U.S. patent application number 14/846728 was filed with the patent office on 2017-03-09 for hair extension with reduced detectability.
The applicant listed for this patent is Lisa Kenna. Invention is credited to Lisa Kenna.
Application Number | 20170065014 14/846728 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58189170 |
Filed Date | 2017-03-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170065014 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kenna; Lisa |
March 9, 2017 |
HAIR EXTENSION WITH REDUCED DETECTABILITY
Abstract
A hair extension includes a section of hair and a substrate.
Hair strands of the section of hair are affixed together at a first
end by a solidified liquid polymer such that ends of the hair
strands are retained within the polymer across a width of the
section of hair. The substrate is attached to the polymer on one
side (e.g., a rear side) of the section of hair across at least
part of a width of the hair section. According to one exemplary
embodiment, the substrate is also a solidified polymer. The width
of the substrate, as measured along a length of the extension's
section of hair, is substantially greater than a width of the
polymer, as similarly measured. The wider substrate facilitates
reliable attachment of the extension to the user's hair, while the
narrower polymer enables the installed extension to remain
virtually undetectable.
Inventors: |
Kenna; Lisa; (Boca Raton,
FL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Kenna; Lisa |
Boca Raton |
FL |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
58189170 |
Appl. No.: |
14/846728 |
Filed: |
September 4, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41G 5/0073 20130101;
A41G 5/0046 20130101; A41G 5/008 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A41G 5/00 20060101
A41G005/00 |
Claims
1. A hair extension, comprising: a section of hair including a
plurality of hair strands affixed together at a first end by a
solidified liquid polymer, ends of the plurality of hair strands
being retained within the polymer across a width of the section of
hair; and a substrate attached to the polymer on one side of the
section of hair across at least part of the width of the section of
hair, wherein a width of the substrate is substantially greater
than a width of the polymer.
2. The hair extension of claim 1, further comprising: an adhesive
attached to an outward-facing surface of the substrate to
facilitate attachment of the substrate to natural hair of a
user.
3. The hair extension of claim 2, wherein the adhesive is
double-sided adhesive tape, wherein a first side of the adhesive
tape is attached to the outward-facing surface of the substrate and
wherein a second side of the adhesive tape is attachable to natural
hair of the user.
4. The hair extension of claim 3, further comprising: a removable
liner attached to the second side of the adhesive tape, the
removable liner protecting the second side of the adhesive tape
until removal of the liner from the adhesive tape.
5. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the substrate is attached
to the polymer across an entire width of the section of hair.
6. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the substrate is attached
to the polymer across a substantial portion of the width of the
section of hair, but less than an entire width of the section of
hair.
7. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the width of the polymer
is less than one-half the width of the substrate.
8. The hair extension of claim 7, wherein the width of the polymer
is approximately one-third the width of the substrate.
9. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the substrate is of a
sufficient width to support attachment thereto of one or more hair
clips across the width of the substrate.
10. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the polymer is
solidified liquid polyurethane.
11. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the section of hair has
a width in a range of approximately one inch to approximately four
inches.
12. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the width of the polymer
is in a range of approximately one-sixteenth of an inch to
approximately one-quarter of an inch.
13. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the polymer is
attachable to an adhesive on a side of the section of hair that is
not attached to the substrate.
14. The hair extension of claim 1, further comprising: one or more
hair clips secured to the substrate.
15. The hair extension of claim 14, wherein the one or more hair
clips comprises a plurality of spaced-apart hair clips secured to
the substrate substantially in a row across at least part of the
width of the substrate.
16. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the substrate and the
polymer are thin and pliable.
17. The hair extension of claim 1, further comprising: an adhesive
attaching the substrate to the polymer.
18. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the substrate is
solidified liquid polyurethane.
19. A hair extension, comprising: a section of hair including a
plurality of hair strands affixed together at a first end by a
solidified liquid polymer, ends of the plurality of hair strands
being retained within the polymer across a width of the section of
hair; a substrate attached to the polymer on one side of the
section of hair across at least part of the width of the section of
hair, wherein a width of the substrate is substantially greater
than a width of the polymer; an adhesive attached to a surface of
the substrate to facilitate attachment of the substrate to natural
hair of a user; and a removable liner attached to the adhesive, the
removable liner protecting the adhesive until removal of the liner
from the adhesive.
20. The hair extension of claim 19, wherein the width of the
polymer is less than one-half the width of the substrate.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to hair enhancement
techniques and more particularly to a hair extension configured to
be virtually undetectable when installed in a user's hair.
[0003] Description of Related Art
[0004] Hair extensions have been used in the hair styling industry
for many years. Users and stylists have made use of products to
enhance the length of a user's hair or to add body or bulk to
thinning hair.
[0005] To facilitate attachment to users' hair, existing hair
extension products typically use hair clips or adhesives. Clip-on
extensions are available for the home or professional market. Such
extensions are not semi-permanent, are typically re-applied daily,
and are generally feasible if the user's hair is thick enough to
cover the clip.
[0006] Other hair extension products on the market require the use
of a liquid adhesive to secure the extensions to users' hair. Such
a requirement generally prevents the average consumer from
installing their own extensions and liquid adhesive applied
directly onto a user's hair can damage the hair. Also, many
glued-in hair extensions require solvents for removal, which can
also damage the user's hair.
[0007] Some hair extension products on the market, including
certain embodiments described in U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. US 20090120451 A1, permit the use of double-sided
adhesive tape to secure extensions to a user's hair. In some cases,
the tape may be first placed on the user's hair and then the hair
extension may be attached to the tape. Alternatively, the tape may
be pre-attached to the hair extension and covered by a removable
liner until the hair extension is ready for installation.
[0008] Some hair extensions with which adhesive tape is used are
fabricated by applying a liquid polymer across the top end of a
section of hair and allowing the polymer to dry and solidify. Once
solidified, the polymer holds strands of the section of hair
together and may form a thin layer across and the front and back
sides of the hair. The width of the polymer is generally chosen to
accommodate the width of the adhesive tape and thereby allow the
adhesive tape to be attached to the polymer. Because the polymer is
applied evenly over the extension's hair, the width of the exposed
polymer on both sides of the extension is large enough to
accommodate the width of the double-sided tape. However, the
exposed polymer on the side of the extension which does not receive
the double-sided tape may be visually detectable when the extension
is attached to a user's hair, especially when the user's hair is
subjected to wind or other movement. The detectability of installed
hair extensions is a concern for many hair extension users.
SUMMARY
[0009] Generally, the disclosed embodiments relate to a hair
extension that includes a section of hair and a substrate attached
to one side of the section of hair to facilitate attachment of the
section of hair to natural hair of a user. According to one
exemplary embodiment, the section of hair includes multiple hair
strands affixed together at a first end (e.g., a top end) by a
solidified liquid polymer, which may be exposed on one side or both
sides of the section of hair. The ends of the hair strands are
retained within the polymer across a width of the section of hair.
The substrate is attached to the polymer on one side of the section
of hair (e.g., on the side of the section of hair to be attached to
the user's hair when the hair extension is installed) across at
least part of the width of the section of hair. A width of the
substrate is substantially greater than a width of the polymer. For
example, according to one embodiment, the width of the polymer is
less than one-half the width of the substrate and, more preferably,
about one-third the width of the substrate. Therefore, when the
hair extension is installed in a user's hair, the side of the
section of hair with the wider substrate is used to provide a
reliable and versatile attachment to the user's natural hair, while
the side of the section of hair with the much thinner exposed
polymer is virtually undetectable due to the thinness of the
exposed polymer. Additionally, according to a more preferable
embodiment, attaching the substrate to the polymer facilitates
freer and more natural movement of the extension's section of hair
after the extension has been installed in the user's hair. For
example, attaching the substrate to the narrower polymer allows the
substrate to pivot or rotate from the point or line of attachment
and thereby exhibit more natural movement together with the user's
natural hair.
[0010] The width of the polymer may be selected to be as small or
narrow as possible, while still achieving a desired adhesion to and
between the hair strands in the section of hair. The width of the
polymer may also be selected to permit sufficient adhesion to the
substrate, while reducing visibility of exposed polymer on the side
of the extension opposite the substrate. According to one exemplary
embodiment where the polymer applied to the extension's hair
strands is a liquid polyurethane, the width of the polymer, once
cured, dried, or otherwise solidified, is in the range of
approximately one-sixteenth of an inch to approximately one-fourth
of an inch. The width of the substrate may be selected to reliably
withstand a desired level of tension or pull once secured to the
user's hair (e.g., through use of an adhesive). According to one
exemplary embodiment, the width of the substrate may be in the
range of one-eighth of an inch to one-half of an inch.
[0011] According to an alternative exemplary embodiment, the hair
extension may further include an adhesive, such as a brush-on
adhesive, double-sided adhesive tape, or any other type of adhesive
or combination of adhesives, attached to an outward-facing side or
surface of the substrate (i.e., the side or surface of the
substrate that will be attached to the user's hair). Where the
adhesive is double-sided adhesive tape, a first side of the tape is
attached to the outward-facing side of the substrate, and a second
side of the tape remains outward-facing and is used to attach the
extension's section of hair to natural hair of the user. The
outward-facing side of the adhesive may be covered with a removable
liner to prevent the adhesive from sticking to other objects and
potentially losing some or all of its tackiness prior to
installation of the hair extension in a user's hair. The liner may
be removed at the time the hair extension is installed.
[0012] According to another alternative exemplary embodiment, one
or more hair clips may be secured to the substrate before or after
the substrate is attached to the solidified polymer. The hair clip
or clips may be attached to the substrate using any conventional or
future-developed means, including sewing, gluing, strapping, or a
combination thereof. Where multiple hair clips are used, the clips
may be spaced apart and secured to the substrate substantially in a
row across all or part of the width of the substrate. The hair clip
embodiment may be beneficial for a user who desires to install her
own hair extensions on a temporary basis and has thick enough hair
to generally hide the clips. The hair clip embodiment allows the
user to move or remove the hair extensions at the user's
convenience without necessarily requiring stylist involvement or
potentially damaging a pre-attached adhesive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals
refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the
separate views and which together with the detailed description
below are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve
to illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles
and advantages of the disclosed hair extension.
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an exemplary hair
extension.
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a rear view of the hair extension of FIG.
1.
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a back view of an alternative exemplary
hair extension.
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates the hair extension of FIG. 1 as viewed in
exaggerated form from a left end thereof.
[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative exemplary hair extension
as viewed in exaggerated form from a left end thereof.
[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates another alternative exemplary hair
extension as viewed in exaggerated form from a left end thereof
[0020] FIG. 7 illustrates yet another alternative exemplary hair
extension as viewed in exaggerated form from a left end
thereof.
[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates a further alternative exemplary hair
extension as viewed in exaggerated form from a left end
thereof.
[0022] FIG. 9 illustrates a back view of the substrate for the hair
extension of FIG. 8 showing exemplary application of an adhesive to
the substrate.
[0023] FIG. 10 illustrates a back view of a substrate for an
alternative exemplary hair extension showing attachment of
exemplary hair clips to the substrate.
[0024] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary attachment of the hair
extension of FIG. 8 to natural hair of a user.
[0025] Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the
figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not
necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of
some of the elements in the figures have been exaggerated alone or
relative to other elements to help improve an understanding of the
various disclosed embodiments.
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0026] In this document and the appended claims, relational terms,
such as "first" and "second," "top" and "bottom," "front" and
"rear" or "back," and the like are used solely to distinguish one
entity or element from another entity or element without
necessarily requiring or implying any physical, logical, or
directional relationship or order between such entities or
elements. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes,"
"including," "contains," "containing," "has," "having," and/or any
other variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive and
non-exhaustive inclusion, such that a process, method, article,
apparatus, device, or anything else that comprises, includes,
contains, or has a list of elements, characteristics, or features
does not include only those elements, characteristics, or features
but may include other elements, characteristics, or features not
expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article,
apparatus, device, or thing. The term "plurality of" as used in
connection with any object or action means two or more of such
object or action. The term "liquid" is intended to refer to any
form of matter that is not in its final, generally cured, dried, or
otherwise solidified form. A claim element proceeded by the article
"a" or "an" does not, without more constraints, preclude the
existence of additional identical elements in the process, method,
article, apparatus, device, or thing that includes the element.
[0027] Various embodiments of the disclosed hair extension may be
best understood with reference to FIGS. 1-11, wherein like elements
are indicated by like reference numerals. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate
one exemplary embodiment of such a hair extension 100. The hair
extension 100 includes a section of hair 102 and a substrate 201.
The section of 102 includes a plurality of hair strands 108 affixed
together at one end 104 (e.g., a top end) by a solidified liquid
polymer 106. The hair strands 108 hang freely at a desired or
predefined length at the other end (e.g., free end) of the section
of hair 102, which is not affixed together with the polymer 106.
The hair strands 108 may be straight, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and
2, or may curled, wavy, or in any other desired or preset form. The
hair strands 108 may be fabricated from human hair, synthetic
fibers, or a blend, as is known in the art. For example, the hair
strands 108 may be manufactured from a polyester that is capable of
being styled with a blow drier, flat iron, hot rollers, or other
heat appliances and behaves much like natural human hair.
Additionally, the hair strands 108 may be of the same color or a
combination of colors (e.g., to provide blending, highlighting,
low-lighting, or any combination thereof). The hair extension 100
may have any width as desired by a user or the user's stylist, but
extensions with widths in the range of approximately one inch to
approximately four inches or more are typical.
[0028] The polymer may be a liquid polyurethane or any other
appropriate liquid polymer-based adhesive, and may be clear (when
applied or solidified) or colored to generally match the color of
the hair strands 108. The liquid polymer may be applied to the hair
strands 108 of the extension 100 by brushing the polymer onto the
hair strands 108 along top end 104 of the section of hair 102, such
as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US
20090120451 A1, which publication is incorporated herein by this
reference as if fully set forth herein. With this approach, layers
of polymer and layers of hair strands 108 are interleaved and
intermingled so that the hair strands 108 are embedded in the
solidified polymer 106. Alternatively, the polymer may be in a gel
or paste form and applied with an appropriate tool or applique, or
from a tube or pouch. During application of the liquid polymer, a
form, mold, or other device may be used to limit the width of the
polymer as measured along the length of the section of hair 102.
According to another alternative embodiment, the liquid polymer may
be applied to the front side of the section of hair 102 while the
back side of the section of hair 102 rests upon the substrate 201.
In such a manner, the solidified polymer 106 may not only bond to
the hair strands 108, but may also bond or adhere directly to the
substrate 201, as generally illustrated in the edge view of FIG.
6.
[0029] After the polymer has solidified (e.g., cured, dried,
hardened, etc.) to its final state, a very thin layer of the
polymer 106 (e.g., less than about one-twentieth of inch thick and
more preferably less than about one-thirty second of an inch thick)
may be exposed on the front side of the section of hair 102 across
a width 109 of the section of hair 102. According to one
embodiment, the width 110 of the polymer 106, once solidified, may
be limited to a range of approximately one-sixteenth of an inch to
approximately one-quarter of an inch, although even smaller widths
may be used so long as the hair strands 108 are properly bound and
sealed. For the remainder of this disclosure, the front side of the
section of hair 102 or any hair extension embodiment described
herein will be the side illustrated in FIG. 1, and the back or rear
side of the section of hair 102 or any hair extension embodiment
described herein will be the side illustrated in FIG. 2.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, which side of any extension
described herein is deemed to be the front side or back side is not
critical for purposes of the present disclosure.
[0030] As illustrated in exemplary form in FIGS. 2 and 4, the
substrate 201 is attached to the section of hair 102 on a back side
of the extension 100. The substrate 201 may be a thin and flexible
or pliable material, such as a flexible polymer, plastic, rubber,
linen, cotton, polyester, or any other suitable substrate material.
For example, according to one embodiment, the substrate 201 may be
the same material as the polymer 106, such as, for example, a
solidified liquid polyurethane. Alternatively, the substrate 201
may be a thin, but more rigid material, such as, for example, a
rigid or generally inflexible polymer, plastic, rubber, or other
suitable material. The substrate 201 may be attached either
directly to the hair strands 108 along a narrow strip at the the
top end 104 of the section of hair 102 or, more preferably, to the
exposed polymer 106, either directly as illustrated in FIG. 4 or
through use of an optional adhesive 501 as illustrated in the hair
extension 500 of FIG. 5. Alternatively, where a slightly more
resilient or robust feel is desired to be achieved after
installation, the substrate 201 may be attached directly to the
hair strands 108 across its entire width 203, instead of just
across the width 110 of the polymer 106, as illustrated in the hair
extension 600 of FIG. 6.
[0031] To further reduce the detectability of the hair extension,
at least some of the hair strands 108 of the section of hair 102
(e.g., the lastly-applied layer of hair strands 108 during
fabrication of the hair extension) may cover the polymer 106 on the
front side of the extension and be sealed only to the back side of
the extension as illustrated by the extension 700 of FIG. 7. In
other words, layers of polymer and hair strands 108 may be
interleaved as described above, with the last layer of hair strands
being laid on top of the polymer and wrapped around to the back
side of the extension 700, where the hair strands 108 of the last
layer are sealed with polymer on the back side of the extension.
When the polymer 106 solidifies, little to no polymer 106 is
viewable from the front side of the extension 700. In this
embodiment, the substrate 201 may be attached to the polymer 106 on
the back side of the extension 700 using an adhesive 501, such as
was described above with respect to FIG. 5.
[0032] Irrespective of how the substrate is secured to the polymer
106 and/or the section of hair 102, the width 203 of the substrate
201 is much larger than the width 110 of the solidified polymer 106
to facilitate reliable attachment of the substrate 201, and
accordingly the hair extension 100, to natural hair of a user.
According to one embodiment, the width 203 of the substrate may be
at least twice the width 110 of the polymer 106 or, equivalently,
the width of the polymer 106 may be less than one-half the width
203 of the substrate 201. By way of example and not limitation, the
width 110 of the polymer 106 may be approximately one-third the
width 203 of the substrate 201. While the width 110 of the polymer
106 is substantially less than the width 203 of the substrate 201,
the width 110 of the polymer 106 may still be sufficient to permit
attachment to an adhesive on the front side of the section of hair
102, such as to enable the extension 100, 300, 500, 600 to be
attached to a user's natural hair which is placed against the front
side of the extension 100 and the polymer 106 during installation
of the extension 100 in the user's hair.
[0033] In an alternative embodiment, the substrate 201 may be
formed or constructed at or about the time that the liquid polymer
is applied to the hair strands 108 of the section of hair 102. In
such a case, a blocking agent or device may be applied to or
positioned on the back side of the section of hair 102 just below a
desired width 110 of the hair strand-securing polymer 106 to
prevent the applied polymer intended to form the substrate 201 from
adhering to and between the strands of hair 108. In other words,
the hair strand-securing polymer and the substrate-forming polymer
may be contemporaneously applied using the same liquid polymer,
while insuring that the width 110 of the solidified hair
strand-securing polymer 106 is much narrower than the width 203 of
the substrate 201.
[0034] In a further alternative embodiment as illustrated in FIG.
6, the substrate 201 may be similarly formed or constructed at or
about the time that the liquid polymer is applied to the hair
strands 108 of the section of hair 102, but without use of a
blocking agent or device. In this case, the polymer intended to
form the substrate 201 may adhere to and between the strands of
hair 108. However, to prevent the substrate 201 from showing
through to the front side of the extension 600, the polymer used
for forming the substrate 201 would stop being applied before the
last group of hair layers were added and sealed just using the much
narrower width polymer on the front side of the extension 600.
[0035] The substrate 201 may be attached across an entire width 109
of the section of hair 102, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
Alternatively, the substrate 301 may be attached across only part
of the width 109 of the section of hair 102, for example as shown
on the hair extension 300 illustrated in FIG. 3. The length of the
substrate 301, as measured across the width 109 of the section of
hair 102, may be selected based upon the needs of the user and/or
the amount of surface area needed to securely and reliably attach
the hair extension 300 to the user's natural hair, as determined by
the user and/or the user's stylist.
[0036] Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, an alternative exemplary
hair extension 800 may include a section of hair 102 in which hair
strands 108 are affixed together at a first or top end by a
solidified liquid polymer 106 such that the top ends of the hair
strands 108 are retained within the polymer 106 across a width of
the section of hair 102. According to this exemplary embodiment,
the substrate 201 is directly attached to the polymer 106 on the
back side of the section of hair 102 and an optional adhesive 801
is attached to an outward-facing surface (e.g., the surface facing
away from the section of hair 102) of the substrate 201. The
adhesive 801 attached to the outward-facing surface of the
substrate 201 facilitates attachment of the substrate 201, and
therefore the hair extension 800, to natural hair of a user.
According to one embodiment, the adhesive 801 attached to the
outward-facing surface of the substrate 201 may cover most or all
of the substrate's surface area, as shown in FIG. 9, to provide a
strong, reliable adhesion to a user's natural hair. Alternatively,
the adhesive 801 attached to the outward-facing surface of the
substrate 201 may cover a substantial portion of the substrate's
surface (e.g., 50% or more of the substrate's surface area),
depending on the particular design and intended use of the hair
extension 800.
[0037] The adhesive 801 attached to the outward-facing surface of
the substrate 201 may be any type of adhesive used in the hair
styling industry, but more preferably is a double-sided adhesive
tape. Thus, the adhesive 801 may be brushed on, stuck on, or
otherwise applied as is conventional in the art. Where an adhesive
501 is used to attach the inward-facing surface of the substrate
201 to the polymer 106 (e.g., as in the embodiment of FIG. 5), the
adhesive 801 attached to the outward-facing surface of the
substrate 201 may be the same as, or different than, the adhesive
501 securing the inward-facing surface of the substrate 201 to the
polymer 106.
[0038] A removable liner 803 may be optionally attached to the
exposed side of the adhesive 801 to protect the adhesive 801 from
contacting any objects and potentially losing some or all of its
tackiness prior to installation of the hair extension 800 into a
user's hair. The liner 803 may be removed (e.g., peeled off) and
discarded prior to attaching the adhesive 801 and its associated
hair extension 800 to a user's hair.
[0039] According to yet another alternative exemplary embodiment as
illustrated in FIG. 10, the substrate 1001 attached to the polymer
106 on the back side of the hair extension may be of a sufficient
width to support attachment thereto of one or more hair clips
1003-1005 (three hair clips being shown for illustrative purposes).
The hair clips 1003-1005 may be of any conventional or
future-developed form and material, and may be spaced apart across
all or part of the width of the substrate 1001. Where multiple hair
clips 1003-1005 are included, the clips 1003-1005 may be arranged
in a row horizontally across the substrate 801, such as illustrated
in exemplary form in FIG. 10.
[0040] The hair clips 1003-1005 may be secured to the substrate
1001 using any conventional or future-developed means, including
sewing, gluing, strapping, or any combination thereof. For example,
as illustrated with respect to hair clip 1003, the clip 1003 may
include a frame 1007 and a set of prongs 1009 connected to the
frame 1007. The frame 1007 may include a pair of side members 1011,
1012 and a transverse member 1014 interconnecting the side members
1011, 1012. The side members 1011, 1012 may include one or more
holes 1016. The hair clip 1003 may be attached to the substrate
1001 by sewing or stitching the clip 1003 to the substrate 1001
through one or more of the clip's holes 1016 and around the clip's
side members 1011, 1012 and/or around the clip's transverse member
1014. Alternatively or additionally, as illustrated with respect to
hair clip 1004, the hair clip's frame 1007 may be attached to the
substrate 1001 using an adhesive 1018, which may be a solidified
liquid adhesive, double-sided adhesive tape, or any other
acceptably strong adhesive. Still further, as illustrated with
respect to hair clip 1005, the hair clip's frame 1007 may be
attached to the substrate 1001 by sewing or stitching the clip 1005
to the substrate 1001 using vertical stitching through and between
the holes 1016 in the clip's side members 1011, 1012. The use of
such vertical stitching enables the clips 1005 to maintain a lower
profile than when the clip's frame 1007 is sewn onto the substrate
1001 as illustrated with respect to hair clip 1003.
[0041] The hair clip or clips 1003-1005 may be attached to the
substrate 1001 before or after the substrate 1001 is attached to
the extension's solidified polymer 106. For example, according to
one exemplary embodiment in which the hair clips 1003-1005 are
attached to the substrate 1001 before the substrate 1001 is
attached to the extension's solidified polymer 106, the substrate
1001 containing the hair clips 1003-1005 may be attached to the
polymer 106 using an adhesive 501, such as described above with
respect to FIG. 5. Exemplary methods for securing hair clips to
hair extensions are also disclosed in U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. US 2011/0253165 A1, which publication is
incorporated herein by this reference as if fully set forth
herein.
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 11, there is shown an exemplary
attachment of the hair extension 800 of FIG. 8 to natural hair 1101
of a user. The extension 800 may be secured to the user's hair 1101
by removing the protective liner 803 (when included) and attaching
the underlying adhesive 801 to the user's hair 1101 either above or
below a part (not shown) previously formed in the user's hair 1101.
Alternatively or additionally, the hair extensions 100, 300, 500,
600, 700 of FIGS. 1-7 may be attached to natural hair 1101 of a
user using any other conventional attachment method, as well as any
of the attachment methods disclosed in U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. US 20090120451 A1 or U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 14/752,976, which application is incorporated by this reference
as if fully set forth herein. Where hair clips 1003-1005 are
attached to the substrate 1001 instead of an adhesive 801, the hair
clips 1003-1005 are used to secure the hair extension to the user's
natural hair 1001.
[0043] According to one exemplary embodiment where the substrate
201 is intended to be attached to the user's hair 1101 using only
an adhesive 801, the substrate 201 may be preferably attached to
the back side of the section of hair 102 using the process as
described above with respect to FIG. 6. On the other hand, where
the substrate 1001 includes attached hair clips 1003-1005, the
substrate 1001 may be attached to the polymer 106 or the back side
of the section of hair 102 in any manner described above.
[0044] The foregoing disclosure describes various hair extension
embodiments that are virtually undetectable when installed in a
user's natural hair. Certain embodiments of the disclosed
extensions also enable the extensions to feel very comfortable to
their users, especially where the extensions do not include any
hair clips. Further, various embodiments of the disclosed hair
extensions facilitate flexibility and movement, such that when they
are installed in a user's hair, the extensions substantially
emulate the motion and feel of the user's own hair.
[0045] In the foregoing disclosure, a hair extension has been
described with reference to specific embodiments. However, one of
ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various
modifications and changes may be made without departing from the
spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the
appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to
be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and
all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope
of the present invention.
[0046] Benefits, advantages, and solutions to problems have been
described above with regard to specific hair extension embodiments.
However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any
element(s) that may cause or result in such benefits, advantages,
or solutions to become more pronounced are not to be construed as a
critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all
the claims. The present invention is defined solely by the appended
claims and all legally-permissible equivalents of those claims
and/or their constituent elements as issued.
* * * * *