The present invention relates to hair coloring in salons and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a small brake device and to its method of use for manually creasing triangular hair foils for their subsequent use in dimensional hair color placement.
Thin rectangular sheets of aluminum foil, referred to as “hair foils,” are commonly used by professional hair colorists and hair stylists to color or highlight the hair of customers in hair salons. Each rectangular hair foil is used to form a “packet” which is locked in place into a selected hair section with a lock of hair and a desired coloring composition. As many as fifty or more hair foils may be required to color a single head of hair. A busy hair colorist will use thousands of hair foils in a week.
Conventional rectangular or square hair foils are supplied to hair salons in stacks of flat foil sheets often separated by paper sheets. Hair foils are also sold as a pop-up style and in the form of continuous rolls of foil with a cutter to cut a custom length of foil chosen by the colorist. Many colorists simply work with what are commonly referred to as potato wrap foils.
Conventional rectangular or square hair foils require multiple folds to lock the foil packet with coloring product into the selected hair section. Thus, during its use as a hair foil, each foil sheet is folded at least once and usually multiple times by the hair colorist to form a pocket for the lock of hair and coloring composition. To facilitate this step the foil sheets are prepared before the hair coloring procedure begins by cutting to size and/or creasing a plurality of sheets. This makes it easier for the hair colorist to use them during the hair coloring procedure.
The preparation of hair foils is time consuming and tedious work and there have been efforts to mechanize the process. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,062,947, Jun. 20, 2006 to James Douglas Farfor for CUTTING AND FOLDING MACHINE discloses a cutting and folding machine for cutting foil from a sheet into rectangular pieces with one edge folded over to provide reinforcement along that edge. U.S. Pat. No. 8,387,432, Mar. 5, 2013 TO Ross et al, for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING SHEETS OF FOIL discloses a machine for automatically dispensing sheets of foil ready for use in coloring hair.
However, machines are relatively expensive and may not be available to the hair colorist. Therefore, there remains a need for an improved and economical device for manual preparation of foils for hair color placement which will facilitate the preparation and use of the foils during the hair coloring process. There also remains a need for an improved hair coloring procedure. Accordingly, the present invention provides a small brake device for creasing triangular hair foils and a method of their use which offers several advantages over traditional rectangular or square hair foils.
Whereas conventional hair foils require multiple folds to lock the foil packet with product into the selected hair section, the triangular hair foils of the present invention require only a single fold to lock the foil packet into place. This single locking fold of the triangular foil allows for quicker and cleaner release from the hair than the multiple locking folds required by a rectangular foil. Additionally, triangular foils allow for the treated hair section to be placed farther into the body of the packet, away from the foil crease, keeping the product on the selected section of hair and decreasing the possibility of uneven product saturation and product displacement that can result from the multiple folds of rectangular foils pushing the product away from the hair section, thereby avoiding what is known in the industry as lines of demarcation. By placing the crease of the triangular foils parallel to the temporal hair line, the packets of product and treated hair are kept out of the client's eyes and face as the packets are folded, closed and directed away from the face, keeping chemicals away from the customer's face. This technique also provides a more professional presentation on the part of the colorist than allowed by traditional rectangular foils.
The present invention is directed to a device for manual preparation of triangular hair color placement foils and to their method of use. In accordance with the present invention the device can be provided at little expense yet is practical and will facilitate the preparation of triangular foils to make the life of the hair coloring user much easier. Use of triangular hair foils allows coverage of more head surface in a shorter time than use of conventional rectangular foils. Triangular foils also can be easily directed away from the face of the client and provide a more attractive, finished look during the coloring process.
Further understanding of the present invention will be had from the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A hair folding and creasing brake device for creating pre-folded and creased triangular hair foils for dimensional hair color placement comprises a sheet which is hinged so that foil sheets placed on its surface can be clamped and then bent to form a crease therein. In plan view, a preferred embodiment of a brake of the present invention has three congruent isosceles right triangles, two of which are hingedly joined along their respective hypotenuses and a third of which is joined to one of the two along their respective legs. A hair coloring foil is prepared by placing a foil or a pack of foils onto the square formed by the two isosceles right triangles which are joined at their hypotenuses, then folding the third triangle over the foil to clamp the foil and then then folding the free right triangle over the third right triangle to thereby bend the foil along the joined hypotenuses.
Broadly speaking, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a hair folding and creasing brake device for creating creased triangular hair foils for dimensional hair color placement. The hair foil brake comprises a sheet which is hinged so that foil sheets placed on its surface can be clamped and then bent to form pre-triangular foils from square foil sheets.
Now referring to
It is intended that sheet 12 can be made of a single sheet of thin polymeric material with joints 24 and 30 being “live” hinges formed therein by any conventional means. Alternatively, sheet 12 can comprise three separate triangular sheets which are joined together at 24 and 30 by any other type of hinge which achieves the purpose of the present invention. Sheet 12 can be a thin sheet of less than a millimeter or a thick sheet of up to 20 millimeters or so, the thickness of sheet 12 being limited only by its requirement to successfully function to clamp and crease hair foil sheets. Of course, while it is contemplated that sheet 12 will be comprised of a suitable polymeric material such as nylon, polyester or the like, it can be comprised of any suitable material including metals or even paper.
As will be described in more detail below, a hair foil brake of this invention is intended for use to impart a crease to each of a pack of square hair foils to facilitate their individual use as triangular packets. Brakes 10, 100 or 200 are each well suited for this purpose it being understood that in the following description brake 100 or 200 can be substituted for brake 10.
A suitable starting hair foil square for use with hair foil brake 10 is illustrated in
Now referring to
As shown in
In accordance with the next step of the present invention and as indicated by arrow 52, first triangle 14 is folded about clamping joint or hinge 24 to lie on top of pack 50 to clampingly hold half of pack 50 between first and second triangles 14 and 16. Next, as indicated by arrow 54, third triangle 18 is folded along bending joint 30 to form creases 42 in each hair foil sheet 40 in pack 50. Removal of pack 50 from brake 10 is then begun as shown by arrow 56 illustrating unfolding third triangle 18 to an open configuration and then arrow 58 illustrating unfolding first triangle 14 to an open configuration with pack 50 of sheets 40 folded over folding edge 32 of first triangle 14.
Pack 50 of hair foil sheets 40 can then be removed from brake 10 as shown by arrow 60 and a single sheet 40 separated from pack 50, as illustrated by arrow 62 for use by a hair colorist. It will be understood that only three sheets 40 are illustrated for clarity but that one to twenty or even more sheets 40 will be suitably used. Furthermore, it is an advantage of the present invention that sheets 40 will tend to flare or slightly separate as shown in the figure so that manual selection of one sheet 40 for use will be facilitated, Thus, as illustrated by arrow 62 one foil sheet 40 is selected and then as indicated by arrow 64 is placed against hair section 44 which is to be colored. Then as illustrated by arrow 66, color product 46 is painted or otherwise applied to hair section 44. Finally, and as illustrated by arrow 68, hair foil 40 is folded along crease line 44 to lock triangular wings 70 and 72 about hair section 44 and color product 46.
Hair foils 40 are typically applied to a customer's head in horizontal, diagonal or vertical patterns to achieve different hair coloring effects. Thus, the colorist can take horizontal, diagonal or vertical slices or solid panels and/or can apply drips of color without weaving. The triangular shape of hair foils 40 with wings 70 and 72 when folded facilitates changing the foil's direction of placement to achieve different results and allows more control using less foil to achieve the results.
Now referring to
It is an advantage of the present invention that the triangular shape of the present foil requires only a single fold to lock the foil into place. Additionally, the triangular foils of the present invention allow for the treated hair section to be placed farther into the body of the foil, away from the foil crease, keeping the product on the selected section of hair and decreasing the possibility of uneven product saturation and product displacement that can result from the multiple folds of rectangular foils pushing the product away from the hair section, thereby avoiding what is known in the industry as lines of demarcation. Furthermore, by placing the crease of the triangular foils parallel to the temporal hairline, the packets of product and treated hair are kept out of the client's eyes and face as the packets are folded, closed and directed away from the face.
As illustrated in
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is subject to modification and variation and it is intended that such modifications and variations are considered to be within the broad scope of the invention, which is intended to be limited only by the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20170224080 A1 | Aug 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14572506 | Dec 2014 | US |
Child | 15408353 | US |