Patent Publication Number: US-2011055996-A1

Title: Headwear

Description:
This invention relates to headwear. 
     Hair loss in both men and women can cause grief, embarrassment and distress. In some cases, baldness is irreversible, whereas in others it can be a temporary side-effect of such treatment as chemo- or radio-therapy used as a cancer treatment. 
     Hats and other items of headwear are well known, and have been since antiquity. They have often been used to mask the effects of baldness, but they only provide a cosmetic solution. 
     According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided and article of headwear, having a contact surface which contacts a wearer&#39;s head in use, in which the contact surface comprises a therapeutically active agent, a therapeutic effect of which occurs on contact of the agent with the wearer&#39;s skin. 
     Accordingly, the wearer&#39;s scalp, head or proximate areas can be treated by the action of wearing the headwear. This is particularly useful with wearers who have temporarily gone bald due to the side effects of disease or treatment of certain diseases. In such case, they are likely to wear headwear in order to cover up this temporary baldness, and use of the article of headwear according to the present invention therefore synergetically takes advantage of this fact. 
     The therapeutically active agent may be present substantially throughout the material forming the article. Alternatively, the article may comprise, as a major part of its composition, material which does not contain the therapeutically active agent. Indeed, the therapeutically active agent may only be present in the contact surface. The contact surface may comprise a lining for the article; such a lining may be convenient for a number of reasons, including the fact that such linings could be fitted to articles of headwear of otherwise standard construction. In an alternative, the therapeutically active agent is present only around an internal rim of the article of headwear. This is typically the part of the hat that is most frequently in contact with the wearer&#39;s head. The contact surface may comprise a strip of material around the internal rim of the hat; such a strip is commonly referred to as a Petersham, after the fabric which is most commonly used for this purpose. Whilst Petersham ribbon could be used for the strip, any suitable fabric could be used. 
     In one embodiment, the article is a hat, or a wig. In an alternative, the article may be a combination hat and hairpiece, in which real or synthetic hair is attached to a hat. 
     Where the article comprises a hairpiece (including the case where it comprises a wig) such that the article comprises real or synthetic hair depending from a substrate, the hair may comprise the therapeutically active agent. This may be in addition to a part of the contact surface forming part of the substrate. In such a case, the hair is likely to move around and come into contact with the wearer&#39;s skin in a wider region than otherwise would be the case. This effect is accentuated the longer the hair is; advantageously, it would be at least 30 cm long; in such a case, a wearer&#39;s neck region could easily be treated. 
     The therapeutically active agent may comprise a silver or silver-ion impregnated fabric. Typically, it may also comprise a long-fibre polyester fabric. A suitable fabric is that sold under the mark DERMASMART® by Milliken &amp; Company on their website www.dermasmart.com. Use of such fabric in the present invention has been found to ease such conditions as alopecia, and ease skin conditions such as psoriasis or those caused by the side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy used as a cancer treatment. It is particularly advantageously employed in the Petersham, or in Petersham ribbon forming at least part of the contact surface. 
    
    
     
       There now follows, by way of example, an embodiment of the invention described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a combination hat and hairpiece according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 2  shows the hat of  FIG. 1  viewed in cross section. 
     
    
    
     The accompanying figures show a combination hat and hairpiece  1  exhibited on a stand  10  (which does not form part of the invention). The combination  1  comprises a hat part  2  and a hair part  3 . The hat, in the present case, is of a shape that will snugly fit a wearer&#39;s head, although the style of hat employed in the invention is unimportant. 
     To this hat portion  2  is attached the hair portion  3 . These are attached to above the rim of the hat. The hair portion  3  can be sewn to the hat effectively permanently. Alternatively, the hair can be detachable, being attached by Velcro®, press-stubs, or the like. In the present embodiment, the hair portion is of the form of multiple strands of hair formed into dreadlocks. Again, the style of hair is unimportant to the invention itself and can be chosen according to the wearer&#39;s desired aesthetics. 
     The hat portion comprises an outer skin  5  and a lining  6 . In one example, the outer skin could be made of felt, wool, sinamay, paper, cashmere, cotton, polyester, parasisal, straw or so on as is well known for hats of this type. However, the lining is formed of a so-called “intelligent fabric” chosen for its therapeutic properties. In the present embodiment, this is a long-fibre silver (or silver ion) impregnated fabric, such as is marketed as DERMASMART® by Milliken and Company (and available from their website www.dermasmart.com). This lining will rest against the skin of the user&#39;s head—that is, their scalp—whilst the hat is worn. It therefore represents a contact surface. 
     Such a lining acts as a therapeutically active agent and will gently treat the user&#39;s scalp whilst it is being worn. In the present example, the silver acts as an anti-bacterial agent, and in combination with the long-fibre polyester acts to soothe itching and the like. In cases of temporary hair less, such as due to chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatments for cancer, this gentle treatment may soothe any irritation that would otherwise occur and may promote regrowth of the wearer&#39;s hair. 
     In an alternative, the lining  6  may be dispensed with. In such a case, the fabric of the hat portion will then be a contact surface and can be either formed out of a therapeutically active agent such as the DERMASMART® fabric referred to above, or can be impregnated with a therapeutic agent as desired. 
     In the most preferred embodiment, a strip  4  of material is provided around the internal rim of the hat, and this forms the contact surface. Such a strip  4  is commonly known as a Petersham. It can be formed out of the “intelligent” fabric referred to above, or impregnated with a therapeutic agent. Such strips of material can be the sole area of the hat that is in contact with the head, depending upon the style of hat. 
     The hair portion  3  can comprise real or synthetic hair. Advantageously, it is also formed or impregnated with a therapeutically active agent. As the wearer wears the combination  1 , the hair portion  3  will brush against the wearer&#39;s neck or shoulders, thereby treating those portions of the wearer in addition to their scalp.