Finding the cure for baldness and thinning hair on both men and women has long been a quest for many inventors. There has been many inventions to remedy such a problem, but very few with only some to limited results. These inventions range from massaging devices to topical applications and from sophisticated to the obscured. The biggest folly for these inventions is that there has never been a definite answer to the question of why baldness or hair thinning occurs. There is a wide range of possibilities that may be the reason for baldness or thinning hair, such as; genes, illness, medications, internal toxins, DHT, aging and stress.
The most popular and widely used inventions used in the market place, are the topical applications that contain minoxidil or minoxidil derivatives. U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,266 to Catalfo (2003) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,817 to Bazzano (1993) are two examples of such inventions. However these solutions provide only limited to no results, are expensive, carry the risk of side effects to the user, and have to be applied regularly for as long as the user wants to maintain the perceived results. An oral administration, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,649 to Gormley (2002) also carries many of the same follies as the topical applications. It provides only limited to no results, is very expensive, is for men only, carries the risk of many side effects to the user, and have to be taken regularly for as long as the user wants to maintain the perceived results. U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,903 to Valle (1990) uses a technique of hair implanting by plugging synthetic hair or natural hair strands into the scalp where balding or thinning has occurred. This is merely a way of masking baldness and not a cure. It is very expensive, time consuming, can be painful, and may leave scaring.
There are other inventions that may be less known, but strive for the same results. U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,719 to Pearl (2002) uses a laser to combat baldness with limited to no results. This too is expensive, time consuming, and must be used regularly. U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,206 to Pitzen (2003) uses an electrical therapeutic signal, but must be manipulated and administered by the operator of the apparatus.
Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,609 to Fye (1991), is a similar looking invention, but serves a different purpose. It is a compression bandage for post rhytidectomy plastic surgery or after a facelift to hold the face stationary. All the heretofore patents have one or more of the following disadvantages:
There are several objects and advantages of the present patent, which are:
Further objects and advantages are to provide an easy to use way to stimulate hair growth that is also comfortable to the user.
In accordance with the present invention a compression apparatus for reducing hair loss and stimulating hair growth on the head of a human subject comprising of a stretch-type cloth that works by shifting the scalp upward, toward the top of the head, and forward toward the forehead, to un-kink the blood vessels to create an improved blood flow to the scalp and hair.
1 top stretch-type cloth
2 ring
3 coarse pad
4 hook-and-loop fastener
5 side stretch-type cloth
6 chin strap
7 side support
8 side coarse pad
9 side support hook-and-loop fastener
A preferred embodiment of the compression apparatus of the present invention is illustrated in
Operation—
To place the compression apparatus on, the user places the top stretch-type cloth 1 over the top of the head, in the direction of ear to ear. You then hold this top stretch-type cloth down on the head with one hand, and stretch the bottom chinstrap 6 down and around the chin with the other hand. The apparatus should be snug, from the top of the head and down around the chin (
The compression apparatus should not be worn to tightly or to loosely. Once the apparatus is on, you test to make sure it is on correctly by gently lifting up on the top portion of the forehead, around the front hair line, with your fingers, to make sure there is give in the skin. One should be able to move the forehead skin and scalp in a circular motion with ease. If the apparatus does not fit snug, then adjust its size with one, or both, of the hook-and-loop fasteners 4. The compression apparatus can be worn with the head in any position, and while doing almost any activity. The amount of force and the direction of the shift will vary depending on how tight the compression apparatus is on, and the angle the user has it on the head.
FIGS. 2, 4—Alternative Embodiments
Alternative embodiments that can be added to the compression apparatus are shown in
From the description above, a number of advantages of my compression apparatus become evident:
Accordingly, the reader will see that the compression apparatus of this invention can be used to stimulate hair growth and reduce hair loss by decreasing the blood flow restriction to the scalp and hair. It is simply worn on the head and is adjustable to fit different head sizes. In addition, this compression apparatus can be worn while performing most activities. Furthermore, the compression apparatus has the additional advantages in that
Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, the compression apparatus can have other shapes of the parts used, such as square, oval, circle, etc.; made of different materials, such as, elastic, terry cloth, leather, rubber, etc.; made with more or less tension or support.
Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather then by the examples given.