Hair Styling Device Imparting an Updo Hairstyle When Worn and a Different Curled or Straightened Hairstyle When Removed

Abstract

A hair styling device features a headband worn along a hairline of a user's head and spanning around a crown thereof, an ornamental appearance displayed on a front portion of the headband across the forehead along a front hairline, and a flexible hair roller at a rear portion of the headband to create an updo hairstyle at a rear hairline across the back of the user's head. The ornamental appearance of the front portion and the updo hairstyle cooperatively impart a stylistic effect around the crown of the user's head when worn, while a wound state of the hair around the rear portion imparts a styling action that leaves behind a different hairstyle effect when the headband is removed. The styling action may impart a straightening effect on naturally curly hair, or a curling effect on naturally straight hair.

Claims

1. A hair styling device comprising: a headband wearable in a working position lying along a hairline of a user's head to span around a crown of the user's head with a front portion of the headband spanning generally across a forehead of the user's head and a rear portion of the headband spanning across a back of the user's head behind the ears thereof; the front portion of the headband comprising an ornamental appearance for display in a visible manner across the forehead along a front of the hairline in the working position of the headband; and the rear portion of the headband comprising a flexible hair roller for wrapping of hair of the user upwardly around said flexible hair roller from therebehind to create an updo hairstyle at a rear of the hairline across the back of the user's head between the ears thereof; whereby the ornamental appearance of the front portion and the updo hairstyle cooperatively impart a stylistic effect around the crown of the user's head in the working position of the headband, while a wound state of the hair around the rear portion of the headband imparts a styling action that leaves behind a different hairstyle effect than the updo hairstyle when the headband is removed.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the front portion of the headband comprises auxiliary hair providing the ornamental appearance by complimenting the user's hair at the front of the hairline.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the auxiliary hair has a pre-set style.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the front portion of the headband comprises one or more braids.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the front portion comprises one or more jewel settings.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the front portion comprises one or more items of jewelry strung thereacross.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the front portion comprises a fabric band.

8. The device of claim 1 comprising one or more hair clips attached to the front portion of the band for use in securing the headband in the working position at the front of the hairline.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein the flexible hair roller comprises a tubular cover enclosing a hollow interior space and one or more inserts received or receivable within said tubular cover.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the one or more inserts are selectively removable from the tubular cover.

11. The device of claim 9 wherein each of the one or more inserts comprises a moisture-absorbing material.

12. The device of claim 9 in combination with a separate heater operable to heat the one or more inserts.

13. The device of claim 9 wherein said one or more inserts comprises a self-heating insert.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein said self-heating insert comprises a power cable exiting the tubular cover to connection to an external power supply.

15. A method of using the device of claim 1 comprising wearing the device in the working position imparting the stylistic effect in a social setting.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising removing the device from the working position, thereby removing the updo hairstyle from the user's hair and using the different hairstyle effect left behind to achieve a different hair aesthetic wearable in the same, or a different, social setting.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the styling action imparted to the hair in the wound state thereof around the rear portion of the headband is a curling action, whereby the different hairstyle effect left behind is a curled effect by which the different hairstyle aesthetic achieved is curlier than a natural state of the user's hair.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the user's hair is naturally frizzy and the styling action imparted to the hair in the wound state thereof around the rear portion of the headband is a straightening action, whereby the different hairstyle effect left behind is a straightened effect by which the different hairstyle aesthetic achieved is straighter than a natural state of the user's hair.

19. A hair styling device comprising: a headband wearable in a working position spanning around a crown of the user's head with a front portion of the headband spanning generally across a forehead of the user's head and a rear portion of the headband spanning across a back of the user's head behind the ears thereof for wrapping hair of the user into a wound state around said rear portion of the headband to impart a styling action on said hair; a cover defined at the rear portion of the headband to enclose a hollow interior space within said cover; one or more heated or heatable inserts received or receivable within said tubular cover to cooperate therewith to form a flexible a flexible hair roller for wrapping of hair of the user around said flexible hair roller to impart a curling action on said hair, whereby a heated state of the one or more inserts inside the tubular cover improves the styling action on said hair.

20. A hair styling device comprising: a headband wearable in a working position spanning around a crown of the user's head with a front portion of the headband spanning generally across a forehead of the user's head and a rear portion of the headband spanning across a back of the user's head behind the ears thereof; the rear portion of the headband comprising a flexible hair roller for wrapping of hair of the user around said flexible hair roller to impart a styling action on said hair; wherein the flexible hair roller comprises a moisture permeable outer cover and moisture absorbing material disposed within said outer cover.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0054] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a hairstyling device according to one embodiment of the present invention, which features a headband with a braided ornamental front half for wearing across the forehead at the front hairline, and a flexible roller-like rear half for wrapping of hair thereover to hold the hair in an updo style curled around this roller at the back of the head during wearing of the device.

[0055] FIG. 2 is an isolated view of a removable insert of the roller-like rear half of the FIG. 1 device.

[0056] FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of a device similar to that of FIG. 1, and illustrating insertion of the removable insert of FIG. 2 into a tubular cover of the roller-like rear half of the headband.

[0057] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a variant of the hairstyling device of FIG. 1 in which a jeweled set of chains has been substituted for the braided hair at the ornamental front half of the headband.

[0058] FIG. 5 is a plan view of a variant of the hairstyling device of FIG. 4 showing a different jeweled chain configuration at the ornamental front half of the headband.

[0059] FIG. 6 illustrates wrapping of the user's hair around the roller-like rear half of the headband of FIG. 1.

[0060] FIG. 7 is a rear view of the worn headband of FIG. 6 with the hair of the user fully wrapped around the roller-like rear half of the headband along the rear hairline at the back of the user's head to create an updo hairstyle.

[0061] FIG. 8 is a side view of the worn headband of FIG. 7 illustrating how the updo-styled hair wrapped around the roller-like rear half of the headband cooperates with the braided front half of the headband to create a stylistic halo or ring-like appearance around the crown of the user's head.

[0062] FIG. 9 is a perspective elevational view of an electric heater for pre-heating the removable insert of the device prior to insertion into the tubular cover of the headband to improve a styling action imparted by the roller-like rear half of the headband on the hair wrapped therearound.

[0063] FIG. 10 illustrates another variant of the hairstyling device featuring a self-heating insert.

[0064] In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0065] FIG. 1 shows a wearable hairstyling device 10 in the form of a closed loop stretchable headband 12 configured to fit securely on the wearer's head in a working position spanning circumferentially around the crown of the wearer's head in a manner generally following the wearer's hairline. A front half 14 of the headband features a cluster of hair 15 tied into a braided pattern for wearing on the user's forehead in a position lying thereacross over the front of the user's hairline. The hair used on the device may be real human hair, or synthetic hair. Whether real or synthetic, this hair of the device is also referred to herein as auxiliary hair in order to distinguish it from the user's natural hair. A rear half of the headband 16 features an elongated flexible insert 18 that has a circular cylindrical shape, is made of or contains moisture-absorbing material (e.g. foam), and is encapsulated within a tubular cover 20 whose opposite ends are respectively coupled to the two ends of the front hair braid 14 at connections 22 so that the tubular rear cover 20 and the front hair braid 14 collectively define the closed-loop shape of the overall headband 12.

[0066] In the drawings, the tubular cover 20 is transparent or translucent in order to visually reveal the insert 18 placed within the hollow interior of the cover, but it will be appreciated from the described use of the device that the tubular cover need not be transparent, and can be made of an opaque material. The selected fabric of the tubular cover 20 is resiliently stretchable, at least in the longitudinal/axial direction of its elongated tubular shape spanning the respective half of the closed loop of the overall headband. This longitudinal stretchability of the rear half of the headband enables enlargement of the overall closed-loop shape of the headband to allow the headband to stretch over the top of the user's head into the working position spanning around the crown of the head at hairline level, whereupon the resiliency of the rear tubular cover 20 will self-tighten the headband 12 into secured circumferential relation to the user's head.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 1, hair extension clips 23 are sewn to the front hair braid 14 to enablement attachment of the hair braid to the user's hair along the front hair line with the hair extension clips 23. Together with the tension of the stretched rear half of the headband, these clips 23 help keep the braid in place and prevent the braid from slipping off of user's head.

[0068] With reference to FIG. 2, the insert 18 of the illustrated embodiment features a circular cylindrical outer casing 24 of air and moisture permeable material, in which a moisture absorbing material (solid, or non-solid) is contained between an end cap 26 at one end of the casing 24 and an opposing closed end 28 of the casing. The casing is flexible or bendable in all directions across its longitudinal axis so that it will flex during stretching of the headband onto the user's head, and will generally conform around the user's head in the working position of the headband. With reference to FIG. 3, the tubular cover 20 features an open or openable slit or access hole 20a in one side of the tubular cover near one end thereof to enable insertion and withdrawal of the insert 18 thereto and therefrom, for reasons described herein further below. The circular cylindrical shape of the insert imparts a circular cylindrical shape to the tubular cover when inserted therein, whereby the resulting circular cylindrical shape of the overall rear half of the headband creates an effective hair roller around which the user's natural hair can be wound, as described below.

[0069] With reference to FIG. 6, with the insert 18 received inside the tubular cover 20 at the rear half 16 of the headband, the user slips the headband 12 downwardly into place over the crown of the head until the front braid 14 resides generally of the front hairline at the top of the forehead and spans from an area just over or behind one ear to the matching area over/behind the other ear, and the rear half 16 of the headband spans around the back of head between the user's ears at roughly hairline level. In this working position of the headband, the user's hair naturally hangs downward from behind the headband. One tuft a time, this naturally hanging hair is wrapped upwardly and externally over the roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband 12, and back down the inside of the headband between the rear cover 20 and the user's head. This wrapping of the hair tuft may be made easier by pulling the roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband away from the user's head to open up a space between the headband and the user's head, as shown in FIG. 6. The hair tuft is repeatedly wrapped around the roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband in this manner, until the full length of the hair tuft is coiled around the rear half of the headband. This process is repeated tuft-by-tuft, from a first tuft of natural hair at one temple, and around the back of the head to the other temple, until all the natural hair has been wrapped around the roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband.

[0070] The finished result is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, where the coiled tufts of hair tightly wound around the rear half of the headband create a unique updo hairstyle in which a pronounced rim of coiled hair extends along the rear hair line from one ear to the other. From each end of this rim of coiled natural hair at the rear and sides of the head, the front hair braid 14 spanning across the front hairlines creates a continued extension of this rim, whereby the coiled natural hair and braided auxiliary hair create a full ring or halo aesthetic spanning around the entirety of the user's head. The roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband is entirely concealed from sight by the natural hair wound therearound, and the front braid 14 provides an ornamental appearance across the front hair line that compliments and accentuates the updo style of the wearer's natural hair, as maintained by the roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband.

[0071] When worn for a sufficient length of time by a user having naturally straight hair, later removal of the headband will inherently leave curls or waves in the areas of the user's natural air that were wound tightly around the roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband 12. In other words, at the rear half 16 of the headband, the tubular cover 20 and the insert 18 received therein effectively define a flexible hair roller that conformingly spans around the back of the user's head from one ear to the other in order to impart a curling action on the natural hair wound around this flexible roller. So while the headband serves as a curl/wave imparting hairstyle appliance leaving behind a curled/wavy hairstyle after removal, similar to the overnight hairbands of the prior art, it also has an entirely unique ornamental mode of operation serving to achieve and maintain a unique updo hairstyle while worn. Accordingly, the device is not limited to overnight applications, as it can be worn out of the house for any number of different outings, including special events or other social settings where the desire for a stylistic appearance is fulfilled by the unique updo achieved by the worn use of the device.

[0072] For optimal results, before winding the user's natural hair around the rear roller of the headband, the user's natural hair is first pre-dampened by spraying/misting thereof with water, a water-based spray primer or other suitable hair product. The natural hair is then rolled around the roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband, and set. Once the natural hair is wound on the headband, it is the drying process of hair from damp to dry that sets and forms the wave/curl in the naturally straight hair. In the case of the present embodiment, the drying of the hair is aided by the moisture absorbing material in the insert 18 of the roller-defining rear half 16 of the headband. This moisture absorption is effective on the user's dampened natural hair via the air and moisture permeable materials employed for the tubular cover 20 of the headband 12 and the casing 24 of the removable insert 18. This process, damp-to-dry setting of the natural hair, lasts much longer than any other form of curling hair, and will usually last at least two days, even without application of heat. However, applicant has also developed a unique variant of this process that further involves the use of heat to further contribute to the curling action of the device.

[0073] However, before turning to the heated variant, attention is given to potential variations on the design of the headband itself. As discussed above, the braided hair headband of FIG. 1 provides a unique overall hairstyle with a natural hair updo at the back and an auxiliary hair braid at the front when worn. The headband shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 features a singular braid spanning the front half of the headband, but other variants could have a double braid. The style of each braid may also vary from the traditional braid shown in the drawings, and for example may include a herringbone or fishtail braid. The size of the braid may of course also be varied, for example as shown by the difference in braid size illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. Other variants could use one or more lengths of braided material other than hair to provide similar ornamental effect, for example braided strands of natural or synthetic/faux leather.

[0074] FIGS. 4 and 5 show additional variants of the headband design, where the ornamental function of the front half 14 of the headband is provided by a jeweled set of chains. FIG. 4 shows one chain configuration in which a primary chain 30 spans the entirety of the headband's front half 14 by having its opposing ends coupled to the ends of the tubular cover 20 at connections 22, and a series of smaller secondary chains 32 hang end-to-end with one another along the primary chain 30. A gem setting 34 with a cluster of gems (which may be real gemstones or costume-grade simulated gemstones) hangs centrally of the primary chain 30 between two adjacent secondary chains. FIG. 5 shows another chain-ornamented version of the front half 14 of the headband with a primary chain 30, and a singular secondary chain 32 residing centrally of the primary chain with its two ends suspended therefrom, and a respective gem setting 34a, 34b attached centrally to each chain to hang therefrom and support one or more gems.

[0075] These are of course only two illustrative examples of jewelry chain configurations having one or more chains formed in a conventional manner by interlocking chain links. While the two illustrated chain examples include gem settings, other variants may lack such gems, and instead rely solely on the ornamental value of the chains, or may instead use charms or other ornamental attachments coupled to the chains instead of gem settings. Interlocking chain links are just one example of using jewelry ornamentation in place of braided material, and other examples may include one or more strings of pearls, or other strung jewelry items.

[0076] As another ornamental alternative to braids, chains or other strung jewelry at the front half of the headband, a simple band of fabric may span between the two ends of the rear tubular cover at the front of headband, and may carry one or more gems thereon, and/or have a printed or natural ornamental pattern thereon. This ornamental band may be resiliently stretchable, and thus contribute to the self-fitting self-securing resiliency of the overall headband, or may be made of a non-stretchable fabric. Cotton and spandex are just two examples of a larger variety of fabrics that may be employed for use in a jewelled, non-jewelled, printed or naturally patterned fabric band at the ornamental front half of the headband.

[0077] While the device is described above as useful to impart a curling or wavy effect to naturally straight hair, the device may alternatively be used to help smooth out naturally curly or frizzy hair. In such instance, the wrapping of the hair around the roller-defining rear half of the headband, where the thickness of the headband exceeds the diameter of the frizzy hair's tight natural curls, helps reduce the curliness/frizziness of the natural hair, as the radius of curvature imparted to the hair by its wound condition around the headband notably exceeds the much smaller radius of the tight natural curls. Most people with naturally curly hair tend to use a curling iron to reduce frizz and smooth their hair for a loose wave effect. Heat damage from such practices ironically causes so much damage that the user's hair gets exponentially more damaged, thus inducing more frizz, which then must be smoothed out every day by daily repetition of the same damage-inducing process. The conventional hot tool method is thus not a solution, but rather just a self-perpetuation of the problem. Unheated use of the presently disclosed headband thus provides the frizzy haired user's with a safe, non-damaging option for straightening or smoothing their natural curls.

[0078] As mentioned above, though the presently disclosed headband may be used in an entirely unheated fashion to fully avoid any and all possible heat damage, a heated variant is also disclosed herein that uses some heat to help set the natural hair, but without the direct, high temperature hair-metal contact of conventional hot tools.

[0079] This is illustrated in FIG. 9, which shows an electric heater 40 having a singular cylindrical heating chamber 42 opening downwardly into the heater housing at the topside thereof. The heating chamber 42 is sized for slidable lowering of the insert 18 into the chamber once the insert 18 has been removed from the headband. The heater thus pre-heats the insert 18 prior to insertion thereof into the tubular cover 20 of the headband, whereby the heat stored by the insert 18 in the worn headband will radiate out through the fabric of the tubular cover 20 into the hair wound around the rear half of the headband, where the heat will contribute to setting of the hair into the curled/straightened state. However, the tubular cover 20 provides a layer of physical isolation between the hair and the heated insert 18, thus reducing the direct contact experienced with conventional hot tools. Also, the flexible/bendable insert 18 is not metal, and is not heated to the dramatic levels of conventional hot tools, as the insert 18 must be of low enough temperature to prevent burning or damage of the tubular cover 20 and the user's scalp that resides behind the tubular cover in the worn state of the headband.

[0080] The illustrated heater 40 features an electrical cord 44 with a conventional plug 46 for mating with a mains power socket, an on-indicator light 48 confirming the powered-up state of the heater when plugged in, and a ready-indictor light 50 that illuminates after completion of a heating cycle to inform the user the insert 18 has reached a pre-set temperature, for example 285 to 390 degrees Fahrenheit, and is ready for use.

[0081] Termination of the heating cycle may be determined by expiration of a timer, for example employing a heat cycle time of 75-seconds, or detected confirmation that a target temperature has been reached. The visually distinct cap 26 at one end of the illustrated insert 18 serves as a visual marker of safe handle end by which the insert 18 can be manually grasped after heating. The length of the heating chamber 42 of the heater is shorter than the axial length of the insert 18, whereby insertion of the insert 18 into the heater marker-side-up ensures that this visually marked end 26 of the insert remains cooler to the touch than the remainder of the insert that resides directly inside the heating chamber 42 during the heating cycle.

[0082] When the ready-indicator light illuminates, the user pulls the insert 18 from the heater by the cool handling end 26, and places the insert into the tubular cover 20 of the headband 12. The insert 18 may feature use of ionic energy which neutralizes the positive charges in the air that cause frizziness and static electricity. Ionization of hair rollers as part of a heating cycle is already known, for example as disclosed for example in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0118425, the entirety of which is incorporated herein, and so further details of the similar ionization of the headband insert of the present invention is not explicitly disclosed herein.

[0083] As an alternative to a removable insert that is heated up externally of the headband and then inserted into the tubular rear half of the headband, FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment employing a self-heating cylindrical insert 18 received in the rear tubular cover 20 of the headband, which in the illustrated example employs a simple strip-shaped span of stretchy material to form the front half 14 of the overall headband. The rear tubular cover 20 in this embodiment may lack a sufficiently sized slit or opening by which the insert can be removed, instead intending for the insert to remain a permanent fixture of the headband remaining inside the tubular cover at all times.

[0084] The insert 18 features an electrical cord 44 that exits the tubular cover via a smaller opening or slit therein, and that has a suitable power plug 46 for mating with a conventional AC mains power socket or other suitable power supply. With the user's hair wrapped around the roller-defining rear half of the headband, the electrical cord is plugged in, and the insert 18 warms to a predetermined temperature, e.g. 385 to 390 degrees Fahrenheit, for example reaching this operating temperature in a heating-cycle time of approximately 75-seconds. The elevated operating temperature of the self-heated insert sets the hair within 1-2 minutes, causing the hair to take on the shape of the round cylindrical insert to form waves/curls in the hair, as described for the earlier removable-insert embodiment.

[0085] Once the hair is set, the self-heating insert is turned off, whether by unplugging of the power cable or by actuation of an optional on/off switch. In this unpowered state terminating the heating function the insert cools down, and the cooling allows the hair to set and lock further into place, rather than relying just on heat alone. The cooling closes the cuticle of the hair, which locks it into place in the form of the wave/curl, making the waves last much longer, than if heat alone was applied. This embodiment features a non-ornamental stretchy fabric span at the front half, as it is not intended be to worn for stylistic purposes. On the other hand, the power cord may be selectively detachable from the insert 18 to allow the headband to be worn out as a style accessory, in which case the braided or jewellery-based front halves of the other embodiments may be employed. FIG. 12 also shows optional clips 52 made of heat conductive material that may be used to better hold the hair in place along the roller-defining of the headband.

[0086] It will be appreciated that the benefits of a removable heatable roller insert 18 and/or the benefit of using a moisture absorbent material in the insert may be employed for headband-type hair styling devices, regardless of whether they have an ornamental front half suitable for wearing during an outing or are less-aesthetic overnight products intended only for private use. Likewise, the front-ornamented headband need not necessarily employ moisture absorbent material in the rear roller-defining half of the headband or feature a removable/heatable insert in order to allow the headband to fulfill its ornamental, updo styling function.

[0087] Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the scope of the claims without departure from such scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.