FIG. 3 is an illustration of the extension hair bundle after
it has been submerged in the thermostable material (110).
[0025] FIG. 4 is an illustration of the hair extension bundle
having a proximal end (12) and distal end (13) with said proximal
end (12) coated with a thermostable material (110) and placed on
top of the parted and readied portion of natural hair (100). As
pertains to this present invention, the hair is gently guided into
place (320) and held in position. The thermostable material is
allowed to seep, flow or ooze from the extension bundle's proximal
end (12) into the portioned section of natural hair (100).
[0026] FIG. 5 is an illustration of an alternate method of applying
the thermostable or liquid, water-resistant material (110) using a
small tool or brush (59).
[0027] FIG. 6 is an illustration of an alternate method of using a
thermostable, or liquid, water resistant material or applying by
means of a container which may, or may not, warm the material as it
is poured over the attachment causing the material to run through,
seep and ooze and create a shell or casing which holds the
attachment in place.
[0028] FIG. 7 is an illustration depicting the seeping (122) which
happens as the material is allowed to flow freely around the hairs
and embodiment (127) becomes hard creating a casing, a state which
embraces and holds the hairs in a position once the seeping (127)
has begun to dry.
[0029] Illustration shows guide/protector, as optional use as
pertains to the method, but shown in the illustrations for the
purpose of making the isolating the receiving hairs visible.
* * * * *