U.S. patent application number 13/451523 was filed with the patent office on 2013-10-24 for method for applying hair extensions.
The applicant listed for this patent is Tracee L. Teater Makinen. Invention is credited to Tracee L. Teater Makinen.
Application Number | 20130276807 13/451523 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49378965 |
Filed Date | 2013-10-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130276807 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Teater Makinen; Tracee L. |
October 24, 2013 |
Method for Applying Hair Extensions
Abstract
A method for affixing a plurality of extension hair strands to a
plurality of natural hair strands using the action of allowing a
natural wax material to seep or flow and purge moisture on its own
merit as opposed to being compressed or pressed, rolled or molded
by hand. A releasable fusing takes place which holds the extension
hair to the natural hair for an extended period of time or until
removed by hand by breaking back and forth for a few seconds
without the use of chemicals or pliers and without damage, pulling,
or tearing of the natural hair.
Inventors: |
Teater Makinen; Tracee L.;
(US) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Teater Makinen; Tracee L. |
|
|
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
49378965 |
Appl. No.: |
13/451523 |
Filed: |
April 19, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
132/201 ;
132/200 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41G 5/008 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
132/201 ;
132/200 |
International
Class: |
A41G 5/00 20060101
A41G005/00; A45D 24/00 20060101 A45D024/00 |
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 natural wax material to flow, seep or ooze
amongst the extension hairs and natural hairs when they meet, to
create a connection, or attachment, and allow the natural wax to
form a water-resistant and solid casing around and connecting the
hairs.
2. A process of claim 1 adding supplemental hair to the natural
hair which comprises: a. parting the natural hair into a quantity
of 1/8 to 1/4 inch 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 2b in which the proximal end of the extension hair
is comprised of a straightened, blunt, flat proximal end. 2. a
process of claim 2b whereas the extension hair is human or
synthetic. c. permeating a 1-2 cm length of the proximal end of the
bundle of extension hair into a natural wax material; 1. a process
of claim 2c in which the proximal end of each single strand in the
said bundle has natural wax touching on or around its embodiment to
eliminate shedding of the extension hairs. d. placing the proximal
end of the extension hair containing the natural wax onto the
section of natural hair; 2. a process of claim 2d where the natural
wax can be removed from the heating source, placed to the natural
hair section and allowed to seep, ooze and flow through the natural
hair section and create the casing. e. guiding the natural hair and
extension hair together at the beginning and end of the attachment
area; and f. without any compression, molding, rolling, allowing
the liquid material to seep or flow through all the hairs, natural
and extension, individually and forming a whole; g. allowing the
material to dry, harden and form a solid casing which embodies the
section of natural hair and extension hairs connecting them
together until they are removed;
3. Removal, without pulling or ripping the extension directly from
the natural hairs on the head of the wearer, by bending back and
forth to break up the dried natural wax casing, allowing the
connection to be broken up by bending the dried natural wax casing
back and forth within a few seconds for the extension to be removed
from the section of natural hair;
4. The method of claim 1 including the process which comprises
joining additional hair to the section of natural hair to form an
extension or addition to the natural hair, which process comprises:
a. parting the section of natural hair into a 1/8 to 1/4 inch
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. placing the proximal end of the
extension hair onto the 1/8 to 1/4 inch section of natural hairs;
d. holding the 1/8 to 1/4 inch section of natural hairs and
extension hairs together; and e. with a tool or machine permeating
the proximal end of the section of extension hair and the natural
hair at the attachment point with a liquid material; f. allowing
the liquid material to seep or flow through all the hairs; and g.
without compression or pressing the natural wax into the hair,
allowing the material to dry, harden and form a solid casing; h.
without pulling or ripping the extension directly from the natural
hairs on the head of the wearer, removing by bending back and forth
to break up the hard casing by hand within a few seconds allowing
the connection to be broken and the extension to be removed from
the natural hair section.
5. The method of claim 1 in which the dried natural wax material
can be broken up safely without damaging, tearing or ripping out
the natural hair from the head of the wearer, by bending the
connection back and forth by hand in a few seconds without the use
of pliers.
6. The method of claim 1 in which the dried natural wax material
can be removed by bending the connection back and forth by hand in
a few seconds without chemicals or oils.
7. The remaining dried natural wax residue can be removed
completely with a comb.
8. The method of claim 1 including the complete processes of the
method are repeated throughout the head of natural hair as to add
volume, lengthen and produce a collection of connections hidden in
the hair.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the natural hair is cleansed and
dried before attachment of the extensions, and any natural hairs
and extension hairs which have natural or chemically derived curl
or wave to them are straightened at the proximal ends of said hairs
to be included in the natural wax casing.
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 hard, cementing adhesives or need
for any chemicals or tools to remove the extension from the natural
hair.
[0003] 2. Description of Related 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] 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.
[0006] 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.
[0007] 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.
[0008] 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.
[0009] 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. No. 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.
[0010] 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.
[0011] 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.
[0012] 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 around
the hairs which then must be pressed with fingers or the heated
application tool while it remains hot and worked into the section
of hairs of the client's native hair. This polymer dries within a
few seconds apart from heat. Once dry, these formations can tend to
be so solid and concrete they become uncomfortable, they no longer
have the ability to be manipulated and shaped, and thus cause
comfort and safety issues 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. 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.
[0013] 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.
[0014] 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.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0015] This present invention differs from others in the fact a
heated natural wax is allowed to free-flow and seep through and
around natural hairs and extension hairs apart from their heating
source and without pressing, rolling or otherwise molding or
touching the material with the fingers or a hot tool forming a
smooth, water-resistant casing which binds a natural hair section
and extension strands together in a manner which is sufficiently
flexible. This invention seeks to supply a method which allows
removal to occur by bending the connection back and forth by hand
in a few seconds without the need for, or assistance from,
chemicals or pliers which can cause pulling, discomfort to the
scalp or damage to the hair and/or scalp from which, and whilst,
the extension hair is being removed.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is an illustration of the back of a head. Clean and
dried hair is parted (65) and a small portion (100) is readied for
attachment by a small disc-like guide (90) or protector held in
place with a clip (55).
[0017] 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) being straightened if wavy or curly and
having, preferably, a blunt cut edge. A natural wax material (110)
is used which is, prior to use, liquefied in a small electric
warmer (57). The proximal (12) end is submerged into the natural
wax material (110) ideally 1 to 2 centimeters.
[0018] FIG. 3 is an illustration of the extension hair bundle after
it has been submerged in the natural wax material (110).
[0019] 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 natural wax material (110) and placed on top
of the parted, clean and dry portion of natural hair (100). As
pertains to this present invention, the hair is gently held into
place and position approximately 1/4 inch from the scalp (320). The
natural wax material is removed from its heat source and is allowed
to seep, flow or ooze from the extension bundle's proximal end (12)
into the portioned section of natural hair (100) without
compression, molding or pressing the wax material into the
hairs.
[0020] FIG. 5 is an illustration of an alternate method of applying
the natural wax material (110) using a small tool or brush
(59).
[0021] FIG. 6 is an illustration of an alternate method of using a
natural wax material material by means of a heated machine or
container (58) which warms the natural wax material (110) before it
is poured over the attachment causing the material, apart from its
heat source, to run through, seep and ooze and create a shell or
casing, without compression. molding or otherwise touching the
natural wax material which, once it dries on its own, holds the
attachment in place.
[0022] FIG. 7 is an illustration depicting the seeping (122) which
happens as the natural wax material is allowed, apart from its
heating source, to flow freely, on its own, around the hairs and
embodiment without compression, pressing, rolling the natural wax
material into the hair (127) becomes solid creating a casing, a
state which embraces and holds the hairs in a position once the
seeping (127) has begun to dry.
[0023] FIG. 8 is an illustration depicting the removal without
chemicals or pliers by bending the embodiment back and forth by
hand for approximately 3 seconds to break up the solid, hardened
natural wax material causing it to flake and break off from the
hairs (77) and allow for the removal of the extension (13).
[0024] 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.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] This present invention differs from others in the fact a
heated natural wax is allowed to free-flow and seep through and
around natural hairs and extension hairs apart from their heating
source and without pressing, rolling or otherwise molding or
touching the material with the fingers or a hot tool forming a
smooth, water-resistant casing which binds a natural hair section
and extension strands together in a manner which is sufficiently
flexible. Unlike the prior methods which use water-proof
thermoplastic or thermostable adhesives, using a natural wax allows
for a flexible casing which accommodates the shape of the wearers
head and allows single hairs to move safely within its embodiment
and is releasable without necessitating the assistance of harsh
chemicals which tend to render removal difficult for the wearer and
the extension hair unusable.
[0026] 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 material used or the chemicals and/or
metal tools used to remove the binding natural wax material.
[0027] 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
compression or manipulation of the embodiment via the fingers which
typically can cause discomfort, pain or burns.
[0028] 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.
[0029] An object of my invention is to encourage the use of a
natural wax 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 and
without compression, pressing or otherwise any manipulation 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.
[0030] An object of my invention is to supply a method which allows
removal to occur by bending the connection back and forth by hand
in a few seconds without the need for, or assistance from,
chemicals, oils or pliers 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.
* * * * *