The present invention relates to a process for removing non-adherent elements from the skin of living beings.

The skin of living beings is frequently recovered with scales, excess of grease or similar particularly in very hairy regions of the body such as the scalp in case of human beings. Generally such scales are continuously formed on the skin during the whole life of the living being.

It is further known that living beings continuously leave hairs during their life. Of course this loss of hairs is normally important in very hairy regions such as the scalp of human beings.

For hygienic and healthy reasons it is generally requested to remove periodically such non-adherent elements from the skin of living beings particularly human beings.

It is known to use strips having an adhesive wax or similar thereon to remove unwanted hairs ( (US Patent No.

1 620 539). This known method is easy, rapid and inexpensive. However when using such strips all the hairs which are put in contact with the adhesive wax of the strip are removed from the skin. This may be a

disadvantage for certain applications, particularly to remove scales or lost hairs from the scalp without damage to the hairs which are in a growing phase.

For certain applications, particularly for very hairy regions such as animal fleece or man and woman scalp there is thus a need for a means which is adapted to remove non adhesive elements from the skin (such as scales or lost hairs) without damage for the hair.

Accordingly it is an aim of this invention to provide a process which is adapted to remove non-adherent elements from the skin of living beings without altering hairs.

Accordingly the invention relates to a process for removing non-adherent elements from the skin of a living being, comprising applying an adhesive on said skin and tearing said adhesive from said skin, this process being characterized in that said adhesive is selected among those having an adhesive strength which is lower than the greatest anchorage strength of hairs in said skin.

It is known that hairs grow from follicles that undergo cyclical phases of growth and rest. It is generally considered that the hair cycle comprises four successive phases. A first phase (the anagen phase) corresponds to an intense activity of the follicles with hair production and growth at the skin surface. The duration of the anagen phase varies greatly with the species and the age and from region to region of the body. The end of the anagen phase corresponds to an arrest in hair production and a shrinkage of the dermal papilla. It is followed by

the so-called catagen phase where the dermal papilla undergoes an ascending movement together with the hair shaft. The catagen phase is thus characterized by an apparent elongation of the hair fiber which reflects the outward migration of the hair shaft. The catagen phase is completed when the dermal papilla abuts the bottom of the hair follicle and no hair elongation is observed at the skin surface. It is followed by the telogen phase which is a true resting stage. During this third phase the dermal papilla expands and attracts epithelial cells from the bulge of the follicle in a downward movement. The epithelial cells then start production of a new unpigmented hair fiber. This corresponds to the end of the telogen phase and the beginning of the exogen phase with hair shedding. [Handbook of Cosmetic Science and Technology; A. O. Barel, M. Paye and H. I. Maibach editors, Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York Basel, 2001, pages 35-46 : Ghassan Shaker and Dominique Van Neste (Skinterface sprl, Tournai, Belgium),"Hair" (Figure 1 of pages 38 and 39)].

The anchorage strength of a hair fiber in the skin varies with time. In case of human beings it generally decreases from the anagen to the exogen phase : during the anagen and the catagen phases the hairs are generally strongly anchored in the skin; the anchorage of the hairs in the skin is less strong during the telogen phase and it is very weak during the exogen phase. However this is not a generality for any living being. For some animals (notably pigs) the anchorage strength of hairs in the telogen phase is normally greater than the anchorage strength of the hairs which are in the anagen phase.

The duration of the hair cycle is influenced by a series of factors such as species, age, standard of living and region of the skin (Rodney Dawber & Dominique Van Neste, "Hair and Scalp Disorders"Martin Dunitz Editors, London, 1995pages 11-14; Dominique Van Neste & Hugh Rushton "Hair Problems in Women" ; Elsevier Science Inc.; 1997; pages 113-114).

In this invention, non-adherent elements are elements which do not belong to the living skin and are at most loosely attached to the skin. They may comprise dust, solidified particles of sebum or of coagulated blood, detached hairs and any similar elements."Non-adherent" means that these elements are either not attached to the skin or only loosely attached to the skin."Loosely attached to the skin"means that the attachment strength of these elements to the skin is lower than the greatest anchorage strength of hairs in said skin. So in case of human beings, the attachment strength of these elements to the skin is lower than the anchorage strength of the hairs which are in the anagen phase.

In the process according to the invention the adhesive is any means adapted to seize or catch said non-adhesive elements. It may be glue. However preferred adhesives comprise elastic macromolecular matrices. With an elastic macromolecular matrix the non-adhesive elements and the hairs are seized and anchored in the matrix and there is competitiveness between the anchorage strength of the hair fibers in the follicles and the elasticity of the polymeric matrix and this competitiveness allows a selective removal in function of the anchorage strength.

Polymers with decreasing elasticity allow selective removal in function of the anchorage of the fiber which will be removed.

Generally silicon-based adhesives are convenient.

In an advantageous embodiment of the process according to the invention the adhesive is used as a coating on a strip, preferably a flexible strip, for example a tissue or a plastic sheet.

The process according to the invention is particularly adapted to remove hairs which are in the aforesaid exogen phase of the hair cycle.

Thus according to a particular embodiment of this invention in case of human beings the adhesive is selected among those having an adhesive strength which is higher than the anchorage strength of the hairs in exogen phase but lower than the anchorage strength of the hairs which are in the telogen phase. This embodiment of the invention is adapted to remove the hairs which are in exogen phase while the hairs which are in the anagen, catagen and telogen phases are not affected.

The process according to the invention as defined above is adapted to clean skin from any unwanted elements such as scales, dusts and solidified particles of sebum or blood. It may be use for thinning the hair of men or women by removing hairs from the scalp which are in an exogen phase without damage to the hairs which are in either the anagen, the catagen or the telogen phases.

The process according to the invention has an application in the preparation of a skin surface before making very fine photography thereof or for scientific studies of the hair cycles.

A second aim of the invention is thus the use of the invention process defined above for peeling away the skin of human beings or for thinning hairs of human beings.

It is known that hair loss is influenced by different factors, particularly the origin or species, age, sex, living conditions and standard of living. To appreciate the influence of each or a plurality of these factors on the hair cycle and the hair loss there is a need for a means to measure the hair loss in living beings.

Accordingly a further object of the invention is a method to measure the hair loss from the skin of living beings, this method comprising in a first step applying on said skin an adhesive selected among those having an adhesive strength which is higher than the anchorage strength of hairs in exogen phase but lower than the anchorage strength of the least anchored hairs other than those which are in exogen phase; in a second step tearing said adhesive from said skin and in a third step counting the amount of hairs which have been detached from the skin in said second step.

Subsequently this method according to the invention will be designated"hair-loss measuring method".

In the hair-loss measuring method according to the invention, the adhesive may advantageously be a calibrated coating on a strip.

The hair-loss measuring method according to the invention has several applications for animals and human beings.

When the hair-loss measuring method according to the invention is used for measuring hair loss of human beings said. least anchored hairs are the hairs which are in the exogen phase. Accurate analysis of hair loss of animals or human beings is more and more requested to have a better knowledge of the action of different parameters or factors on the loss of hairs, such as the species, age, sex and living conditions. Thus in addition to the analysis of the hair loss from the scalp of living beings (particularly human beings) the hair-loss measuring method according to the invention allows to measure parameters of the detached hairs such as for example the thickness, length, colour, genetic material, etc.

In this application of the measuring method of the invention it may be interesting to obtain a pattern of hair loss from the skin of living beings, particularly from the hair scalp of human beings. It is indeed known that the loss of hairs from the scalp is not uniform on the surface of the scalp but varies greatly from region to region of the scalp. There is thus a need for a knowledge of the topographical distribution of the hairs on men or women scalp, and particularly for the modifications in this topographical distribution with time or other physical or physiological factors.

Accordingly a further object of the invention is a method to obtain the pattern of hair loss from the skin of living beings, this method comprising in a first step dividing the skin in a plurality of zones; in a second step applying on one of said plurality of zones an adhesive with an adhesive strength which is higher than the anchorage strength of hairs in exogen phase but lower than the anchorage strength of the least anchored hairs other than those which are in exogen phase; in a third step tearing said adhesive from said one zone; in a fourth step counting the amount of hairs detached from the skin in said second step; and repeating second to fourth step to at least some of the other zones of said plurality of zones.

Subsequently this method according to the invention will be designated"hair-loss-pattern obtaining method".

In the first step of the hair-loss-pattern obtaining method according to the invention, a specific means to divide the skin. in a plurality of zones may be to dispose a mask on the skin, this mask having openings separated by strips of a material which is impervious to the adhesive applied in the second step. So the adhesive used in the second step of the process will pass only through the openings of the mask and attain the scalp.

The second step of applying an adhesive, the third step of tearing the adhesive and the fourth step of counting the amount of hairs are similar to those steps explained above for the process and the hair-loss measuring method according to the invention and may thus be carried out by similar means.

In the hair-loss-pattern obtaining method according to the invention counting the hairs detached in each zone of the scalp will give a pattern or topographical distribution of the hair loss on the scalp.

A particular embodiment of the hair-loss-pattern obtaining method according to the invention comprises spreading a marking product (for example a liquid dye) on the skin. In this embodiment the dye is selected among those having an adhesive strength or surface tension which is lower than the detachment strength of the adhesive in the third step of the method. So the marking product will attain and remain only in the follicles of the skin where hairs have been removed from in the third step of the method. This will allow a better visual appearance of hair loss on the skin.

The invention concerns also an apparatus adapted to obtain the pattern of hair loss from the skin of living beings according to the method which has just been defined above, said apparatus comprising a mask, means to apply said mask on a specific zone or region of the skin, means to apply an adhesive on said specific zone or region of the skin in said mask, means to tear said adhesive from the skin and means to count hairs detached by the adhesive.

In the apparatus according to the invention the adhesive may be a liquid one. In this embodiment of the apparatus of the invention, the means to apply the adhesive on the skin may be a brush or a spraying device.

In another embodiment of the apparatus according to this invention the means to apply the adhesive on the skin comprises a flexible strip having a coating of said adhesive thereon.

In the apparatus according to the invention any convenient means may be used to count hairs detached by the adhesive.

The apparatus according to the invention is adapted to obtain the pattern of hair loss of animals or human beings. It is particularly well adapted to have a pattern of scalp hair loss of men or women.

The characteristics of the invention disclosed above may be used and adapted to the measure of the quality of manufactured products comprising fibers attached to a support, particularly of carpets or similar.

Accordingly the invention relates also to a method to measure a quality scale of a manufactured product having fibers attached to a support member, said method comprising in a first step applying at least one adhesive on said product, having an adhesive strength which is lower than the normal attachment strength of the fibers to said support member, in a second step tearing said adhesive from said product and in a third step counting the amount of fibers detached from the support member in said second step.

Subsequently this method according to the invention will be designated"product-quality measuring method".

In the product-quality measuring method according to the invention the amount of fibers detached from the product support member is a measure of the solidity of the product or of its wear.

In a particular embodiment of the product-quality measuring method according to the invention, the first to third steps are repeated with another adhesive having an adhesive strength which is greater than the adhesive strength of the adhesive first used. This embodiment of the invention allows a better definition of the solidity of the manufactured product.

In another embodiment the product-quality measuring method according to the invention, further comprises before said first step, dividing said support member in a plurality of zones and applying said first to third steps to each of said plurality of zones. This embodiment of the product-quality measuring method provides a pattern of the wear of the product (for example a carpet).

In the product-quality measuring method according to the invention counting the amount of fibers in the third step may made by any known convenient means.

This product-quality measuring method according to the invention may be applied to any manufactured product comprising fibers attached to a support member. It may be applied as well to weaved fabrics as to non-weaved fabrics having fibers attached to the support member by means of glue.

The characteristics of the above designated"hair-loss- pattern obtaining method"may be used to obtain the pattern of non-adhesive elements on a surface.

Thus the invention concerns also a method to obtain the pattern of non-adhesive elements on a surface, comprising in a first step dividing said surface in a plurality of zones; in a second step applying on one of said plurality of zones an adhesive; in a third step tearing said adhesive from said one zone; in a fourth step counting the amount of non-adhesive elements detached from said surface; and repeating second to fourth step to at least some of the other zones of said plurality of zones.

This method may be used to obtain the pattern of dust on a floor.

For a more complete understanding of the invention and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a vertical section through a portion of the scalp of a human being; Figure 2 shows the scalp of figure 1, using the process of this invention.

In these figures, same reference numerals designate same components.

In figure 1 a scalp portion 1 comprises follicles 2,3 and 4 with hair fibers 5,6 and 7. Reference numeral 8 designates dermal papilla. Hair fiber 5 is. in an anagen

phase and hair fiber 6 is in a telogen phase. In follicle 4 a new unpigmented hair 9 is developing and hair fiber 7 is in an exogen phase.

In figure 2 a strip 10 comprising an adhesive 11 has first been applied on the scalp portion 1 and thereafter tore away therefrom. According to the invention the adhesive 11 is an elastic polymeric matrix having an adhesive strength to the hairs which is higher than the anchorage strength of hair fiber 7 in its follicle 4 but lower than the anchorage strength of the hair fibers 5 and 6 in their respective follicles 2 and 3. So after tearing of the strip 10 from the scalp 1 the hair fiber 7 (in exogen phase) is removed from the scalp and retained on the strip 10, while hair fibers 5 and 6 (respectively in anagen and telogen phases) remain anchored in the scalp 1.