Patent # for Shrink Links by Mark Barrington Concepts, Inc.

April 28, 1992

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Process for extending human hair


Abstract
A reversible process for attaching permanent extensions to human hair in which strands of supplemental hair are joined with a thermostable adhesive to form a plug of supplemental hair, a coating of thermosetting adhesive is applied over the thermostable adhesive and cured, strands of the person's natural hair are threaded through a section of heat shrinkable tubing, the plug of supplemental hair is inserted into the heat shrinkable tubing, and heat is applied to the heat shrinkable tubing so that the thermosetting adhesive liquifies and joins the plug of supplemental hair and natural hair, and the heat shrinkable tubing shrinks in size to compress and seal the junction. The permanent extension can be removed by reapplication of heat to the heat shrinkable tubing.

I asked Concepts, Inc. exactly what the patent was on, and they said it on the pretipped hair piece (they call it a 'perma-plug) and also the shrink tubing method of application.

Their perma-plugs are like the pre-tipped hair that you are probably familiar with, except their tip is made of a small tip of hard plastic (that is inserted into the shrink link) and it doesn't melt under the heat of the flat iron, so you can reuse that hair many times without having to pre-tip each time.

I don't know what, if anything will become of a legal action, but they did say they are taking some sort of legal action.

The only reason I know this stuff is because I live in the same town that in which their office is located and have used their system for a long time. They are nice people and we chat about the extension business when I go in to pick up my orders.

Near as I can tell he patented the "process" of using shrinkable tubing for hair extensions. I dont see anywhere in there where he calls them by a certain name.

If you read further down, it lists all the other extension methods and their patent numbers. He obviously didnt patent the method for making tips and if someone wanted to get picky they could go after him for using their method in his patent, so it could go round and round and round.

I find it extremely amusing that we now know that this stuff is definetely heat shrinkable tubing.

Em

Sounds doubtful to me that they have a case, but maybe I should stock up on Doc's shrinks now, just in case.....:)

Noooooo please don't take away my shrinkies xxx

They'll be taking that away next nooooooo

Hey Bridget,

The Mark Barrington Shrinks are for professional use only; they're not available to the public.

:)

Oh, sorry; I missed that part. I don't know if you have to train with the Barrington people specifically to get their Shrinks or just have a license, but MetalGirl seems to like those Shrinks a lot.

Good luck! :)

That sounds like a good idea--just make sure certfication in one method doesn't eliminate you from using other methods (or any hair or supplies of your choice). For example, if you were certified with the Barrington people, would they be totally pissed if you used Doc's shrinkies or whatever? Quite likely the answer is "no," but best to be sure before you spend the money. Also, even though shrinks are the hottest thing right now (and I agree with you that they are getting the biggest and best buzz), who knows what new product could pop up 6 months from now?

People's hair is just so different, and what they want it to look like is really different too, so it's best to be free to use whatever you want. Ideally, it would be nice if there were some catch-all class that taught all the methods with both synth and human, wefts and individuals--pinchbraids, weaving, shrinks, extendtubes, fusion, and the rest--plus integration for hairloss clients. This would probably be one hell of a class, though--maybe 6 months or a year long...

metalgirl: did you take a cource to learn the shrinkies from Mark Barrington? If so, how long ago, and what was the cost? Thanks