GB2300355A

GB2300355A - Hair lengthening method

Info

Publication number: GB2300355A
Application number: GB9509152A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sandra Angela Henry
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-05-05
Filing date: 1995-05-05
Publication date: 1996-11-06
Also published as: GB9509152D0

Abstract

A method of enhancing the appearance of a natural head of hair of a person involves incorporating artificial locks of hair into the natural hair by firstly forming the natural hair into a plurality of plaits in a desired configuration, such as concentric rings, and then attaching artificial locks to the plaits by pushing one end of each lock at least once through a plait of the natural hair using a pointed rod such as a dressmaker's needle. The artificial locks of hair may comprise natural hair and/or synthetically produced hair.

Description

HAIR LENGTHENING METHOD This invention relates to artificial tresses and is concerned with a method of beautifying the hair of a person, generally a woman, particularly but not exclusively the hair of a woman of negroid descent, such as an Afro-American or Afro-Caribbean woman.

It is a characteristic of the members of the negroid (black) race that their hair grows to a much shorter length than members of other races such as caucasian (white) persons. This is a disadvantage particularly for black women, since it means that their hair cannot normally be coiffured in the same manner as that of white women.

With a view to overcoming this disadvantage, there have been employed over the last 20 years or so a number of methods of incorporating artificial tresses into the natural head of hair so as to build up the hair and thereby make it more susceptible to the normal hairdressing treatments, for example washing and conditioning, drying and styling such as waving, employed on the hair of white women. However all of the known commercially available methods have disadvantages which make them uncomfortable for the treated person and/or damage the natural hair, in addition to being very time consuming. Thus in one known method, artificial tresses are woven at one end on to a length of ribbon and the resulting switch of hair is sewn on to the natural hair after the latter has been plaited.This method has the disadvantages that not only does the thread used to sew on the plurality of switches damage the hair, but also further damage is caused when the thread is cut to remove the hair switches.

In addition this method can take up to about 5 hours to complete.

In another known method, artificial switches are attached to the natural hair, which may be plaited or unplaited, by means of a proprietary glue. To remove the attached switches it is necessary to apply a proprietary lotion to the glued areas. This method has the disadvantage that the glue as well as the removal lotion damage the hair.

It also takes up to about 6 hours to complete.

In a similar known method, individual artificial locks of hair are glued to bunches of the natural hair using a glue gun. Alternatively a proprietary glue can be used by rubbing on to the joined hair. In order to remove the artificial locks, it is necessary to apply heat to break the glue seal, which can be harmful to the hair. This method is also a lengthy one, which normally takes up to 8 hours or more to complete.

In a further known method, individual artificial locks of hair are fixed at one end to a clip and the natural hair is rolled on to each clip. This method has the disadvantage that the fixed clips are very hard on the head and therefore uncomfortable to wear.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of enhancing the appearance of a natural head of hair which avoids the disadvantages possessed by the previously known methods and is less time consuming.

I have surprisingly found that it is not necessary to glue, sew or clip on artificial hair to the natural head of hair in order to maintain the artificial hair in position, provided that the artificial hair is applied to the natural hair in a particular manner.

Thus in accordance with the invention, there is provided a method of enhancing the appearance of a natural head of hair by incorporating therein artificial locks of hair, wherein the natural hair is formed into a plurality of plaits in a desired configuration and then individual artificial locks of hair are attached to the plaits by pushing one end of each lock through a plait of the natural hair using a pointed rodlike instrument, for example a needle, so as to leave a desired length of each lock falling freely from the head so that the enhanced head of hair can be subjected to any desired coiffuring treatment.

Advantageously the region in which the artificial lock is weaved into the plait of natural hair is singed with a flame produced by, for example, a candle or taper, since this seals the end of the artificial lock and thereby helps to retain the artificial lock in position.

This novel method avoids the harmful use of glue, sewing thread and clips as in the previously known methods, and can be completed in a relatively short time compared to the known methods, generally from 1 to 2 hours.

The pointed instrument employed in the method of the invention is preferably a needle, for example a dressmaker's needle, having an eye at one end of a size sufficient to enable a lock of the artificial hair to be passed therethrough. Other types of needle may be employed, such as a cushion needle, but any pointed rodlike instrument may be employed to push the artificial hair locks through the natural hair plaits.

The weaving of the artificial locks into the plaits of natural hair may be effected in a manner such that one end of each artificial lock is passed several times through the respective natural hair plait, since this will help to retain the artificial lock in position on the head.

The initial plaits formed from the natural hair will generally be close plaits and can be arranged in any desired configuration, for example in a series of concentric rings adjacent to the scalp. The plaits may be of various types, for example so-called corn-rows in which the hair may be under plaited or over plaited.

The locks of artificial hair which can be incorporated into the natural hair plaits in accordance with the present invention may comprise natural hair or synthetically produced hair, and may be of any desired colour.

It has been found that good results are achieved when the initial incorporation of the artificial locks takes place in the region of the hairline adjacent to the forehead and subsequent incorporation takes place progressively towards the rear of the scalp.

When it is desired to remove the artificial tresses, this can easily be achieved by cutting off the major portion of each artificial lock and then combing and unplaiting the natural hair.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of enhancing the appearance of a natural head of hair by incorporating therein artificial locks of hair, characterised in that the natural hair is formed into a plurality of plaits in a desired configuration and individual artificial locks of hair are thereafter attached to said plaits by pushing one end of each artificial lock through a plait using a generally pointed rodlike instrument, in a manner such as to leave a desired length of each lock falling freely from the head so that the resulting enhanced head of hair can thereafter be subjected to any desired coiffuring treatment.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the rodlike instrument is a blunt needle.

3. A method according to Claim 2, wherein the needle is a dressmaker's needle having an eye at one end thereof of a size sufficient to enable a lock of the artificial hair to be passed therethrough.

4. A method according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the region in which each artificial lock is pushed into the plait of natural hair is singed with a flame in order to seal the end of the artificial lock and thereby help to retain the artificial lock in position.

5. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein said one end of the artificial lock is passed several times through the respective natural hair plait so as to assist the retention of the artificial lock in position on the head.

6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the plaits of natural hair are arranged in a series of concentric rings adjacent to the scalp.

7. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the artificial locks of hair are composed of natural hair or synthetically produced hair, or a mixture of the two.

8. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the initial incorporation of the artificial locks is effected in the region of the hairline adjacent to the forehead and subsequent incorporation is effected progressively towards the rear of the scalp.