Field of application of the invention

The present invention relates to the sector of lengthening and thickening of hair and, more precisely, regards a product and method for application of locks of hair on a person's head.

Prior art

A thick, abundant, rich head of hair that is luminous and soft is always deemed an index of beauty, youth, and well-being. Moreover, long and well-groomed hair has always represented in western culture the quintessence of female beauty. The loss of hair has undoubtedly a significant impact on the perception that others have of a person.

Thin and brittle hair may consequently be viewed as a sign of premature ageing and may be such as to generate insecurity in a person as regards his or her social and relational capacities. Generally, for the person concerned, this represents a serious problem at a psychological level. Above all, women who suffer from loss of hair may feel particularly fragile, unattractive, and weak. Numerous studies indicate that loss of hair causes anxiety, depression, and reduced sel f-assurance .

For this reason, it is important to provide a timely remedy to the problem of thinning of the hair or the problem of hair that lacks a healthy and pleasant appearance.

Longer, thicker, and more abundant hair and/or hair of a different colour may be obtained by applying integrations, or extensions, of locks of preferably real hair. The hair applied via particular techniques becomes an integral part of the original head of hair, immediately creating substantial benefits, such as greater length without the need to wait several months for natural re-growth of the hair, an increase in the general mass of hair, and an advantage above all from an aesthetic standpoint that consists in a radical change of look.

To provide hair extensions or re-thickening of hair, various methods and devices have been developed. There exists the weave method, the method that uses clips, the method that uses micro-rings, the method of adhesive extensions, etc.; to obtain a long-lasting and particularly stable result keratin-based glues are used for individual locks.

The extensions can be applied in a number of small locks, which are to be applied individually, seeking to distribute them evenly over the head, or in a single large lock that extends over the entire head of hair, or in portions of variable length according to the thickening requirements.

Among the conventional extensions according to the prior art, there exist adhesive extensions that have an adhesive strip on just one side of the hair extension. Two locks of hair extensions are applied on top of one another, "sandwiching" between them a fine lock of hair of the subject on which the application is made that has the same width as that of the lock to be applied. Alternatively, one end of a hair extension to be applied is folded around a portion of the lock of ha r of the subject. The locks are made to adhere to one another by pressing them between one's fingers.

The U.S. patent No. US 7,533,676 describes a method for applying hair extensions of an adhesive type that envisages a polyurethane-based support and a rectangular adhesive tape.

Hair extensions of an adhesive type present the disadvantage of rendering the portion of hair heavy and of creating at times an unnatural appearance at the roots of the hair, creating a far from attractive final aesthetic effect.

To apply hair extensions with clips, at the height of the ears a horizontal parting is formed to separate the hair on one side and the other of the parting. The hair above the parting is lifted up and fixed with a clip, and the extension is positioned and fixed along the parting. Starting from a central clip and proceeding to the right and to the left, the clips are closed, blocking in between a lock of hair. The hair extensions fixed with the clips must rest firmly and smoothly on the head and moreover must be kept at a distance of 2-3 mm from the hair line to prevent any unpleasant sensations. The method also requires quite a large amount of covering hair to be left free to render the clips invisible and to get them to blend as much as possible into the hair. Clip extensions in general present the disadvantage of being less secure than adhesive ones.

The method for fixing hair extensions that uses keratin represents the technique that is least aggressive and most secure for the hair and is also able to guarantee a longer-last ng result, which obviously depends also upon the rate of re-growth of the hair. The system envisages that the mini locks that are to be applied at the base of the hair should be coated with a layer of keratin-based glue. On the basis of the weight of the lock of hair extensions to be applied, a lock of original hair of the subject is selected below a parting formed in the hair. The portion of hair below the parting is the one that is used for application of the hair extensions. The lock of hair extensions with the portion coated with keratin-based glue is set attached to the scalp, and with one's fingers the glue is made to adhere properly to the hair in such a way as to glue the locks of hair extensions and the original locks of hair together. Then, with a hot plate or iron the glue is heated so that, by melting, it fixes properly and definitively glues together the hair of the two types of locks, the original ones of the subject and those of hair extensions. After cooling, the keratin-based permanent hair extension is properly fixed.

The method most widely adopted does not use glue or synthetic materials for application of hair extensions; instead, a small transverse braid obtained using the original hair is simply made on the head adherent to the skin, and the weave of hair extensions is sewn on the braid with a thread.

According to an alternative method of application of hair extensions which uses the braid, the latter is formed with small locks of hair of the extension that are mixed at the base with the real hair, and then a braid is formed with the real hair together with the hair of the extension. In this way, it is the braid itself that functions as perfect natural bond for the hair extension applied, and in practice it is not necessary to use any other system for fixing the hair that is applied.

The braid has to be small, made up of locks of just a few hairs each, in so far as an excessively large braid would be visible underneath the hair extensions that are applied. Furthermore, if the braid is too thick, the hair could be somewhat difficult to dry completely after it has been washed.

Finally, in the micro-ring hair-extension system, small locks of hair extensions are introduced into tiny copper or aluminium rings, coated with silicone to fix the locks as well as possible. In order to apply the hair extensions to the micro-rings, purposely provided clips and needles must be used; however, the use of glues is strongly recommended to guarantee a more secure grip. With purposely provided needles, the original hair is made to pass through the micro-rings, and the aluminium micro-ring is then delicately tightened with the clip in order to fix the lock at a distance of approximately 1 cm from the seal p .

In addition to the various methods of application there have been developed various configurations for hair additions and extensions. For example, Okyo Sthair, in the U.S. patent application No. US2009/0071490, entitled "Self-applicable Integrated Self Addition", describes an integrated hair addition having a central elliptical opening, suited for being blended into the natural hair of the subject.

The U.S. patent No. US 7,201,171 entitled "Seamless Hair Extension System and Method of Use", describes a seamless hair extension with a self- adhesive bond.

Keratin-type hair extensions, which on the other hand represent the solution of choice to obtain a stable, long-lasting, and aesthetically professional result present the disadvantage of not being reusable, because during removal the bonding point breaks, and the lock of original hair itself breaks up. Instead, hair extensions applied with adhesive can be reused after the adhesive has been replaced, as likewise hair extensions of a weave type or ones applied with clips, provided that they are kept in good conditions.

Hence, as may be seen, notwithstanding the multiple solutions adopted, there still remain various problems linked to the application of hair extensions for lengthening and thickening of hair, so that there is strongly felt the need for improved products and methods of application such as to overcome the technical problems that still remain unsolved in the application of hair extensions using the methods according to the prior art.

The main purpose of the invention is to overcome the problems of known systems by providing a new system for lengthening and thickening hair that envisages a weave, fixed in a non- removable way to which are the ends of a plurality of locks of real or synthetic hair, provided with respective means for gluing to the locks of hair of the subject to whom the hair extensions are to be applied.

A better understanding of the invention will be obtained from the ensuing detailed description, with reference to the attached drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment, purely by way of non-limiting exampl e .

Description of the drawing

Figure 1 is a front view of the weave, or weft, of a lock of hair extensions according to the i nventi on .

Detailed description of the invention

The subject of the present invention is an innovative hair extension constituted by a weave, or weft, (1) of natural or synthetic human hair.

With reference to Figure 1 attached to the present description, the weave consists of a single piece of variable length, which may preferably reach even one metre in length, from which the operator that carries out application of hair extensions cuts portions of different length according to the needs or wishes of the user in order to integrate and thicken the person's head of hair.

In practice, one end of hair (11) is fixed to a connection weave (12), which gathers and fixes said ends of natural or synthetic human hair adjacent to one another so as to form small locks of hair (13) set in orderly fashion in succession in a horizontal direction to develop the length of the weave. A thread of silk, or of some other functionally and structurally equivalent material, is incorporated in the connection weave (12) in order to provide a unitary support for the weave or for the portion of weave that is used.

The amount of hair to be applied by means of hair extensions depends obviously upon the thickness, length, and/or volume of hair of the subject to whom they are to be applied, in order to guarantee an even, harmonious, and aesthetically pleasing effect. This effect is obtained by evaluating carefully and choosing adequately the thickness of the weave to be applied. The thickness of the weave varies according to the specific weight of the locks of hair, which is in turn determined by the thickness of the locks, by the thickness of the hair, and by the length of the hair. The length of the locks of hair (13) that constitutes the weave initially ranges from 30 to 55 cm, and when the application is completed this length can be reduced according to the final desired hai rstyl e .

The locks (13) of hair may be made up of hair (11) of the same colour or of different colours according to the final chromatic effect that it is desi red to create .

Another peculiar characteristic of the weave of hair extensions according to the present invention consists in envisaging, on the locks of hair of the weave, deposition of a preferably (but not exclusively) keratin-based adhesive composition. The subject of the invention is the particular arrangement of this adhesive composition in the proximity of the weave (12), and not its compos t on, since, according to the invention, any type of keratin-based adhesive composition commonly employed and known to operators of the sector may be used.

More specifically, the keratin-based adhesive composition, or other glues that can be used for the above purpose and are available on the reference market, is deposited on the locks in a discontinuous way at a distance of approximately 1-2 cm, preferably 1 cm, from the connection weave, to form paral 1 el epi pedal accumulations or blocks (14) having a width ranging from 4 to 10 mm, preferably 6 mm, and a height ranging from 1 and 5 mm, preferably 3 mm. The thickness of each block (14) of adhesive composition is slightly greater than that of the lock of hair, generally 3-5 mm. The lock of hair of the weave at the corresponding block (14) of adhesive composition is completely englobed in the adhesive composition.

The blocks (14) of adhesive composition set at a distance of approximately 1 cm from the connection weave are evenly distributed at a distance of 0.5-1 cm from one another throughout the length of the weave (12) itself.

The method of application of the weave (12) of hair extensions, or of a portion thereof of a length selected on the basis of the final effect that it is desired to obtain, consists in heat fixing in a classic way the locks of hair of the weave provided with the keratin-based adhesive to the original hair of the subject by means of a heating clamp that melts the adhesive that constitutes the block (14). To start with, the weave (12) of ha r extensions

(I) - or a portion thereof - is momentarily fixed using classic alligator hair clips, or similar implements designed for temporary and reversible fixing, to the skin at the point of application of the extension where a horizontal parting of the locks of natural hair has been purposely created to make room for the weave. The natural lock and the lock of the extension are set up against one another and pressed for a few seconds with the heating clamp at a temperature adequate for melting the keratin-based adhesive (14) or the adhesive of some other suitable type. The point of bonding of the two locks is then squeezed between the thumb and the forefinger so as to ensure good adhesion.

The hair extensions according to the invention may last from 2 to 4 months, obviously according to the care and attention with which the hair is treated.

The process of removal of the adhesive bonds is performed according to the standard methods known to operators of the sector using an adequate solvent designed to dissolve the adhesive (14), whether it is keratin-based or of some other type, and a metal cl amp .

A first advantage of the invention consists in providing a type of weave (12) of hair extensions that, unlike the keratin-type hair extensions currently known, can be reused after the adhesive has been dissolved and the hair (11) and the weave (12) have been thoroughly cleaned, in so far as the hair

(II) of the locks (13) is not dispersed when the adhesive is removed, but the individual locks (13) remain joined together, precisely via the connection weave (12) .

Moreover, the hair extensions according to the invention present the advantage that the connection weave or strip (12) only acts as element for connection of the locks (13), but does not intervene in providing and constituting the fixing of the hair extensions. Consequently, it does not generate any pain, reddening, or irritation of the skin of the subject .

Finally, since the locks (13) are not applied individually but in a multiple way, generally along a horizontal line on the skin of the scalp, through application of a weave (12), or of a portion thereof of variable length according to the thickening needs, application of hair extensions according to the invention guarantees a final effect that is aesthetically more homogeneous and harmonious in a given area or sector of the head, with the result that the hair falls naturally and smoothly and without any alteration of the thickness and weight of the locks so that the natural hair is not tugged and the person that is to wear the hair extension does not experience any hurt or discomfort. It should be noted, in fact, that the weave (12) has a thickness that is substantially the same as that of the locks of hair of the extensions.

To facilitate the operations of fixing of the locks of hair to the head of hair of the subject, it is also possible to envisage getting an additional thread of natural or synthetic material (not shown) to pass in the weave (12), for example using a needle for wool, so as to be able to fasten the weave with the locks (13) of hair (11) temporarily at the desired height on the head of the subject, so that the locks (13) of extensions are firmly held in position, without any clips, during their application/fixing to the hair of the subject. This additional thread is then slid out of the weave (12) at the end of fixing of the locks (13) .

The present invention has been illustrated in a preferred embodiment thereof, but it is evident that technically and/or functionally equivalent modifications and/or replacements may be made by the person skilled in the branch, without thereby departing from the sphere of protection of the attached claims.