Abstract:
The presently disclosed embodiments, as well as features and aspects thereof, are directed towards a hair fashioning device comprised of a bar with a first end and second end, a hook attached to the first end, a stop attached to the second end, and a resilient loop shaped to releasably engage the hook.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Hair fashioning devices and hair ornaments are ubiquitous in society. One very common example of a hair ornament is a bow. As is well understood in the art of hair ornaments, a length of ribbon may be tied around a lock of a wearer&#39;s hair such that the ribbon forms a decorative bow. Alternatively, a bow may include a clip feature for attaching a pre-tied bow to a lock of the wearer&#39;s hair. Although a hair ornament such as a bow may serve the purpose of holding the wearer&#39;s hair in a certain style, the primary benefit of a hair ornament is as an aesthetically pleasing adornment. 
         [0002]    Other hair fashioning devices, such as bobby pins and various clips, may be used for forming the wearer&#39;s hair into a certain style such as a ponytail or bun. These types of hair fashioning devices are primarily meant for holding the hair itself into a certain aesthetically pleasing form, as opposed to being the primary source of adornment themselves. 
         [0003]    Wearers that want to wear a bow presently must make use of traditional bow hair ornaments. Therefore, what is desired in the art is a hair fashioning device that forms and holds the wearer&#39;s hair itself into the form of a bow. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0004]    The presently disclosed embodiments, as well as features and aspects thereof, are directed towards a hair fashioning device comprised of a bar with a first end and second end, a hook attached to the first end, a stop attached to the second end, and a resilient loop shaped to releasably engage the hook. The overall length of the bar may be from about 20 millimeters (“mm”) to about 60 mm, with a preferred length being approximately 35 mm. The resilient loop may be from about 40 mm to about 80 mm in diameter when relaxed. 
         [0005]    The presently disclosed embodiments also relate to a method of dividing a gathered cord of hair comprising gathering a portion of hair on a human head to a gather, securing a circular cord around the gather to define an inner gather region between the cord and the human head and an outer gather region from the cord towards the ends of the hair; forming a hair loop with the outer gather region the loop comprising an inner section from the cord to a turn, and an outer section from the turn to the hair ends; inserting the turn through the circular cord such that the circular cord is proximate to the inner and outer section; forming two hair loop sections from the hair loop; inserting into the inner gather portion and proximate to the circular cord a bar with a first end and second end, a hook attached to the first end of the bar, a stop attached to the second end, and a resilient loop shaped to releasably engage the hook, such that the bar extends through the inner gather portion, and pulling the resilient loop between the two hair loop sections such that the resilient loop releasably engages the stop means. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0006]    In the Figures, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise indicated. For reference numerals with letter character designations such as “ 102 A” or “ 102 B”, the letter character designations may differentiate two like parts or elements present in the same Figure. Letter character designations for reference numerals may be omitted when it is intended that a reference numeral encompass all parts having the same reference numeral in all Figures. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a hair fashioning device; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a hair fashioning device; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a second side view of an exemplary embodiment of a hair fashioning device; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a hair fashioning device; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a bottom view of an exemplary embodiment of a hair fashioning device; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a first end view of an exemplary embodiment of a hair fashioning device; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a second end view of an exemplary embodiment of a hair fashioning device; 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  depicts a back view of the mechanical interface of a user&#39;s hair with the hair fashioning device of  FIG. 1  when applied to support an exemplary hairstyle. 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  depicts a front view of the mechanical interface of a user&#39;s hair with the hair fashioning device of  FIG. 1  when applied to support an exemplary hairstyle. 
           [0016]      FIG. 10A  depicts a back view of the mechanical interface of a user&#39;s hair with the hair fashioning device of  FIG. 1  before application to support an exemplary hairstyle. 
           [0017]      FIG. 10B  depicts a back view of the mechanical interface of a user&#39;s hair with the hair fashioning device of  FIG. 1  after application to support an exemplary hairstyle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    Aspects, features and advantages of an exemplary embodiment of a hair fashioning device will become better understood with regard to the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing(s). It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the described embodiment of the hair fashioning device provided herein is illustrative only and not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. All features disclosed in this description may be replaced by alternative features serving the same or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Therefore, numerous other embodiments of the modifications thereof are contemplated as falling within the scope of a hair fashioning device as defined herein and equivalents thereto. Hence, any use of absolute terms such as, for example, “will,” “will not,” “shall,” “shall not,” “must” and “must not” are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention as the embodiments disclosed herein is merely exemplary. 
         [0019]    The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as exclusive, preferred or advantageous over other aspects. 
         [0020]    In this description, the term “application” refers to the use of a hair fashioning device to provide for, effect, maintain and/or support a given hair style such as a hair style in the form of a bow. Notably, although a few exemplary hair styles are depicted in the drawings, a hair fashioning device is not necessarily limited to such applications. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the hair styles and applications shown and described herein are offered for illustrative purposes only and do not suggest that the only use of a hair fashioning device according to the solution is limited to such applications. 
         [0021]    Turning now to  FIGS. 1-7 , exemplary embodiments of a hair fashioning device  100  are shown. Bar  102  is bounded at a first end  104  by hook or hook section  104 A. The hook  104 A is capped by ball  108 . Second end  106  comprises a stop, for example, ball  110 . The bar is “ball-tipped” at both the first and second end to make application easy and comfortable, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Loop  112 , typically a resilient loop, is inserted into space  114  between bar  102  and ball  108  into hook  104 . 
         [0022]    It is envisioned that the bar  102  may be constructed from materials including, but not limited to, carbon steel, stainless steel, plastic, malleable metal, etc. Certain embodiments may also be coated with a rubber compound, epoxy paint, powder-coat paint, decorative sleeve, elastic, etc. Further, certain embodiments may include decorative accessories such as, but not limited to, ribbons, charms, hair weaves and the like. 
         [0023]    Turning now to  FIGS. 8-10B , illustrated is an exemplary application of the hair fashioning device  100  for maintenance and support of a bi-looped ponytail, or a bow configuration. In an embodiment, a method of dividing a gathered cord of hair comprises gathering a portion of hair extending from a human head to a gather, securing a circular cord around the gather to define an inner gather region  802  between the cord and the human head and an outer gather region  804  extending from the cord towards the ends of the hair  806 ; forming a hair loop  808  with the outer gather region of the loop comprising an inner section  810  from the cord to a turn  812 , and an outer section  814  from the turn to the hair ends; inserting the turn  812  through the circular cord such that the circular cord is proximate to the inner and outer sections  810  and  814  respectively; forming two hair loop sections from the hair loop; inserting ball  110  into the inner gather portion (or through the circular cord that forms the gather) and proximate to the circular cord such that bar  102  extends through the inner gather portion, and pulling the resilient loop  112  between the two hair loop sections  812  such that resilient loop  112  releasably encircles and engages ball  110  and bar  102 . Notably, ball  110  may prevent resilient loop  112  from inadvertently releasing from its engagement with bar  102 . 
         [0024]    A hair fashioning device and associated methods of its use have been described using detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. The described embodiments may comprise different features, not all of which are required in all embodiments of a hair fashioning device. Some embodiments of a hair fashioning device utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features. Variations of embodiments of a hair fashioning device that are described and embodiments of a hair fashioning device comprising different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons of the art. 
         [0025]    It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that a hair fashioning device, or its applications, is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described herein above. Rather, the scope of a hair fashioning device is defined by the claims that follow.