Patent Application
20060011208
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to hairdressing and/or styling devices, and more particularly to an improvement to the functionality of most hair styling appliances used for curling, crimping, or flat ironing the hair.
2. Description of Prior Art
There are many techniques used for altering the natural appearance of one's hair. A principle distinction in the most commonly used methods is based on the permanence of the alterations. Permanent techniques suggest a relatively long term imparting of style or shape to the hair generally employing chemical treatment. The shape or style, be it permanently straightened or permanently curled, will return to the hair even after wetting or washing the hair.
The term “setting” refers to a more temporary imparting of style to the hair than the permanent techniques such that the hair will return to its original, permanently treated or untreated shape or appearance upon exposure to significant moisture or the application of pressure.
Many methods of hair setting exist. Perhaps the most common consists of winding moist hair about rollers and curlers. The hair is substantially dried while wound on the roller and thereafter removed and brushed or combed to complete the styling.
Alternatively, moist hair may be styled by simply teasing or repeatedly brushing the hair in a specific pattern while concurrently applying heat to the hair, as in “blow-drying.”
Still further style or shape can be imparted to permanently treated or untreated hair by using the well-known curling iron. Curling irons typically incorporate an electrical heating element to heat one or both sides of a smooth but curved pair of mating surfaces, a.k.a. barrels, between which hair is placed to be curled. The hair is pulled through the interface of the mating surfaces of the curling iron to aid in curling the hair. On the other hand, crimping irons and flat irons operate much like curling irons, but they have a pair of smooth mating surfaces that are not curved and cylindrical like the barrels of the curling iron. The mating surfaces of the crimping irons are smooth undulated surfaces, which act to wave the hair when compressed against the hair. The mating surfaces of the flat irons are smooth and flat and act to straighten the hair when compressed against and pulled along the hair.
Generally, the prior art irons comprise a pair of surfaces that are smooth but not textured for engaging the hair. Prior art where surfaces were not totally smooth typically contained holes for steam heating of some sort or smooth waves for waving the hair. The flat and smooth surfaces expose the hair to direct heat and put a lot of pressure on the hair, removing natural body and, consequently, flattening the hair out, leaving it limp. Over time and with the continuous application of such heat, the hair becomes undesirably lifeless and damaged.
The applicant has determined, through use of all of the aforementioned techniques, that the best hair setting results are obtained when all of the hair to be styled is treated uniformly, while at the same time, minimizing the application of direct heat as much as possible. Furthermore, the applicant has determined that regular use and/or misuse of the prior art could result in lifeless and damaged hair, especially when the hair is not shampooed and conditioned properly with each styling. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a hair styling device capable of use in curling, straightening, and/or waving hair, which overcomes the limitations of the prior art. Therefore, in light of the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art, applicant's invention is herein presented.
A hair styling apparatus includes a pair of mating surfaces, which engage one another and a handle, which guides them into engagement at the manual control of a user. Hair to be styled is placed between the engaged-surfaces. The bottom surface/barrel and the inside of the upper surface are incised with helical or advancing spiral threads, called grooves. The grooves are similar to those in a metal screw. The grooves will cause the hair to separate (a few strains of hair) going into each groove, while curling and/or pressing. The grooves will greatly reduce the direct heat to the hair, thereby, increasing the hairs' health. The grooves in concert with the weight of the iron will add fullness and cause the hair to become silkier.
Accordingly, following are several of the objects and advantages of my invention over the prior art:
Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description of the present invention is illustrative only and not in any way limiting in application to the curling iron. Other embodiments of the invention, i.e., crimping, spiral, and flat irons, will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
In the embodiment shown in
Those of skill in the art will realize that the size of the threads/grooves will depend on the size of the mating surfaces 1 and 2.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, dry heat may be provided to the mating surfaces 1, 2 by incorporating a conventional electrical heating coil behind the surfaces or by placing the mating surfaces 1, 2 in a Marcel heating oven. Since the weight of the barrel 2 is very important and works in concert with the grooves, the material used for the barrel 2 should be aluminum, brass, or a combination of both. The handle types will be Spring, i.e., thumb-sized—hair press by spring strength, or Marcel, i.e., hand-sized—hair press by hand strength.
While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.
