GB2292077A

GB2292077A - Medical wig

Info

Publication number: GB2292077A
Application number: GB9513143A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Michael Smiley; Isaura Garcia
Original assignee: Revlon Consumer Products LLC
Current assignee: Revlon Consumer Products LLC
Priority date: 1994-08-10
Filing date: 1995-06-28
Publication date: 1996-02-14
Also published as: GB9513143D0; CA2155072A1; FR2723518A1; DE19527228A1; JPH0860421A

Description

- 1 2292077 R/1 0342 MEDICAL WIG This invention relates to a wig or

hairpiece and its use on people who suffer from lack or loss of hair.

Various medical and genetic conditions may cause complete or partial hair loss. In particular, individuals undergoing chemotherapy for cancer often suffer from the tragedy of partial or total hair loss. Hair loss or lack can be easily hidden by wigs, and a variety of wigs exist of this purpose.

Non-medical wigs (i.e. those generally worn by people who wish to change their hairstyle or otherwise for a reason other than absence of hair) are generally comprised of what resembles a small cap designed to fit tightly on the head, to which artificial or natural hair strands are attached. Throughout this specification, reference 'hair' in the context of a cap or wig is to be taken include both natural and artificial hair. The cap may made of porous fabric or strips of material spaced various intervals or a combination of both to to be at F Preferably, the porous fabric or strips are made of a stretchable material such as stretch lace, which enables the wig to be easily slipped off and on. Stretch lace is aesthetically pleasing and generally causes no discomfort to a wig-wearer who has not lost any natural hair. However, stretch-type 1 fabrics in general and stretch lace in particular may be irritating to the often sensitive scalp of an individual who has lost or lacks all or part of her hair.

Efforts to make wigs more comfortable for medical patients or others who lack hair have resulted in a variety of products. For example, one commercially available medical wig comprises a cap made of strips of stretch lace spaced at varied intervals. Two or more soft pads of diameter ranging from 0.5 to 2 inches are anchored to the front and back of the wig cap. These pads are of a sufficient thickness to provide a cushion between the scalp and the stretch bands forming the cap, thereby making the wig more comfortable.

Another type of medical wig has a cap woven of synthetic thread much like fishline. This fabric is very porous and enables the scalp to breathe, and has the added advantage of appearing less wig-like because the scalp is visible through the woven synthetic threads.

Experimentation directed toward making medical wigs more comfortable led to the discovery that the loop side of Velcro (registered trademark) is very soft and of a thickness sufficient to provide an excellent cushion between the wig cap and the scalp.

The present invention therefore provides a wig having a cap with an inner surface placed adjacent to the scalp a and an outer surface having a plurality of hairs attached thereto, wherein at least a portion of said cap is comprised of a fabric having a first surface of weft and warp threads and a second surface of raised pile containing loops of synthetic filamentary material, wherein said fabric is affixed to the inner surface of said cap such that the second surface of raised pile containing loops of synthetic filamentary material is adjacent to the scalp when the wig is worn by the user.

Velcro (registered trademark), manufactured by American Velcro, Inc., New York, New York, U.S.A. is comprised of warp and weft threads having incorporated therein loops of synthetic filamentary material. Velcro (registered trademark) fasteners are made by cutting the loops on a first piece of fabric so that hooks are formed. The loops on a second piece of fabric are left uncut. When the two pieces of fabric are pressed together, the hooks engage the loops causing the two pieces of fabric to adhere until they are peeled apart. This fastening system is in ubiquitous use today. Fasteners and fabrics of this nature are disclosed in U.S. patent specifications nos. 3 387 341,

3 000 384, 3 009 235 and 2 717 437, each of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.

The wig of the invention incorporates the uncut loop side of the fastening system into the fabric cap which makes up the wig, so that the looped surface is positioned adjacent to the scalp when the wig is worn.

Any type of Velcro (registered trademark) is suitable for use with the invention provided that the loops are not cut and the loop/pile side of the Velcro (registered trademark) strip is placed adjacent to the scalp. In the wigs of the invention, the loops must be uncut because cut loops would form hooks which would not be comfortable when placed adjacent to the scalp.

The cap may be made almost entirely of fabric strips or the cap could also be made of a combination of various sized fabric pieces and fabric strips. The fabric may be any synthetic fabric such as nylon, polyester, Dacron (registered trademark), etc., or a natural fibre such as cotton, rubber, linen, silk, or blends thereof. Preferably, the cap comprises stretch lace. Other variations are possible and within the scope of the invention. For example, the cap itself can be made in whole or in part of Velcro (registered trademark) strips described herein which are oriented such that its second surface containing loops of synthetic filamentary material is adjacent to the scalp and its first surface of warp and weft threads forms the outer surface of the cap having a plurality of hairs attached thereto. Various other embodiments combining Velcro (registered trademark) with other types of fabrics are also contemplated.

The synthetic filamentary material may be any material which enables the formulation and retention of the loop configuration in the warp or weft threads. Suitable materials include synthetic resins such as nylon, polyester, Dacron (registered trademark) and the like.

It may also be desired that the cap includes one or more fitting means which enable adjustment of the wig cap to various different sizes to fit various head sizes and shapes. Suitable fitting means include adjustable elastic bands, Velcro (registered trademark) fasteners and the like.

The present invention will now be illustrated by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a cap of one type of prior art wig.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a cap in a wig according to the invention.

Figure 3 shows the outer surface of the wig of Figure 2 having a plurality of hairs attached thereto, being worn.

Figures 4(a)-(d) are side elevations of various embodiments of the loop side of Velcro (registered trademark).

The cap of a prior art wig (Figure 1 is made of 6 - several fabric pieces (1) positioned near the front and sides of the wig, and a plurality of fabric strips (2) spaced at various intervals and which are attached to said fabric pieces (1) to form the cap. A plurality of hairs (3) are attached to the outer surface (not shown) of said cap by securing means (4) which anchor the hairs in rows. The securing means (4) are attached to the fabric pieces (1) and fabric strips (2) on the outer surface of said cap to form the wig. The fabric pieces (1) and fabric strips (2) may be made of a variety of synthetic fibres such as nylon, polyester, dacron, etc. At least some of the fibres are stretchable to enable the wig to be easily pulled off and on, and ensure that it fits tightly on the scalp. Fitting means (5) are provided at the base of the cap.

The cap in a wig of the invention (Figure 2) comprises a plurality of fabric strips (6) spaced at various intervals on stretch lace. The strips (6) are sewn together to form said cap. A fitting means (7) is positioned on the bottom edge of each side of said cap to enable adjustment of the wig size. The rear peripheral portion of the cap comprises a strip of fabric (8) to which the fitting means (7) is attached, enabling the wig to be adjusted by adjusting the fitting means backward or forward as desired. The fabric (8) comprises a woven material having first and second surfaces of warp and weft threads.

Attached to the fabric at various intervals are strips of the loop side of Velcro (registered trademark) (10) such that the pile side of Velcro (registered trademark) would be positioned next to the scalp when the wig is worn. The loop side of Velcro (registered trademark) comprises a first surface of warp and weft threads and a second surface of raised pile containing loops of a synthetic filamentary material. A plurality of hairs (11) are attached to the outer surface (not shown) of said cap by securing means (12) which secures rows of hairs. The securing means (12) is sewn to the outer surface of said fabric strips (6) to f orm the wig. The Velcro (registered trademark) strips (10) are simply affixed to the fabric of the cap so that the pile side of the Velcro (registered trademark) is positioned adjacent to the scalp.

Claims

1. A wig having a cap with an inner surface to be placed adjacent to the scalp and an outer surface having a plurality of hairs attached thereto, wherein at least a portion of said cap is comprised of a fabric having a first surface of weft and warp threads and a second surface of raised pile containing loops of synthetic filamentary material and wherein said fabric is affixed to said inner surface of said cap such that said second surface of raised pile containing loops of synthetic filamentary material is adjacent to the scalp when the wig is worn by the user.

2. A wig according to claim 1 wherein the cap comprises a combination of a fabric having a first surface of weft and warp threads and a second surface of raised pile containing loops of synthetic filamentary material, and a woven synthetic material comprising first and second surfaces of weft and warp threads.

3. A wig according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the cap comprises fabric strips, fabric pieces or a combination thereof.

4. A wig according to any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the cap comprises a combination of fabric strips and fabric pieces.

5. A wig according to any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the loops comprise a synthetic resin material.

- 9

6. A wig according to any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the synthetic filamentary material is nylon, polyester or a blend thereof.

7. A wig according to any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the synthetic filamentary material is nylon.

8. A wig according to any of claims 2 to 7 wherein the woven synthetic material comprising first and second surfaces of weft and warp threads is nylon, polyester, cotton, linen, rayon, silk or any combination thereof.

9. A wig according to any of claims 2 to 8 wherein the woven synthetic material comprising first and second surfaces of weft and warp threads is nylon.

10. A wig according to any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the cap further comprises adjustable fitting means adapted to enable the wig to fit various dimensions of scalp.

11. A method of concealing natural hair loss or lack which method comprises fitting a wig according to any preceding claim.