This invention relates to a radial hairbrush means, and in particular to a radial hairbrush means adapted to give lift to hair during drying.

Radial hairbrushes are well known, and each comprises a rod, one section of which is shaped to form a handle, and another section of which comprises a plurality of natural or nylon bristles, which are set into each of the sides of the rod in one of a variety of different configurations.

Professional hairdressers have for some time now adopt¬ ed a method of hairstyling known as "blow drying" which is simply the drying and styling of hair at the same time, using a hairbrush in one hand and a hand-held hairdryer in the other hand. In this method a professional hairdresser takes a section of hair from root to tip, known as a lock of hair, and dries that and subsequent locks of hair in various directions, culminating in the desired finished hairstyle.

A feature common to most hair styles that a profession¬ al hairdresser would be required to create is known as "root lift", which consists of raising the hair adjacent the root vertically from the scalp before allowing the remainder of the hair to wave or curl in various directions.

To achieve this result the professional hairdresser normally uses a radial hairbrush, winds a lock of wet hair around the brush to the scalp while applying heat from a hairdryer, repeating this technique until that section of hair is dry. The hairdresser then moves on to the next section of hair and repeats the same process.

Maximum root lift is achieved when hair near the root is allowed to cool down in the lifted position. One problem with this method of hairdrying is that poor root lift is achieved because the hair is not allowed to cool to its normal temperature in the lifted position, before the hair¬ dresser moves to a subsequent section of the hair. Another problem is that the root lift which is produced in a section of hair is partially flattened by the force of the hot air being used to dry an adjacent section of the hair.

Professional hairdressers would therefore prefer to be able to hold the hair in the lifted position throughout the aforementioned cooling process. However, due to commercial restraints, it is seldom if ever possible for a professional hairdresser to hold a brush in a lock of his or her client's hair throughout the entire cooling process.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a radial hairbrush means which, particularly when used by a professional hairdresser, enables a lock of hair both to be blow dried and to cool in a raised position without being flattened when adjacent locks of hair are dried.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a radial hairbrush means comprising a plurality of brush heads, a rod having a first portion which comprises a handle and a second portion which is arranged to receive one of said plurality of brush heads, and a brush head locking mechanism which enables single handed sequential attachment, use and detachment of each of said plurality of brush heads.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of use of a radial hairbrush means having a handle and a plurality of detachable brush heads, the method comprising the steps of: a) attaching a brush head to the handle; b) winding a lock of hair around the brush head to the root of the hair, while heating the hair; c) detaching the handle from the brush head, leaving the brush head in the hair; and d) allowing the lock of hair to cool to its normal temperature before removing the brush head while repeating the process with, at least, one other lock of hair.

A radial hairbrush means and method of use thereof in accordance with the present invention, provide the advantage of imparting root lift to hair during drying which is not adversely affected by subsequent drying of hair adjacent previously dried locks of hair.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompa¬ nying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a plan view from above of a rod of a radial hairbrush means in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of a brush head adapted for use with the rod of Figure 1;

Figure 3a is a side view of the rod of Figure 1;

Figure 3b is a sectional side view of the rod of Figure

1 along the line 3-3;

Figures 4a to 4c each illustrate a second embodiment of a rod in accordance with the present invention, in which each rod has a differently shaped brush head attached there¬ to;

Figures 5a to 5c illustrate sectional views of the brush heads of Figures 4a to 4c;

Figures 6a to 6c illustrate a method of use of a radial hairbrush means in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 7 illustrates a hair clip which may be used in accordance with the method of Figures 6a to 6c.

Regarding Figures 1 to 3 , there is illustrated a brush head 2 (Figure 2) and a rod 4 (Figure 1), in accord¬ ance with the present invention. The brush head 2 of Figure

2 and those illustrated in relation to the second embodiment of the invention (Figures 4a-4c & 5a-5c) which is described below, are illustrated without any bristles, for simplicity. In practice, however, the brush heads would each have a plurality of bristles set into each of the sides of the brush head in one of a variety of configurations .

The rod 4 has a first portion comprising a handle 6, of maple wood, and a second portion 8 which is of a square cross section corresponding to the square internal bore of the brush head 2.

The square cross section of the brush head 2 and second portion 8 of the rod 4 prevent rotation of the brush head 2 on the rod 4, when in use.

The rod 4 also comprises a brush head locking mechanism 10 which is located on the rod 4 such that it may be operat¬ ed by a user's thumb or forefinger when the user grasps the handle 6 , in order to use the rush means .

The locking mechanism 10 comprises a raised portion or stud 12 which is received in a correspondingly shaped recess (not shown) in the interior of the brush head 2, when in use. The stud 12 is located on a deformable member 14 one end of which is secured to the main body of the rod 4 such that when each brush head 2 is received in the second por¬ tion 8 of the rod 4 the stud 12 is received in the aforemen¬ tioned recess. The deformable member 14 can be deformed downwards towards the main body of the rod 4, in to a space 16 therebetween, thus removing the stud 12 from the afore¬ mentioned recess and consequently enabling attachment or removal of the brush head 2.

Deformation of the member 14 is enhanced by a small recess 18 at the junction between the main body of the rod 4 and the deformable member 14, which thins the deformable member at this point causing the deformable member to flex from this point, when in use. A finger or thumb grip 20 is also provided on the deformable member 14 to facilitate ease of use.

A similar locking mechanism is utilised in the second embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in Figures 4a to 4c. However, as the second embodiment of the invention is adapted to use cylindrical brush heads 2 (Figures 5a to 5c) the recess 22 in each of the brush heads 2 is also adapted to enhance ease of attachment of the brush head 2 to the rod 4. In this embodiment the recess 22 is disposed radially around the entire inner wall 24 of each of the brush heads 2.

A portion of the inner wall 24 of each of the brush heads 2 also includes a plurality of protrusions or teeth 26 which engage a corresponding plurality of recesses in an engagement portion 28 of the rod 4.

Figures 5a to 5c illustrate radial brush heads of different diameters for use with the rod 4 of the second embodiment of the present invention. Clearly, different sizes of brush head can also be attached to the rod 4 in the first embodiment of the present invention.

The first embodiment of a radial hairbrush means in

accordance with the present invention has the advantage of ease of manufacture, and the second embodiment has the advantage of ease of use. For example, when the first embodiment is used a hairdresser must locate the second portion 8 of the rod 4 in the internal bore of the brush head 2 which requires rotating the rod 4 into one of four positions in which the second portion 8 of the rod 4 matches the orientation of the internal bore in the brush head 2. However, because the second embodiment is cylindrical, and toothed, the hairdresser need only locate the protrusions on either the rod 4 or the brush head 2 with any corresponding recesses in the other component. Therefore, in the second embodiment the two components 2,4 can be attached in a vastly greater number of rotational positions. The teeth are required in the second embodiment to prevent rotational slippage of the brush head 2 with respect to the rod 4, when in use.

A method of use of a hairbrush means in accordance with the present invention will now be described with refer¬ ence to Figures 6a to 6c. Firstly, a hairdresser picks up the rod 4 in one hand, by the handle 6, and insert the second portion 8 of the rod 4 into the desired brush head 2. The hairdresser then proceeds to brush the hair with one hand while heating the hair with a hand held hairdryer (not shown) held in his or her other hand. The hairdresser then winds a lock of hair 30 around the brush head 2, in the direction of arrow A, from the tip 32 of the hair to the roots 34, as illustrated in Figure 6a.

The hairdresser then uses a thumb or forefinger to depress the deformable member 14 on the rod 4 (Figures 1, 3 and 4) in order to detach the handle 4 by pulling it, in the direction of arrow B in Figure 6a, from the brush head 2 which is left in the hair. The hairdresser then uses the aforementioned method in an adjacent section of the hair, as illustrated in Figure 6b until brush heads 2 are located throughout the hair, as required, as illustrated in Figure 6c.

As subseσuent locks of hair are dried in this fashion

locks of hair which have previously been wound into the desired position are allowed to cool to their normal temper¬ ature. In this way, as described above, the hair is allowed to cool in the desired position, producing enhanced "root lift" which is not adversely affected by subsequent drying of the hair.

If it is found to be useful a hair clip 36 (Figure 7) may be used to pin each of the brush heads in to the hair in a manner which will be known to a person skilled in the art.

Thus, the use of a radial hairbrush means in accordance with the present invention enables a hairdresser to style a head of hair in such a way as to provide enhanced root lift to the hair without either a) holding a hairbrush in a user's hair until it is cool before moving to an adjacent lock of hair, which is so time consuming as to be inconven¬ ient for a client and commercially impractical for a profes¬ sional hairdresser, or b) adversely affecting the root lift in a lock of hair when drying adjacent locks of hair.

Modifications may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the present invention, as claimed in the corresponding claims. For example, different locking mecha¬ nism or different brush heads may be utilised as long as the mechanism enables single handed attachment, use and detach¬ ment of a brush head from the handle.