Non-slip hair accessory

Abstract

The present invention is a non-slip hair accessory that remains secured in the wearer's hair in the position the wearer placed it. The hair accessory includes a support, a hair-engaging strip and a means for adjusting the accessory in the wearer's hair. In one embodiment, the accessory is a flexible headband wherein the support is a fashion strip such as a ribbon or other flexible material, and the hair-engaging strip is attached to, or molded within, the fashion support strip. In another embodiment, the accessory is a hair clip having a decorative support arm, and a hair-engaging strip is attached to, or molded within, the support arm. The hair-engaging strip includes a plurality of parallel rows of uniformly spaced protrusions. In one embodiment, the hair-engaging strip has three rows of protrusions. In the preferred embodiment, the individual protrusions in the two edge rows are spaced an equal first distance from each neighboring protrusion in either edge row. Similarly, the protrusions in the center second row are spaced an equal distance from each neighboring protrusion in its row and offset a uniform second distance from each proximal projection in its neighboring edge rows.

1 . A hair-retaining accessory, comprising:
 a decorative support strip; and   a hair-engaging strip having a first end, a second end, a top surface between said first and second ends, and a plurality of parallel rows of uniformly spaced elongate protrusions extending perpendicularly from said top surface,   
       wherein each said protrusion in a parallel row is offset a uniform distance from each said protrusion in each adjacent parallel row. 
     
     
         2 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the hair-engaging strip comprises two parallel rows of uniformly spaced protrusions, each said protrusion in a first row offset a uniform distance from each proximal protrusion in a second row. 
     
     
         3 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the hair-engaging strip comprises three parallel rows of individual elongate protrusions extending perpendicularly from said top surface, said parallel rows including a first edge row, a second central row, and a third edge row. 
     
     
         4 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 3 , wherein said individual protrusions in said first and third edge rows are uniformly spaced a first distance from each proximal protrusion in said first and third edge rows. 
     
     
         5 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 4 , wherein said individual protrusions in said second central row are uniformly spaced said first distance from each proximal protrusion in the second central row and uniformly offset a second distance from each proximal protrusion in said first and third edge rows. 
     
     
         6 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the hair-engaging strip is a thermoplastic elastomer having a hardness level in the range of Shore A 60 through 80. 
     
     
         7 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the hair-engaging strip is a thermoplastic having a hardness level in the range of Shore A 65 through 75. 
     
     
         8 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the hair-engaging strip is a polyurethane having a hardness level in the range of Shore A 60 through 80. 
     
     
         9 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 8 , wherein the hair-engaging strip is a polyurethane having a hardness level in the range of Shore A 65 through 75. 
     
     
         10 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the support strip is a flexible headband. 
     
     
         11 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 10 , wherein the headband is a ribbon. 
     
     
         12 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the support strip is an arm of a hair clip. 
     
     
         13 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the hair-engaging strip is unitarily manufactured with said support strip. 
     
     
         14 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the hair-engaging strip is attached to said support strip with an adhesive. 
     
     
         15 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 1 , wherein said elongate protrusions are uniformly shaped. 
     
     
         16 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 15 , wherein each said elongate protrusion has a length and a diameter, said length in the range of 1 mm to 5 mm and said diameter in the range of 50 um to 2 mm. 
     
     
         17 . The hair-retaining accessory of  claim 16 , wherein each said elongate protrusion has a length of 2 mm and a diameter of 1 mm.