COSMETIC TREATMENT METHOD AND ASSEMBLY FOR PERFORMING SAID METHOD

Abstract

A cosmetic treatment method including the steps of (a) applying an adhesive to an area of the scalp, (b) applying fibres to said area covered with adhesive, belonging to a bunch of at least 50 entangled fibres, said bunch including fibres having, at least over part of their length, a radius of curvature of between 1 and 10 mm, preferably between 1 and 5 mm, the application taking place in such a way that for at least some of the fibres of the bunch, they only come into contact with the adhesive over part of their length.

Claims

1. A cosmetic treatment method comprising: (a) applying an adhesive to an area of the scalp, (b) applying fibres to said area covered with adhesive, belonging to a bunch of at least 50 entangled fibres, said bunch comprising fibres having, at least over part of their length, a radius of curvature of between 1 and 10 mm, the application taking place in such a way that for at least some of the fibres of the bunch, they only come into contact with the adhesive over part of their length.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said bunch comprising between 50 and 1000 fibres.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least half of the fibres of the bunch having a radius of curvature over at least part of their length of between 1 and 5 mm.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the length of the fibres of the bunch, when straightened, being between 1 and 100 mm, the standard deviation being such that σ/m>20%.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the average diameter of the fibres of the bunch being between 40 and 120 μm.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the application of the fibres to said area being performed manually by tapping the area covered with adhesive with the bunch held between two fingers.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said bunch comprising curly fibres.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bunch comprising fibres of circular cross-section.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bunch comprising fibres of non-circular cross-section.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein for at least half the fibres of the bunch, they only come into contact with the adhesive over at most 20% of their length.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein some of the fibres of the bunch remaining attached to the fibres already deposited, by entanglement therewith, without coming into contact with the adhesive.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein with SL between 6 and 12%, where SL is the ratio between, firstly, the sum of the lengths of fibres deposited with a portion thereof in contact with the adhesive and, secondly, the sum of the lengths of all the fibres of the bunch.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the application of fibres from at least two bunches to said area, such that at least some of the fibres of one bunch come into contact with the fibres of another bunch.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein at least some of the fibres of a bunch being held on the scalp without contact with the adhesive by entanglement with the fibres of this bunch and by contact with the fibres of the other bunch.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bunch is in the general form of a ball before its application.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bunch comprising fibres of length less than 5 mm and fibres of length greater than 5 mm.

17. An assembly for performing the method as defined in claim 1, comprising: at least one bunch of at least 50 entangled fibres, said bunch comprising fibres having a radius of curvature of between 1 and 10 mm, over at least part of their length, an adhesive to be applied to an area of the scalp.

18. The assembly according to claim 17, wherein the fibres and the adhesive being packed in the same package.

19. The assembly according to claim 17, further comprising a bunch as defined in claim 2.

20. The assembly according to claim 17, wherein all the fibres of the bunch being of length greater than 5 mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The invention may be better understood from reading the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments thereof and from examining the attached drawing, in which:

[0047] FIG. 1 shows an example of an assembly according to the invention,

[0048] FIG. 2 shows in isolation a bunch of fibres before it is applied to the scalp,

[0049] FIG. 3 illustrates the use of a bunch,

[0050] FIG. 4 shows an alopecic area before treatment, and

[0051] FIG. 5 shows the area after treatment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] FIG. 1 shows an example of an assembly 1 for performing the method according to the invention.

[0053] This assembly 1 comprises a cosmetic adhesive A for application to the scalp, contained in a container 2. Said container may be of any type and may include any means of application, such as a fine brush or an applicator end piece; the adhesive may also be applied by spraying. The adhesive A is chosen for example from polymers, in particular those having a Tg<20° C. and preferably <−20° C., in particular from polyacrylates or polymethacrylates or copolymers containing acrylate units or alkyl methacrylate with a carbon chain greater than C4.

[0054] The adhesive may also be a non-polymeric compound, such as a wax with a melting point <40° C.

[0055] The polymer or wax may be dissolved in an appropriate solvent and in particular a volatile solvent (the boiling point of which is preferentially <190° C. and preferably <140° C.).

[0056] The polymer or wax may also be in a dispersed form, in other words in the state of microscopic particles in a solvent that is incapable of dissolving said polymer or wax. In particular, the polymer or wax may be dispersed in water or in a volatile organic solvent such as isododecane.

[0057] The polymers or waxes preferably have a mass concentration of >20%.

[0058] The assembly 1 also comprises bunches 4 of fibres, which may or may not be packaged separately. Each bunch 4 is in the general form of a ball, for example, as shown in FIG. 2. In the example shown, the bunches 4 are packaged in bulk in a box 5.

[0059] The container 2 and the box 5 may be sold together to the user in a common package 6, of the blister pack or case type, for example.

[0060] Each bunch 4 is formed by a bundle of entangled fibres F, which retains its cohesion when manipulated by hand, for example by being held between two fingers. In other words, the fibres of a bunch 4 are sufficiently in contact with one another that they are not separated when handled.

[0061] The fibres of each bunch 4 are chosen so as to produce a result that blends with the hair remaining in or adjacent to the area to be filled.

[0062] For each bunch, fibres having the following features are preferably used:

1) Length: The average “extended” length of the fibres is between 1 and 100 mm, preferably between 3 and 80 mm, better still between 5 and 40 mm; the standard deviation of the distribution of lengths of the fibres in a bunch is preferably such that σ/m >20%, better still >30%.
2) Diameter: The average diameter of the fibres is between 40 and 120 μm.
3) Cross-section: The cross-section of a fibre may be any shape: non-circular, in particular twisted elliptical or elliptical, or circular.
4) Curvature: The radius of curvature of at least a portion of the length of the fibres is between 1 and 10 mm, for example between 1 and 5 mm.

[0063] With such features, a density and distribution of fibres close to the natural density is obtained, and application is simple.

[0064] The material of the fibres may be chosen from natural or synthetic materials. As natural materials, keratin fibres, fibres based on cellulose or modified cellulose, such as cotton, viscose or linen, may be chosen. As synthetic materials, polyamides (Nylon), PBT, PE, PP, acrylic fibres (modacrylic) or polyester fibres may be chosen.

[0065] The fibres may be entangled during fabrication, by tossing, for example.

[0066] The cosmetic treatment according to the invention is performed as follows.

[0067] The adhesive A is applied to a number of areas Z of the scalp on which it is desired to deposit the fibres F in order to recreate the impression of the presence of a head of hair at this point or to give the impression of a denser head of hair. The adhesive A is applied in such a way that the skin has an adhesive appearance. The film of adhesive formed on the skin may be continuous or discontinuous.

[0068] Then, the bunches 4 are grasped one by one between the thumb and the index finger, in order to apply them to the adhesive A, as shown in FIG. 3. In this way, the fibres are brought into contact with the adhesive as a group rather than individually.

[0069] The fibres F are applied by touches to the adhesive. The application is performed by tapping successively on the area to be treated. Often, the area to be treated is larger in size than the diameter of the bunch, and so the bunch is moved over the adhesive surface until either there are no more fibres in the bunch or the area to be treated is covered with fibres in an aesthetic manner. In the case of a small bunch, all the fibres may be applied in one go, where appropriate.

[0070] Optionally, the treatment may be finished by rubbing the area Z with the fibres deposited thereon in order to homogenise or improve the contact between the fibres and the adhesive.

[0071] The fibres F are preferably brought into contact with the adhesive A in such a way that they are only partially in contact with the adhesive, for example over at most 20% of their length. The application of a bunch of entangled fibres in a generally spherical form ensures that when the fibres are brought into contact with the adhesive, there is a minority of fibres for which the plane with the curve is parallel to the plane formed by the adhesive film. The risk of fibres having too great a contact length is reduced in this way.

[0072] This advantageously ensures that not all of the fibres are in contact with the adhesive, benefiting from the entanglement of the fibres to hold the fibres that are not attached directly to the skin by the adhesive. An SL ratio as defined above of less than 12% can be achieved in this way. Furthermore, this approach enables fibres from one bunch to help to hold the fibres from another bunch.

[0073] If necessary, to improve the hold of the fibres when they are handled, it is possible to manipulate the bunch of fibres between the fingers, by pressing and rolling the ball of fibres between the fingers, which tends to reinforce their entanglement.

[0074] Such a manipulation is particularly useful for bunches 4 composed of fibres of length greater than 5 mm.

[0075] In the case of shorter fibres, of length less than or equal to 5 mm, the grip can be improved by integrating longer fibres into the bunch or by combining several bunches, namely a bunch of short fibres and a bunch of longer fibres, by mixing them, in order to form a more cohesive bunch.

Example

[0076] A film of PROS-AIDE Cream Blend 331 Adhesive is applied to an area Z of the scalp, as shown in FIG. 4. A fine brush, a coarse brush, a sponge, a flocked applicator or a siliconised applicator may be used.

[0077] After a few minutes, the film reaches its maximum tack.

[0078] At this precise moment, bunches of fibres are brought into contact with the adhesive. The fibres are brought into contact with the adhesive by tapping the bunch against the adhesive present on the area to be treated, as shown in FIG. 3. It is easy to control the quantity of fibres deposited, by repeating the operation in the same area.

[0079] The result shown in FIG. 5 is obtained.

[0080] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, a bunch of fibres may be applied by holding said bunch with an applicator. Just part of the bunch of fibres may be grasped, using tweezers. These may be direct-action tweezers, i.e. applied by means of the user's hand, the user controlling the gripping force, especially when the only remaining fibres are in the pinch area. In another configuration they may be reverse-action tweezers, i.e. a spring applies the gripping force.

[0081] The applicator may equally be in the form of a pad, the transfer area of which is slightly adhesive. Bringing this adhesive area into contact with a bunch of fibres enables the bunch to be handled and moved to the treatment area. The adhesive capacity of the applicator is lower than the adhesive capacity of the glue applied to the treatment area.