[0001] The present invention relates to hair curlers in general and in particular to a type
of curler which grips the hair while facilitating winding the same onto it to produce
waves that look natural and are not uni-directional.
[0002] Aerated hair curlers which grip the hair to facilitate rolling and setting the same
are already known in the art. Such hair curlers have good aeration and grip characteristics,
but they do not allow a large quantity of hair or very long hair to be wound onto
them and they can only produce uni-directional waves.
[0003] There are also curlers in the form of long cylindrical rollers made of foam-rubber
with a flexible metal core.
[0004] They are fixed to the head by bending the extremities into a U-shape after the hair
has been wound on to them. Due to their nature, these curlers cannot be aerated and
accordingly they must be usually used with dry or slightly damp hair, and the "natural"
waves have no real consistency.
[0005] There are also curlers formed of metal springs covered by a soft fabric; after the
hair has been wound onto them, these rollers are affixed to the head by bending them
back on themselves up to obtain a circle and clipping the two extremities together
by means of shaped interlocking parts. These curlers allow natural, non uni-directional
waves to be formed, differently from the traditional curlers. However, they are not
aerated either, and can be used only on dry or slightly damp hair. Furthermore, their
surface is usually smooth, making it difficult to wind hair (especially short hair)
on; it is also not easy to wind large quantities of hair onto such rollers.
[0006] Other types of roller similar to the described ones suffer from similar drawbacks.
[0007] The present invention overcomes these drawbacks and provides an extremely aerated
curler which facilitates winding on the hair and gripping it in such a way as to produce
natural and not uni-directional waves, as well as corkscrew-shaped hair or waves limited
at the free terminal part of the hair.
[0008] The curler according to the present invention is of the type comprising an elongated,
cylindrical body which can be bent back on itself form a position in which its axis
is rectilinear to a position in which it forms a closed ring or a semicircle, and
carrying at its ends attachment means to maintain such last position, characterized
in that said cylindrical body is hollow and aerated and in that hair retaining elements
project in an essentially radial direction in at least one area of its length.
[0009] The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to preferred
embodiments given only as illustrative and therefore not limiting examples, as shown
in the attached drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a view with parts in section of a first embodiment of the curler;
Fig.2 is a view of the curler of fig. 1 when fixed in position after the hair has
been wound onto it;
Fig.3 is a cutaway view with parts in section of the curler, showing in its interior
a support element for means to grip the hair, which projects through the curler body
and sheath;
Fig.4 is a plan view of a portion of a material used to cover the curler body according
to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig.5 is a view of a curler fixed in the form of a semicircle after the hair has been
wound onto it.
[0010] As it can be seen from fig.1, in which a partly cutaway curler is shown, a curler
cylindrical body C is formed by helically wound strips 5, which cross over and are
mutally fixed at their crossing points, to form a very aerated and flexible support.
This support is covered by a net sheath 6, which prevents the hair from getting between
the helical elements 5. Around the central part of the curler an aerated, flexible
fabric 7 is wound, said fabric carrying filament-like protruding elements 8 to grip
the hair. Such filament-like elements 8 project in a substantially radial direction
from the aerated fabric 7.
[0011] A male snap-locking element 9 (formed by a series of plastic strips 10 which join
together to form a very elastic helissoidic body) projects from one end of the curler.
At the other end of the curler a ring 11 forms the female part of a snap lock. The
male element 9, when it is inserted with its elastic strips 10 into the ring 11 at
the other end of the curler, closes and locks the curler in the form of a closed circle
after the hair has been wound on it, as it can be seen from fig.2.
[0012] Fig.2 shows, in a view of the curler of Fig 1 with cutway parts, the strips 10 of
the male element 9 snap-locked inside the female locking ring 11 of the body C after
the hair 12 has been wound on it. The two ends of the curler remain locked together
holding the curler in place, due to the resilience of the elastic strips 10.
[0013] Fig.3 shows a partially cutaway view of another embodiment of the present invention.
The area presenting the filament-like protruding elements 8 has tubular inserts 13
with zig-zag connecting elements 14 - which make the inserts flexible - and holes
15 which aerate the same, said tubular inserts 13 being equipped with hair-gripping
elements 8 projecting between the helical parts 5 forming the basic structure of the
curler, and projecting also through the overlying net sheath 6.
[0014] Fig.4 shows a material used to form the sheath of a curler according to the present
invention. It is formed by lines of chain-links 16 held by keeper-rings 17 which slide
between the interstices of the chain-links 16 to warrant a highly flexible structure.
Some of the central chain-links 16 have filament-like protruding elements 8 which
grip the hair and facilitate winding it on.
[0015] Fig. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which the curler is maintained
in a semi-circular shape after the hair 12 has been wound on. The curler is held in
the desired position by an elastic or rigid band 22 retained by a knot 18, or a mobile
or rotatable ball, in a cap 19 inserted into one end of the curler and hooked over
the element 20 inserted into the other end of the curler hollow body C.
[0016] Besides the embodiments described above, the hollow body C of the curler according
to the present invention can be formed according to many further embodiments; it could
be formed by a spiral-shaped spring or by a rigid central ring and two flexible side
parts, or by strips of a flexible plastic material inserted into a sheath, or it may
be formed in whole or in part of articulated aerated sections. The hollow body could
also be formed by bellows with aeration holes in it.
[0017] The filament-like hair-gripping elements 8, instead of being carried by a flexible
aerated fabric 7, could project directly from the body C of the curler, or they could
be woven directly into the elastic sheath.
[0018] Furthermore, the sheath which covers the body C of the curler could comprise a net
of rough and "rubbery" material, to facilitate winding the hair onto it.
[0019] The curling attachment means to maintain the same in its curved position could be
carried-out according to different designs: they could be rigid locking pieces or
could be attached to the body C of the curler by bellows which could lengthen or shorten
the curler as needed. The curler could also be kept in the required shape by a bar
or a unextendable or elastic element which connect the two ends of the same.
[0020] From the foregoing it appears that large quantities of long hair can be wound onto
the curler according to the present invention to produce naturally-shaped hair waves
due to the circular or semi-circular form assumed when the curler is retained on the
head. The curler is particularly suited to wet hair due to the high level of aeration
made possible, so that the hot air from an hair-drier can circulate freely and thus
the waves setting times are short. The setting time is also reduced by the fact that
the filament-like elements comb the hair and facilitate winding it onto the curlers.
Hairstyles which have been set using the curlers according to the present invention
look modern and naturally waved. The curlers can be used to give a last-minute curl
to the ends of hair that has already been put up.
1. An hair curler to produce natural waving of hair, of the type comprising an elongated,
cylindrical body which can be bent back on itself from a position in which its axis
is rectlinear to a position in which it forms a closed ring or a semicircle, and carrying
at its ends attachment means to maintain such last position, characterized in that
said cylindrical body is hollow and aerated and in that hair retaining elements project
in a substantially radial direction from at least one area of its length.
2. A curler according to Claim 1, characterized in that said hair retaining projections
are filament-like elements projecting from an aerated fabric placed at least in the
curler central portion.
3. A curler according to Claim 1, characterized in that said aerated, hollow cylindrical
body is covered, in whole or in part, by an aerated elastic sheath.
4. A curler according to Claim 3, characterized in that said sheath covering said aerated,
hollow cylindrical body is formed by a knitted material obtained by lines of chain-links
and keeper-rings which run in the spaces between said chain-links.
5. A curler according to Claim 3, characterized in that said sheath covering said aerated,
hollow cylindrical body is in the form of a rough, "rubbery" material to facilitate
winding hair onto it.
6. A curler according to Claims 2 and 3, characterized in that said filament-like elements
are woven directly into said elastic sheath.
7. A curler according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said hair-gripping elements
project from a supporting element placed in the inner cavity of said aerated, hollow
cylindrical body.
8. A curler according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said hair-gripping elements
directly project from said aerated, hollow cylindrical body.
9. A curler according to Claim 1, characterized in that said attachment means comprise
direct or indirect interlocking parts between the ends of said cylindrical body.
10. A curler according to claim 1 or 9, characterized in that bellows elements form part
of said cylindrical body or of said attachment means, to allow for a lengthening or
shortening of said curler as required.
11. A curler according to claim 1, characterized in that said aerated, hollow cylindrical
body is formed by one or more helical elements in the form of a spring or crossing
over and joined at the cross-over points.
12. A curler according to claim 1, characterized in that said aerated hollow cylindrical
body is formed by a central rigid ring and by two flexible or articulated side parts.