The present invention relates to a beaded row hanger for a hair weft extension that is applied to a user's head to enhance the user's hair.
There are several different methods and devices to attach hair weft extensions to a user's hair. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,434,500 to Alex discloses a small hair weft as a hair band which effectively has an adhesive backing which attaches to the user's hair. Hair wefts have various sizes. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,122 to Campbell; US patent publication number 2001/0037813 to Ra; US patent publication 2006/0169296 to Gil; and US patent publication number 2007/0157944 to Catron.
Generally, longer hair wefts, wefts between 15-30 cm (measured laterally as applied to the user's hair), are attached to a user's hair via different systems rather than the adhesive—type system of U.S. Pat. No. 8,434,500 to Alex. One method of attaching longer hair wefts utilizes a thin fishing wire-type loop wherein the long hair weft is attached to the terminal ends of the thin loop. See U.S. Pat. No. 9,894,951 to Alex. The loop typically is a clear fishing line and the line and hair weft extension encircles the user's head.
In connection with these longer hair wefts, hairstylists sometimes gather a small group of hair strands, referred to herein as a “hair tuft”, and thread this hair tuft through a very small bead and then crimp the deformable bead on the hair tuft near the rooted end of the hair. Multiple beads are used. The hairstylist will attach multiple beads (a plurality of beads) along a lateral line circumscribing a part of the user's head. The beads are attached in a hair part on the head of the customer. These beads are typically spaced about 20 mm apart. However since stylists attach the beads one by one, uniform spacing between the beads varies greatly dependent upon the skill of the stylist and the time set aside for the application of the hair weft. After attaching this lateral row of beads one-by-one on corresponding hair tufts along a portion of the user's head, the stylist then opens the first or primary bead in the lateral row and then threads a bead cord (similar to a thin string) several times through the central core or passage of the primary first-in-line bead. The stylist then ties that bead cord on the primary bead. At other times, the stylist will crimp the bead closed with a plier or some type of closure tool. The stylist then continues forming the one-by-one bead hanger by looping or threading the bead cord through each laterally successive bead, first by opening each successive lateral bead, then threading the bead cord through the central opening of the successive bead, and finally tying the bead cord or crimping the successive bead on the cord. The next-in-line laterally adjacent bead is then similarly processed. Alternatively, the one-by-one bead hanger can be formed by (i) with a primary hair tuft, threading the hair tuft through the first primary bead onto the customer's hair tuft; (ii) then threading a successive lateral hair tuft through another to-be-laterally disposed bead in the customer's hair part; (iii) threading a bead cord through the primary and the successive lateral bead (resulting in the bead cord running between the primary and the successive lateral bead; (iv) crimping the primary bead closed, there by securing the primary bead to the customer's head and capturing or locking the bead cord and the captured hair tuft in that bead; and (v) repeating the process for the remaining successive lateral beads.
After installing the bead cord on all these laterally disposed beads about the user's head, the stylist then returns to the primary bead, opens the primary or first bead and, using a curved needle having a tying thread through the needle's eye, threads the tying thread through the primary bead and sews a terminal end piece of the hair weft onto that primary bead. Once the hair weft sewn onto the first bead, the first bead is again closed. The stylist crimps the primary bead closed with the crimping tool or plier thereby securing the hair weft in place on the bead. Thereafter, the stylist processes the next laterally successive bead, opens the bead, threads the tying string through the bead with the needle, again sews the hair weft onto the successive bead and crimps and closes that successive lateral bead. This process is continued for all the remaining laterally disposed successive beads.
Optionally, between each crimped, tied and weft-sewn bead and before the hair weft is sewn to the next lateral successive bead, the stylist may sew the hair weft to the bead cord itself (not the tuft-attached beads) at an intermediate position between two adjacent tuft-attached beads. This entire process is extremely labor intensive and time consuming. The prior art process typically takes about 35 to 45 minutes to attach a single hair weft onto one beaded lateral row. Sometimes this first lateral row is called a foundational row. Some users request that multiple wefts be attached to their heads with several vertically spaced apart bead rows, each bead row attaching a different hair weft to the user's head. The present invention provides a better solution to the hairstylist such that a foundational lateral beaded row can be attached to a user's head in about 9-10 minutes rather than 35-60 minutes (the one-by-one bead attachment in the prior art). Also, the present invention with generally uniformly spaced apart beads, controls the weight distribution uniformly over the head of the customer. The prior art one-by-one-bead application results in variable spacing which places uneven weight and force on some bead-captured hair tufts compared to other bead-captured hair tufts in the lateral row. The result of the lateral spatial difference in the one-by-one-bead application sometimes causes the hair weft to fall out faster than the generally uniformly spaced apart beads used in the present invention. Also with the present invention, the generally uniformly spaced apart beads improves and assures quality installation or application of the hair weft on the beaded hanger. Stated otherwise, stylists may rush to complete the hair weft application by spacing the beads further apart than recommended by the hair weft manufactures. The generally uniformly spaced apart beaded hanger row avoids this problem.
It is an object of the invention to provide a beaded row hanger which enables a hairstylist to quickly attach a hair weft extension to a customer's head (sometimes herein a “customer” is referred to as a “user”).
It is another object of the present invention to provide a plurality of small beads pre-strung on a beaded cord. Ultimately, these beads support an elongated hair weft hair extension.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a kit for use in attaching a hair weft extension.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a kit having a beaded hanger, a threader and a tying thread permitting the user to quickly attach the beaded hanger to the user's head and sew the hair weft to the pre-strung beads on the beaded cord.
The beaded row hanger of the present invention permits a stylist to attach a hair weft extension onto a customer's head. The hair weft is attached to a beaded row hanger which hanger is earlier attached to the user-customer's hair. The beads are attached to several spaced apart hair tufts forming a part on the customer's head. The beaded row hanger includes a plurality of small beads pre-strung on a bead cord. Each pre-strung bead has a central passage sized to receive via threading a corresponding hair tuft. Operationally, a part is created in the customer's hair, small hair tufts are gathered at the part and these hair tufts are threaded through the central passage of the bead with a threading tool. Hence in a preferred embodiment, the bead through-passage is large enough to pass the hair tuft and the loop of the loop or tool needle eye. Once the bead is adjacent the skull portion of the hair part, the primary bead is crimped closed. The remaining pre-strung beads on the beaded row hanger are then attached in a similar manner throughout the lateral hair part. Since the beads on the pre-strung beaded row hanger are generally uniformly spaced apart, the attachment by the stylist is quick and easy and creates a uniform hanger support structure for mounting (by sewing) the hair weft extension onto the customer's head via the earlier attached beaded row hanger.
To attach the hair weft, the stylist effectively sews the weft to the beaded row hanger. Hence, the central bead passage is also sized to receive a tying thread which is used to tie the hair weft onto the beaded hanger (the beaded row hanger being earlier attached by hair tufts to the user's head). Operationally, once the beaded row hanger is applied (or installed) on the customer's head, the primary or first bead is opened, a needle (or a loop-type threader) carrying a tying thread in its eye (or in the loop of the threader tool) threads the tying thread through the hair-attached bead (typically the first or primary bead in the lateral bead row). Thereafter, the needle or threader sews the tying thread onto the hair weft (for the first bead, this sewn attachment is at a terminal end of the weft). The weft is then sewn onto each laterally spaced apart bead on the beaded row hanger by opening the bead, using the tying thread to sew the weft onto the hanger, then closing the operative bead. Clips may be used to stabilize the weft during this sewing process.
Each bead on the pre-strung bead cord is spaced apart between 10 and 30 mm. The beads are deformable to multiple crimped or closed conditions and multiple open passage conditions. In the first crimped condition, the central passage is collapsed about the hair tuft. In the second crimped condition, the central passage is collapsed about the corresponding hair tuft and the tying thread. In a first open condition, the central passage permits threading of the corresponding hair tuft therethrough and a tool loop or tool eye. In a second open condition, while retaining the corresponding hair tuft therein, the central bead passage permits threading of the tying thread therethrough in addition to the tool loop or tool eye to achieve a sewn attachment of the hair weft onto the operative bead. Preferably, the central passage has an inside passageway measurement of between 1 and 10 mm. Also, preferably, each small bead has a longitudinal or vertical dimension of between 2 and 12 mm. The longitudinal dimension of the bead is coplanar with the axial centerline of the central passage.
A kit is also part of the invention. The kit is used to attach an elongated hair weft extension to head hair via the plurality of hair tufts. The kit includes a tying thread; a threader having a user grip terminating in a threading loop or an eye; and a bead hanger having a plurality of small beads pre-strung on a bead cord. These pre-strung beads have a central passage as described above. The passage is sized to concurrently receive (a) a corresponding hair tuft of the plurality of hair tufts, (b) the tying thread and (c) tool loop or eye during the operations described herein.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention can be found in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The present invention relates to a beaded row hanger and a kit for use in attaching a hair weft extension to a user's head. Similar numerals designate similar items in the drawings.
It should be noted that although the beads shown in
As graphically illustrated in
Prior to passing needle 70 through the central passage 13 of bead 8, the stylist opens up the bead such that the needle and the tying thread can pass through the passage which also captures hair tuft 66. In this manner, the central passageway of bead 8 must be large enough to accommodate needle 70, tying thread 72, and hair tuft 66. After weft foundation 24 is drawn close to bead 8, the stylist again crimps the bead closed. In this manner, the bead is deformable and has multiple closed or collapsed conditions (the first closed or crimped condition being when the bead is initially collapsed about the hair tuft; the second closed condition is when the same bead is collapsed about the hair tuft and the tying thread). The first closed position may be a partly closed position if the stylist uses the special crimping tool discussed above. The bead also has multiple open conditions, first when the hair tuft is initially threaded with the loop or eye of the threader tool 28 when the loop-eye captures the hair tuft, and a second open condition when the bead is opened to permit passage of the needle or second threader plus the tying thread concurrently when the hair tuft is captured within the central passage of the bead. Therefore, although the bead is quite small, the central passage needs to be sized to fit the threader tool end (whether the loop end of tool 28 or needle tool 70) and also large enough to have the hair tuft and the tying thread passing through the passage at different stages of application.
Optionally, the stylist may sew and tie the weft foundation 24 at the mid-sectional bead cord points (points generally intermediate successive lateral beads), such as between bead 8 and 12. The claims appended hereto are meant to cover modifications and changes within the scope and spirit of the present invention.