Patent Publication Number: US-2020281293-A1

Title: Pony Tail Hair Extension Having Elastic Cord with Hooks

Description:
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional App. 62/813,515, filed Mar. 4, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field of the Invention 
     Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to hair extensions. More specifically embodiments relate to a ponytail hair extensions having an elastic securing material. 
     Background 
     Hair extensions come in a number of varieties including clip-ins, tie-ins, and halo- or crown-like designs. Examples include extensions to add volume and/or length to hair, to cover portions of the head, and to add volume and length for ponytails. 
     Conventional ponytail hair extensions generally comprise two portions of hair. A first portion comprises the hair for provided increased volume and length. The second portion is used to wrap around the base of the ponytail extension to hide it. Further, conventional ponytail extensions are secured using Velcro. 
     To use such a conventional ponytail hair extension, a wearer creates a ponytail with her actual hair and secures it using a hair clip or other securing device. The wearer then clips in the conventional ponytail hair extension to the created actual hair ponytail, removes the securing clip, and wraps the ponytail hair extension around the actual hair ponytail to secure it to the base with the Velcro. The wearer then wraps the second portion of the hair to hide the base, and secures the second portion of hair using a securing device such as a bobby pin. 
     There are a number of problems with conventional ponytail hair extensions. One such problem is that the Velcro is difficult to work with. For example, when trying to wrap the conventional ponytail extension around the actual hair, the both the first and second portions of the hair of the ponytail hair extension, as well as the wearer&#39;s actual hair can get tangled in the Velcro. Moreover, the clips tend not to hold the hair very well. Thus, a conventional ponytail hair extension can slide and pull on the wearer&#39;s hair which can be very irritating and uncomfortable. 
     SUMMARY 
     To overcome the problems associated with conventional ponytail hair extensions, a ponytail hair extension is provided that has a hook to engage with a ponytail holder and an elastic cord having a hook at each end. The ponytail extension has one or more hair wefts attached to one or more fabric pieces that form a base for the ponytail extension. In an embodiment, one of the pieces of fabric is folded upon itself to form a lengthwise channel in which the elastic cord having the hooks on each end rests such that the hooks are outside the channel. In another embodiment, a separate piece of fabric is used to form the channel through which the elastic band is run. The hair wefts can be made from natural or synthetic hair strands. The natural or synthetic hair strands can be of the same or different lengths. 
     In operation, a ponytail holder, such as a hair band, is used to create and hold a ponytail using the wearer&#39;s natural hair by inserting the wearer&#39;s hair into a loop formed by the ponytail holder and then wrapping the ponytail holder upon itself to make multiple smaller loops that secure a ponytail made from the wearer&#39;s natural hair. The elastic cord is wrapped around the ponytail at the ponytail holder, and the hooks at the ends of the elastic cord are inserted between wraps in the ponytail holder. To hide the ponytail holder and complete the look a portion of the ponytail hair extension is wrapped around the ponytail holder and secured in place, using for example, a bobby pin. 
     In an embodiment, a ponytail hair extension includes a base comprising one or more pieces of fabric, including a topmost piece of fabric, one or more hair wefts sewn to each of the pieces of fabric, a hook attached to the topmost piece of fabric, and an elastic band having two ends, wherein there is a hook on each end of the elastic hair band. 
     In another embodiment, a method for using a ponytail hair extension having an elastic band with two ends, and a hook at each end includes forming a ponytail of natural hair, securing the ponytail using a ponytail holder, hooking the ponytail hair extension to the ponytail holder using a hook, hooking one of the hooks at one end of the elastic band into the hair of the ponytail, and wrapping the ponytail extension around the ponytail tightly and securing the pony tai hair extension using the other hook at the other end of the elastic band. In addition, the method can include wrapping a portion of the hair of the ponytail hair extension around the ponytail holder to hide the ponytail holder; and securing the wrapped portion with a bobby pin. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  illustrates a ponytail extension according to a first embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 1B  illustrates a ponytail extension according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an elastic cord with hooks at each end according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary base with hair wefts layers. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an ponytail hair extension having elastic anchors for anchoring hooks at its ends according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 5A-5D  illustrate use of a ponytail hair extension according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a ponytail extension  100  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , ponytail extension  100  comprises a base  103  comprising one more overlapping pieces of fabric  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   c ,  102   d , and  102   e . As explained below, one or more hair wefts are sewn onto pieces of fabric  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   c ,  102   d , and  102   e . The overlapping of fabric pieces  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   c ,  102   d , and  102   e  provides for a layering effect of the hair wefts. In an embodiment, this is accomplished by sewing fabric pieces  102   a  to fabric piece  102   b  at seam  104   a , fabric piece  102   b  to fabric piece  102   c  at seam  104   b , fabric piece  102   c  to fabric piece  102   d  at seam  104   c , and fabric piece  102   d  to fabric piece  102   e  at seam  104   d . In an embodiment, fabric pieces  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   c , and  102   d  are lace. 
     Attached to base  103  is a hook or clasp  112 . Hook  112  hooks onto a ponytail holder, such as a hair band. An exemplary hair band is an elastic hair band having a generally circular shape. In an embodiment, hook  112  is attached to the topmost piece of fabric  102   a . In an embodiment, hook  112  is attached at or near the center of piece of fabric  102   a  at or near its upper edge. Hook  112  thus serves as an anchor for ponytail extension  100  to anchor it to a ponytail holder. 
     An elastic cord  106  is incorporated in ponytail extension  100 . As shown in  FIG. 1A , in one embodiment, elastic band  106  is wrapped by folding piece of fabric  102   a  over on itself to form a channel  110  in which elastic cord  106  is placed. Elastic cord  106  has two hooks  108   a  and  108   b  on its ends. Alternatively, piece of fabric  102   a  is folded to cover only a portion of elastic band  106 , and elastic band  106  is attached to piece of fabric  102   a , for example, by sewing. 
       FIG. 1B  illustrates a second embodiment of a ponytail extension  101  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrates in  FIG. 1B , a separate piece of fabric  114  is sewn onto base  103  for example sewn to the top most fabric piece  102   a . A small portion of fabric piece  114  is folded over itself and sewn back to itself to form a channel  116  into which elastic cord  106  is placed. In an embodiment, fabric piece  114  is bias tape or wig tape, both of which are well known to those having skill in the art. Other fabrics may be used for fabric piece  114  so long as they hold elastic cord  106  in a particular implementation 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an elastic cord  106  according to an embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 2 , elastic cord has at its ends 2 hooks,  108   a  and  108   b . Elastic bands having hooks for use in embodiments are well known to those having skill in the art and available for example on Amazon.com in offerings by Frcolor, BinaryABC, JaneDream. Hotop, and Mini Skater. Alternatively, hooks  108   a  and  108   b  can be attached to elastic band  106  by any number of techniques that would be well-known to those having skill in the art, such as using a securing collar or clamping. In an embodiment, elastic cord  106  is a bungee cord or shock cord. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a base  103  with attached hair wefts in layers according to an embodiment. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , hair wefts  402   a ,  402   b ,  402   c , and  402   d  are attached to one or more of the pieces of fabric  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   c  making up base  103 . For example, the hair wefts can be sewn to the pieces of fabric. The hair wefts can be sewn anywhere on the fabric, For example, in an embodiment, the hair wefts are sewn to the fabric pieces near the seam that attaches one fabric piece of base  103  to another. 
     Each hair weft  402   a ,  402   b ,  402   c , and  402   d  comprises one or more hair strands. The hair strands making up each hair weft can be synthetic or human hair. The hair strands can be of any desired length and single or double pulled. The hairs strands in a particular weft can be of variable or the same length and single and/or double pulled. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a ponytail hair extension having elastic anchors  402   a  and  402   b  for anchoring hooks  108   a  and  108   b  at its ends according to another embodiment of the present invention. Anchors  402   a  and  402   b  are made of an elastic material. Anchors  402   a  and  402   b  are formed by folding the elastic material upon itself and sewing the ends at seams  406   a  and  406   b  to form loops  404   a  and  404   b . Prior to sewing seams  406   a  and  406   b , hooks  108   a  and  108   b  are placed inside loops  404   a  and  404   b  respectively. 
       FIGS. 5A-5D  illustrate use of a ponytail hair extension  100  according to an embodiment. In  FIG. 5A , the wearer first forms a ponytail  502  of the wearer&#39;s natural hair and secures the ponytail using a ponytail holder  502 . Next, as shown in  FIG. 5B  the wearer hooks ponytail hair extension  100  to ponytail holder  504  using hook  112 . Then, as shown in  FIG. 5C , the wearer hooks one of the hooks attached to elastic cord  106  into the hair of the ponytail  502 . For example, hook  108   a  can be inserted in ponytail  502  just below ponytail holder  504 . The wearer then wraps ponytail extension  100  tightly around ponytail  502  secure ponytail hair extension  100 , and inserts the other hook, hook  108   b , into the hair of ponytail  502 . For example, hook  108   b  can be inserted into the hair of ponytail  502  under ponytail holder  504 . Finally, as shown in  FIG. 5 d   , the wearer wraps a portion  508  of the hair of ponytail hair extension  100  around ponytail holder  504  to hide ponytail holder  504 . The wearer can secure wrapped portion  508  using a bobby pin. 
     The foregoing disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto, and by their equivalents.