Hair Accessory
A ponytail cover includes an elastic band extending between first and second free ends. Fastening portions such as Velcro portions or hooks are positioned at the first and second free ends of the elastic band and can be fastened together so as to form the elastic band into a loop to cover a ponytail holder. Strips of hair extend over and substantially cover a surface of the elastic band that is outwardly facing when formed into the loop. A ponytail holder includes a band of hair extending between first and second free ends and hooks attached to the first and second free ends that can be fastened together to secure the ponytail holder when the band of hair is wrapped around a ponytail.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hair accessory such as a ponytail cover or holder.
2. Description of Related Art
A ponytail is a hairstyle in which a portion of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and banded, usually at the back of the head, with an elastic band, clip, ring or some other securing device, commonly known as a ponytail holder. For example,
Various attempts have been made to improve the appearance of a ponytail holder. US 2010/0108089, for example, describes a ponytail clip 10 for concealing a ponytail band 40. Clip 10 includes multiple sections 17, 18 made of metal, plastic, glass or stone. This is a complicated and cumbersome design, and also maintains a noticeable and unnatural appearance relative to the hair. Further, the ends of clip 10 are secured to each other using clasp portions 15, 16 that secure the ends of clip 10 together but only loosely as clip 10 can still slide up and down along the ponytail. In order to retain clip 10 over band 40, an elongate pin 19 that penetrates the ponytail at a position over band 40 is necessary.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,884 seeks to improve the outward appearance of a ponytail holder by employing a device 10 that includes elastic band 12 and synthetic hair fibers 14. However, device 10 is a closed loop and is itself used to bind the ponytail. Thus, device 10 must be twisted and doubled up in order to achieve a tight fit around ponytail 52. The result is multiple tight loops around ponytail 52, some of which consist of elastic band 12 and some of which consist of hair fibers 14. One must attempt to move the tightly wound loops of hair fibers 14 to conceal the tightly wound and overlapping loops of elastic band 12. Thus, it may not be easy or even possible to completely conceal all loops of elastic band 12, and attempts to rearrange the tightly wound loops, may result in damage to hair fibers 14 and ponytail 52.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a hair accessory that can easily be applied to a ponytail to conceal or provide a natural outward appearance to a ponytail holder.
A ponytail cover according to one embodiment of the invention includes an elastic band extending between first and second free ends. First and second fastening portions are positioned at the first and second free ends of the elastic band and can be fastened together so as to form the elastic band into a loop to cover a ponytail holder. Strips of hair extend over and substantially cover a surface of the elastic band that is outwardly facing when formed into the loop.
In one implementation, the ponytail cover includes a first Velcro portion formed on an outwardly facing surface of the elastic band at the first free end, and a second Velcro portion formed on an inwardly facing surface of the elastic band at the second free end. A hair weft extends between first and second ends and comprises strips of hairs extending between and joined together at the first and second ends of the hair weft. The first and second ends of the hair weft are fastened to the elastic band to substantially cover the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band when the first and second Velcro portions are fastened together to form the elastic band into a loop.
In another implementation, the ponytail cover includes first and first and second hooks attached to the first and second free ends of the elastic bands. A hair weft extends between first and second ends and comprises strips of hair extending between and joined together at the first and second ends of the hair weft. The first and second ends of the hair weft are fastened to the elastic band to substantially cover the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band when the first and second hooks are fastened together to form the elastic band into a loop.
Another embodiment of the invention is a ponytail holder comprising a band of hair extending between first and second free ends. First and second fastening portions are attached to the first and second free ends of the band of hair and can be fastened together to secure the ponytail holder when the band of hair is wrapped around a ponytail. In one implementation, the band of hair is formed by braiding strips of human or synthetic hair, and the first and second fastening portions are hooks.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, various features of embodiments of the invention.
A ponytail cover 20 according to a first embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
In
Velcro portions are a highly effective and reliable means for fastening the ends of band 22 to form a loop and have many advantages, such as ease of use in fastening and unfastening, and complete concealment of the means for fastening. Further, the use of Velcro portions provides some flexibility in adjusting the diameter of the fastened ponytail cover to thereby accommodate different thicknesses of ponytails. However, alternative fastening means such as hooks, clips, buttons, magnets, etc. could be employed. The second embodiment of
A weft 32 of human or synthetic hair is attached above outward facing surface 28. Hair weft 32 comprises strips of hair that are joined at their ends by a band or seam 34, or other appropriate means such as adhesion, heat, etc, In turn, the band or seam 34 joining the hairs at each end of hair weft 32 is fastened to band 22 by sewing, stitching, gluing, heat, adhesion or other suitable means. As is best illustrated in
A ponytail cover 40 according to a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
Hooks 44, 46 are securely attached to the free ends of band 42 by an appropriate means such as sewing, stitching, heat, adhesion, etc., and in the illustrated embodiment are formed of metal. However, hooks 44, 46 may be formed by any other appropriate material such as plastic.
Like hair weft 32, hair weft 52 comprises strips of human or synthetic hair that are joined at their ends by a band or seam 54 or other suitable means,. In turn, the band or seam 54 is fastened to band 42 by sewing, stitching, gluing or another suitable means. One advantage of the use of hooks, as can be seen in
Ponytail holder 60 is formed of a band 62 of human or synthetic hair with hooks 64, 66 at opposite ends of hair band 62. In the embodiment of
Ponytail holder 60 is used to secure a ponytail by wrapping hair band 62 tightly around the ponytail, typically in several loops, and securing hooks 64, 66 together behind the ponytail. The length of holder 60 should be sufficient to wrap tightly at least once around the ponytail, and typically several loops around the ponytail are desirable.
The embodiments of the invention described in this document are illustrative and not restrictive. Modification may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, ponytail holder 60 could be formed by wrapping the hairs forming band 62 loosely around an internal elastic band, so as to conceal the band and accommodate expansion and stretching by the band when wrapped around a ponytail Further, alternative fastening means such as clips, buttons, magnets, Velcro, etc. could be used in place of hooks 62, 64.
Claims
1. A ponytail cover comprising:
- an elastic band extending between first and second free ends;
- first and second fastening portions positioned at the first and second free ends of the elastic band that can be fastened together so as to form the elastic band into a loop to cover a ponytail holder; and
- strips of hair extending over and substantially covering an outward facing surface of the elastic band, wherein
- the strips of hair are joined at first and second weft ends by bands or seams to form a weft, and
- the bands or seams at the first and second weft ends are fastened to the elastic band so as to substantially cover the outward facing surface of the elastic band.
2. The ponytail cover of claim 1, wherein the first fastening portion is a hook portion and the second fastening portion is a loop portion.
3. The ponytail cover of claim 2, wherein the hook portion is formed at the first free end of the elastic band on the outward facing surface of the elastic band, and the loop portion is formed at the second free end of the elastic band on an inward facing surface of the elastic band.
4. The ponytail cover of claim 1, wherein the first and second fastening portions are first and second hooks.
5. (canceled)
6. The ponytail cover of claim 1, wherein the weft is formed from human or synthetic hair.
7. A ponytail cover comprising:
- an elastic band extending between first and second free ends;
- a hook portion formed on an outwardly facing surface of the elastic band at the first free end;
- a loop portion formed on an inwardly facing surface of the elastic band at the second free end;
- a hair weft extending between first and second weft ends and comprising strips of hair extending between and joined together by bands or seams at the first and second weft ends of the hair weft, wherein the bands or seams of the hair weft are fastened to the elastic band to substantially cover the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band when the hook and loop portions are fastened together to form the elastic band into a loop.
8. A ponytail cover comprising:
- an elastic band extending between first and second free ends;
- first and second hooks attached to the first and second free ends of the elastic band; and
- a hair weft extending between first and second weft ends and comprising strips of hair extending between and joined together at the first and second weft ends of the hair weft, wherein
- the first and second weft ends of the hair weft are fastened to the elastic band to substantially cover the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band when the first and second hooks are fastened together to form the elastic band into a loop, and
- the hair weft is spaced from the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band.
9-11. (canceled)
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 10, 2012
Publication Date: Oct 10, 2013
Inventors: Mariana Hogan (Toluca Lake, CA), Richard Collins (Los Angeles, CA)
Application Number: 13/443,686