None.
A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to hair styling devices configured to be worn in the user's hair in order to affect the appearance of the hair. More particularly, the present invention relates to such hair styling devices which give the user's hair the appearance of greater volume. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to hair volumizing devices that are adapted to be worn in the hair without being seen.
B. Background
A wide variety of devices are available for styling hair to obtain a certain type of look and enhance the beauty of the hair and, as a result, the person. Many of the available devices are utilized by the person or by his or her hair stylist, including curling irons, rollers, blow dryers and hair clamps, to impart a particular style to the hair. Unfortunately, many of the most desirable hair styling effects are not easy for most men or women to accomplish themselves, thereby requiring a visit to a hair stylist to achieve the desired look. Even if the person is able to accomplish the hair style him or herself, many of the hair styles require a relatively significant amount of time and effort to achieve. Although much effort, and in many circumstances money, may be put into obtaining the desired hair style, the styling work is usually only temporary, lasting until the next hair wash or exposure to wind, rain or other weather elements. As a result, many people only have the hair style they desire on a relatively infrequent basis.
To counter the difficulty and generally temporary nature of many hair styles, a number of hair clips and other styling tools are available. A number of these hair clips have hair engaging members that are configured to grasp a portion of the hair to effect a particular look to the hair. Examples of these types of clips are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,061 to Jordan, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,184 to Shu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,741 to Chen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,485 to Potut and U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,296 to Potut. A common feature of these hair clips and others like them is that they grab onto a portion of the person's hair and are, for the most part, worn on the outside of the hair, meaning that they are at least partially visible to others. In fact, many of these types of hair clips are intended to be seen. As a result, some of the clips utilize decorative features, such as ribbons, flower-shaped elements and the like, to substantially cover the hair clip as it is worn in the user's hair. Some of these hair clips and other styling tools, as an example U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 to Edmark, are utilized to effectuate a particular hair style or effect to the user's hair (i.e., an inverted hair tail).
A number of hair styling combs or picks are available to manipulate a person's hair to achieve a desired look. An example of one such hair pick is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 7,231,925 to Wall. This patent discloses a base member having a plurality of teeth extending therefrom. The base member is configured to allow the user to flex the pick in a manner that orients the teeth in either a converging closed position or a diverging open position for pulling the pick through the hair to effect a desired combing, untangling, holding and spraying of the hair. Another example of such a hair comb or pick is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,129 to Olson, which describes a device for teasing the hair to provide more volume with less tangling and knotting. This device has a handle from which a plurality of teeth extend from at different lengths (i.e., short, medium and long tooth lengths). As with many other such hair combs or picks, these devices are intended to be used to manipulate the hair during the styling process and are not intended to be left in the hair.
One desirable hair treatment or style is to manipulate the hair so as to appear to increase the volume of a person's hair. In particular, many women desire to have hair that is full of volume so as to achieve a look that is commonly referred to as the “big hair” appearance. Generally, achieving this look requires the hair to be teased or bumped, as may be accomplished by the device of Olson above, and then finished to hold in place. Most women have much difficulty in obtaining this look on their own and, as a result, must go to a hair stylist to obtain the desired volumizing of their hair. Several known hair styling devices or clips are intended for providing the appearance of increased volume in the hair. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,905 to Adam discloses a volume hairpin that comprises a support member which protrudes from the side of one of the legs of the hairpin. Hair flows between the upper and lower legs of the hairpin and then over the support member, which raises the hair to give it the appearance of increased volume. As with other hairpins, a portion of this hairpin is outside of the hair and, as a result, generally visible. U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,179 to Lunde describes a hair styling article for providing increased volume to a switch of hair. This article comprises a base and a plurality of outwardly extending, arcuate-shaped members that hold the switch of hair in place in a flared-out fashion in a ponytail configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,549 to Lunde describes a hair root volumizing clip having a pair of arms that are each connected to tabs that are squeezed together to open the hair clip. Hook fibers are applied to the interior faces of the arms to apply tension to the hair. The hair clip is only intended to be in the person's hair while the stylist is styling the hair in a manner to provide the appearance of increased volume. The clip is removed once the styling activity is completed.
Although there are numerous hair styling devices available, what is needed is an improved hair styling device that is specially configured to be worn in the hair to provide the appearance of increased volume. The preferred hair volumizing device should be configured to be substantially or completely hidden in the person's hair so that the device is not visible to others while providing the desired volumizing effect. Preferably, the hair volumizing device will be easy for a person to correctly place in their own hair so that they may quickly and without having to go to a hair stylist obtain the desired increase in hair volume. The preferred hair volumizing device should be configured and made out of materials such that the device is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
The improved hair volumizing device of the present invention solves the problems and provides the benefits identified above. That is to say, the present invention discloses a hair volumizing device which is worn in the hair and useful for providing the appearance of increased volume in the user's hair. The hair volumizing device of the present invention is an easy to use device that can be placed by the user in her own hair and then worn under the hair to provide the appearance of increased volume without the device being seen by others. The present hair volumizing device is adapted to engage a portion of the user's hair just above the scalp and raise the hair up to give the user the appearance of increased hair volume without the need to see a hairstylist or tease/bump the hair themselves. The preferred hair volumizing device of the present invention is made out of components and materials that can provide a relatively inexpensive to manufacture device.
