Hair extension with reduced detectability

Abstract

A hair extension includes a section of hair and a substrate. Hair strands of the section of hair are affixed together at a first end by a solidified liquid polymer such that ends of the hair strands are retained within the polymer across a width of the section of hair. The substrate is attached to the polymer on one side (e.g., a rear side) of the section of hair across at least part of a width of the hair section. According to one exemplary embodiment, the substrate is also a solidified polymer. The width of the substrate, as measured along a length of the extension's section of hair, is substantially greater than a width of the polymer, as similarly measured. The wider substrate facilitates reliable attachment of the extension to the user's hair, while the narrower polymer enables the installed extension to remain virtually undetectable.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hair extension, comprising:
 a section of hair including a plurality of hair strands affixed together at a first end by a solidified liquid polymer, ends of the plurality of hair strands being retained within the polymer across a width of the section of hair; and   a substrate attached to the polymer on one side of the section of hair across at least part of the width of the section of hair, wherein a width of the substrate is substantially greater than a width of the polymer.   
     
     
         2 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an adhesive attached to an outward-facing surface of the substrate to facilitate attachment of the substrate to natural hair of a user.   
     
     
         3 . The hair extension of  claim 2 , wherein the adhesive is double-sided adhesive tape, wherein a first side of the adhesive tape is attached to the outward-facing surface of the substrate and wherein a second side of the adhesive tape is attachable to natural hair of the user. 
     
     
         4 . The hair extension of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a removable liner attached to the second side of the adhesive tape, the removable liner protecting the second side of the adhesive tape until removal of the liner from the adhesive tape.   
     
     
         5 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is attached to the polymer across an entire width of the section of hair. 
     
     
         6 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is attached to the polymer across a substantial portion of the width of the section of hair, but less than an entire width of the section of hair. 
     
     
         7 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the width of the polymer is less than one-half the width of the substrate. 
     
     
         8 . The hair extension of  claim 7 , wherein the width of the polymer is approximately one-third the width of the substrate. 
     
     
         9 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is of a sufficient width to support attachment thereto of one or more hair clips across the width of the substrate. 
     
     
         10 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer is solidified liquid polyurethane. 
     
     
         11 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the section of hair has a width in a range of approximately one inch to approximately four inches. 
     
     
         12 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the width of the polymer is in a range of approximately one-sixteenth of an inch to approximately one-quarter of an inch. 
     
     
         13 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer is attachable to an adhesive on a side of the section of hair that is not attached to the substrate. 
     
     
         14 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 one or more hair clips secured to the substrate.   
     
     
         15 . The hair extension of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more hair clips comprises a plurality of spaced-apart hair clips secured to the substrate substantially in a row across at least part of the width of the substrate. 
     
     
         16 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate and the polymer are thin and pliable. 
     
     
         17 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an adhesive attaching the substrate to the polymer.   
     
     
         18 . The hair extension of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is solidified liquid polyurethane. 
     
     
         19 . A hair extension, comprising:
 a section of hair including a plurality of hair strands affixed together at a first end by a solidified liquid polymer, ends of the plurality of hair strands being retained within the polymer across a width of the section of hair;   a substrate attached to the polymer on one side of the section of hair across at least part of the width of the section of hair, wherein a width of the substrate is substantially greater than a width of the polymer;   an adhesive attached to a surface of the substrate to facilitate attachment of the substrate to natural hair of a user; and   a removable liner attached to the adhesive, the removable liner protecting the adhesive until removal of the liner from the adhesive.   
     
     
         20 . The hair extension of  claim 19 , wherein the width of the polymer is less than one-half the width of the substrate.