Hair Extension Methods And Accessories

Abstract

A hair extension accessory that provides coverage, fullness, length and/or color to the user's hair and can offer such on the top of the head from ear to ear, the sides of the head from ear to ear, the front of the head from ear to ear, and/or the lower back of the head, using components comprising filament loops or portions of a circle, hair pieces (e.g., hair locks, hair twists, hair wefts, dreadlocks, etc.), and attachment fixtures that attach the hair pieces to the filaments in an adjustable and bendable manner without necessitating the use of clipping or sewing onto existing hair or glue that can cause pain, weaken existing hair follicles, and cause hair thinning and baldness.

Claims

1. A hair extension accessory for a user comprising: a. at least one filament in the form of a loop or in the form of a portion of a circular shape; b. two or more hair pieces in the form of hair locks, hair twists, hair wefts and/or dreadlocks; c. two or more attachment fixtures; d. wherein each attachment fixture attaches in a moveable and bendable manner a hair piece to at least one filament without the use of glue, clipping onto existing hair, or sewing onto existing hair; and e. wherein each hair piece can be moved on at least one filament and bent into a position that is desired for purposes of providing more hair coverage, better undetectability, fuller coverage, longer coverage, and/or more color, the position comprising a position on the top of the head from ear to ear, the sides of the head from ear to ear, the front of the head from ear to ear, and/or the lower back of the head.

2. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the use of the hair extension accessory does not cause hair thinning and/or baldness.

3. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the hair extension accessory can be used to match a color, style, or type of hair, including fine hair, dreadlocks, afro hair styles, and/or short or long curly hair styles.

4. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the at least one filament is clear, transparent, skin-toned, and/or the color of the user's hair.

5. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the at least one filament is made of plastic, cloth, metal and/or natural material or fiber, and is in the form of a line, thread or a headband.

6. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the at least one filament in the form of a portion of a circle is in the shape of a headband which extends from ear to ear and does not encircle the entire user's head.

7. The hair extension accessory of claim 6 wherein the at least one filament in the form of a portion of a circle comprises semi-bendable material such as rubber, rubber-like material, and/or plastic.

8. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the at least one filament comprises two or more filaments.

9. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the at least one filament comprises two to four filaments.

10. The hair extension accessory of claim 8 wherein the two or more filaments are bonded together to position each band in a different location of the user's head to provide desired coverage.

11. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the at least one filament is in the form of a loop that has two ends that are connected to one another with a hook and eye, a snap closure, or the ends are bonded or otherwise joined together to close the loop.

12. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 where the at least one filament in the form of a loop is stretchable and it provides a snug and secure fit on the user's head.

13. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the attachment fixtures each comprise threads, rings, and/or bendable wires.

14. The hair extension accessory of claim 13 wherein the bendable wires can provide changeable shapes to each hair piece.

15. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the attachment fixtures each comprise bendable wires that are sewn to a hair weft and a filament.

16. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein the attachment fixtures each comprise a metal piece with teeth that encloses around a hair piece and a filament.

17. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein each hair piece is a hair weft that is from about 1 to about 6 inches wide and is of any length needed by the user.

18. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein at least one hair piece is attached to more than one filament.

19. The hair extension accessory of claim 1 wherein at least one hair piece is a hair weft constructed with wire that holds the natural hair together in the hair weft.

20. A method of providing hair extension coverage and/or color to a user's head, the method comprising: a. fitting at least one hair extension accessory to the user's head, the hair extension accessory comprising at least one filament and two or more hair pieces in the form of hair locks, hair twists, hair wefts and/or dreadlocks, each hair piece attached to at least one filament with at least one attachment fixture; and b. moving and bending each hair piece attached to at least one filament to a position that is desired for purposes of providing more hair coverage, fuller coverage, longer coverage, and/or more color, the position comprising a position on the top of the head from ear to ear, the sides of the head from ear to ear, the front of the head from ear to ear, and/or the lower back of the head.

21. A method of making a hair extension accessory for a user's head comprising: a. shaping and sizing at least one filament to provide a foundation for the hair extension accessory to fit the user's head; b. attaching at least one hair piece in the form of hair locks, hair twists, hair wefts and/or dreadlocks to the at least one filament using at least one attachment fixture, wherein the hair piece can be moved and bent on the at least one filament to a position that is desired for purposes of providing more hair coverage, fuller coverage, longer coverage, and/or more color, the position comprising a position on the top of the head from ear to ear, the sides of the head from ear to ear, the front of the head from ear to ear, and/or the lower back of the head.

22. A hair extension accessory for a user comprising: a. at least one filament in the shape of a loop or in the shape of a portion of a circle, wherein the at least one filament is clear, transparent, skin-toned, and/or the color of the user's hair, and wherein the at least one filament is made of plastic, cloth, metal and/or natural material or fiber, and is in the form of a line, thread or a headband; b. two or more hair pieces in the form of hair locks, hair twists, hair wefts and/or dreadlocks; c. two or more attachment fixtures, wherein each attachment fixture attaches a hair piece to at least one filament without the use of glue, clipping onto existing hair, or sewing onto existing hair; d. wherein each hair piece can be moved on at least one filament to a position that is desired for purposes of providing more hair coverage, fuller coverage, longer coverage, and/or more color, the position including a position on the top of the head from ear to ear, the sides of the head from ear to ear, the front of the head from ear to ear, and the lower back of the head; e. wherein the use of the hair attachment accessory does not cause hair thinning and/or baldness; f. wherein the hair attachment accessory can be used to match a color, style, or type of hair, including fine hair, dreadlocks, afro hair styles, and/or short or long curly hair styles; and g. wherein each hair piece is bendable by the user to provide coverage over a selected area of the head.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a partial schematic of components of embodiments of this invention, including one filament, three hair pieces (i.e., hair wefts), and one attachment fixture (i.e., bendable wire).

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a partial schematic of components of embodiment of this invention, including three filament loops, two hair pieces (i.e., dreadlocks), and one attachment fixture (i.e., a ring).

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a partial schematic of components of embodiment of this invention, including two filament loops, three hair pieces (i.e., hair wefts), and six attachment fixtures (i.e., thread that sews the hair pieces onto the filaments at the corners of the hair pieces).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Certain embodiments of this invention are comprised of multiple moveable hair pieces attached to a filament with the filament's ends attached to one another to form a loop, or in the form of a portion of a circle without its ends joined, and which is difficult to detect when worn. The user can slide the hair pieces along the filament to areas on the head that need more coverage, length, texture, fullness and/or color. The user can also bend the hair pieces to a desired shape and position on the head.

[0027] The filament of certain embodiments of this invention are undetectable, or at least difficult to detect, and they can be smooth or tacky to the touch in different embodiments. They also can stretch or not stretch in different embodiments, or otherwise fit on the head with tension, like that of a head band. Certain preferred embodiments of the filaments are stretchable to provide a snugger fit on a user's head. The filaments can be clear, transparent, brown, black, blonde, skin tone color, the color of any existing hair on the user, or any other color chosen. The filament can be made of plastic, cloth, metal, or natural material or fiber line, or other material, in the form of thread, wire, wider bands, and or other shapes or structures.

[0028] The filaments can be in the form of complete loops (e.g., a length of filament with its two ends joined to form a generally roundish or circular shape) or portions of circles and circular shapes (e.g., an arc (e.g., similar to a hairband), a portion of a roundish, oval or circular shape, a half-circle, a half-oval).

[0029] The filament loops of certain embodiments can be formed by fusing, bonding, melting, or otherwise connecting (e.g., a hook and eye-like closure) the two ends of a filament together. In certain embodiments, two, three, four or more filament loops are formed by joining (e.g., fusing, bonding, melting or otherwise connecting) the ends of the individual filaments together or to a larger loop.

[0030] The filaments that are in the form of a portion of a circle of certain embodiments of this invention can be comprised of one head band or made of several head bands connected together. Some of these embodiments use filaments of a soft plastic and/or rubbery material that is semi-bendable but still maintains its general shape and it is positioned over the crown of the head and it does not encircle the entire head. In some of these embodiments the filaments maintain their position on the head by spring or other tension (e.g., similar to a head band).

[0031] In certain embodiments, the filaments are camouflaged and positioned within layers of the user's own hair on the back, top, front, and side of the head.

[0032] Certain embodiments of the hair pieces that are hair wefts are of any length and as wide as about one inch to about six inches or more. Each hair weft is comprised of hundreds of artificial or natural hair strands connected to a seam by, for example, sewing (e.g., by machine or hand) or tying (e.g., my machine or hand). The hair strands may be attached to a strip of material (e.g., cloth, lace) to hold them together. Two or more hair wefts can be attached to each other to provide a larger hair weft with more hair thickness by bonding, glue or sewing. It is generally preferred, however, to use one hair weft with adequate thickness than to use two or more hair wefts attached to one another to create the adequate thickness because one hair weft of adequate thickness may prevent bulkiness on the scalp and may be less detectable than multiple hair wefts attached to one another.

[0033] In certain embodiments, instead of the hair piece being comprised of hair strands combined to form a hair weft, it is comprised of dreadlock hair pieces, that are used in the same manner (i.e., sewn to a filament and are moveable from side to side and backwards and forwards on the filament to provide coverage where needed).

[0034] In certain embodiments, the hair pieces are each attached (e.g., sewn) to a filament and each hair piece can vary in width, length, thickness, texture, and color. The hair pieces are attached to the filament by an attachment fixture, which can be comprised of plastic, cloth, metal, natural material or fiber, or combinations of such, in the form of lines, threads, wraps, wires (e.g., bendable wires), clips, rings or staples (e.g., made of wire), clasps, wire prongs, or other similar means, including hardware and other components known to a person of skill in the art.

[0035] In certain preferred embodiments, the hair pieces are, for example, sewn to the filament with a stitch of thread as the attachment fixture that still allows the user to slide the hair pieces side to side along the filament, as well as backwards and forwards along the filament, to desired areas on the head.

[0036] In certain preferred embodiments, the hair pieces are constructed by using wire to attach the hair to the hair piece (e.g., a hair weft constructed by using wire instead of thread to attach the hair to the hair weft). This permits enhanced shaping and placement of the hair piece when compared to not using wire. In particular, it provides for the ability to move the hair piece along the filament to position it where needed or desired. In some of these embodiments, the attachment fixture is not a wire, and instead a thread is used to attach the hair piece to the filament.

[0037] Some hair pieces also can have a thin, durable, bendable wire (e.g., of the approximate same width as the hair piece) as their embodiment of the attachment fixture, which is layered on top of the hair piece and then sewn to the filament with a stitch or otherwise attached to the filament in a manner that permits movement along the filament. The wire allows for the hair piece to bend and hold different positions, facilitate blending of the hair and placement over a target area for coverage, hide more easily under a user's hair, and prevent the filament from sliding off the user's head.

[0038] In certain preferred embodiments, a thin metal piece with teeth encloses around the hair piece and the filament to serve as the attachment fixture. This embodiment is a thin semi-bendable, metal piece with teeth that squeeze firmly around the hair piece and the filament, still allowing movement forwards, backwards and side to side on the filament when positioned on the user's head. The material for the filament in these embodiments may be made of metal, plastic, natural material or fiber, or any other suitable material. These embodiments provide advantages for a user who wants hair pieces that can be easily removed. In certain of these embodiments, the user can readily replace different hair pieces with different lengths, widths, textures and colors on the filament.

[0039] Preferred attachment fixtures are readily detachable from the filaments by the user and thus can be replaced with others or removed and not used. In these embodiments, the attachment fixtures still permit the hair pieces to be moved to a particular place on the filaments as desired by the user. An example of such an attachment means is a small, thin, undetectable plastic or metal piece with teeth that squeezes firmly around the hair piece and attaches to the filament but which still permits movement of the hair piece on the filament.

[0040] In certain preferred embodiments, the hair piece is sewn (with a matching or translucent thread) to the bendable wire (i.e., attachment fixture embodiment) and the full filament loop, or half circular (head band style) filament, always allowing movement forwards, backwards and side to side on the filament.

[0041] In certain embodiments, the hair pieces are permanently attached to the filaments, but still moveable, and may not be switched out. In certain preferred embodiments the hair pieces are bendable. In other preferred embodiments the hair pieces are not bendable.

[0042] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating aspects of this invention. The schematic shows a hair extension accessory and certain of its components, including hair pieces in the form of a hair weft 10 and an attachment fixture in the form of a bendable wire 20 that loops around the single filament 1 and attaches to the hair weft 10 so that the hair weft 10 is moveable around the filament 1 and it can be placed where needed on the user.

[0043] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating different aspects of this invention than FIG. 1. This schematic shows a hair extension accessory that will be placed on a user's head and it has three filament loops (1, 2, 3) that are fused together 4, with a hair piece in the form of dreadlocks 11 attached to the first filament loop 1 and the third filament loop 3 that are moveable around their filaments (1, 3) and which can be placed where needed by the user. While this schematic shows a representation of dreadlocks, hair locks, hair twists, hair wefts and/or dreadlocks can be used in the same manner. In addition, this schematic shows a representation of the use of three filaments in a band, however one, two, three, four or more filaments can also be used in a band.

[0044] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating different aspects of this invention than FIGS. 1 and 2. This schematic shows a hair extension accessory that will be placed on a user's head and it has two filament loops (1, 2) that are fused together 4, with three hair pieces 10 in the form of hair wefts 10 attached to the first filament loop 1 and the second filament loop 2 by attachment fixtures (here, threads, although other embodiments can be used) 12, wherein the hair pieces 10 are moveable around their filaments (1, 2) and which can be placed where needed by the user. The upper two hair wefts shown 12 will generally fall horizontally on the user's head. While this schematic shows a representation of hair wefts, other hair pieces can be used in the same manner. In addition, this schematic shows a representation of the use of two filaments in a band, however one, two, three, four or more filaments can also be used in a band.

[0045] The advantages of certain of the embodiments of this invention include little or no hair loss, little or no pain, and little or no weakening of the existing hair follicles. These embodiments provide fullness, length, versatility and color on the top of the head from ear to ear, the sides of the head from ear to ear, the front of the head from ear to ear, as well as the lower back of the head.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

[0046] Although the present invention has been described with reference to teaching, examples and preferred embodiments, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain its essential characteristics, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. Such equivalents are encompassed by the scope of the present invention.