Hair loss abstract
Process, method and apparatus for removing non-adherent and/or
loosely attached elements from the skin of living beings and measuring
the hair loss of living beings. Process for removing non-adherent
and/or loosely attached elements from the skin of a living being,
comprising applying on said skin (1) an adhesive (10, 11) having
an adhesive strength which is lower than the greatest anchorage
strength of certain hairs (5) in said skin. Use of this process
to measure hair loss from the skin of living beings or flux of hairs
from the telogen phase to the exogen phase.
Hair loss claims
27. Process for removing non-adherent and/or loosely attached elements
from the skin of a living being, comprising applying an adhesive
on said skin and tearing said adhesive from said skin, wherein said
adhesive is selected among those having an adhesive strength which
is lower than the greatest anchorage strength of hairs in said skin.
28. Process according to claim 27, wherein said living being is
a human being.
29. Process according to claim 28, wherein said greatest anchorage
strength is the anchorage strength of hairs in anagen phase.
30. Process according to claim 27, wherein said adhesive strength
of the adhesive is higher than the anchorage strength of hairs in
exogen phase.
31. Process according to claim 30, wherein in case of a human being,
said adhesive strength is lower than the anchorage strength of hairs
in telogen phase.
32. Process according to claim 27, wherein said adhesive comprises
an elastic macromolecular matrix.
33. Process according to claim 32, wherein said adhesive comprises
a silicon-based macromolecular matrix.
34. Use of a process in accordance with claim 27, for peeling away
said skin.
35. Use of a process in accordance with claim 27, for thinning
hairs.
36. Method to measure the hair loss from the skin of living beings,
comprising in a first step applying on said skin an adhesive selected
among those having an adhesive strength which is higher than the
anchorage strength of hairs in exogen phase but lower than the anchorage
strength of the least anchored hairs other than those which are
in exogen phase; in a second step tearing said adhesive from said
skin and in a third step counting the amount of hairs which have
been detached from the skin in said second step.
37. Method according to claim 36, wherein said counting the amount
of hairs in said third step comprises counting the amount of hair
on said adhesive after tearing thereof.
38. Method according to claim 36, wherein it comprises dividing
the skin in a plurality of zones before said first step, and in
that said first, second and third steps are executed successively
on each of said plurality of zones.
39. Method according to claim 38, wherein it comprises applying
a mask on every zones of said plurality of zones except the one
on which said first, second and third steps are executed.
40. Method according to claim 38, wherein it further comprises
spreading a marking product on said zones of the skin.
41. Method according to claim 40, wherein said marking product
comprises a liquid dye.
42. Method according to any one 36, wherein said living beings
are human beings.
43. Method according to claim 42, wherein said least anchored hairs
are hairs in telogen phase.
44. Apparatus to achieve the method according to claim 39, comprising
a mask, means to apply said mask on a specific zone of the skin,
means to apply an adhesive on said specific zone of the skin in
said mask, means to tear said adhesive from the skin and means to
count hairs detached by the adhesive.
45. Apparatus according to claim 44, wherein said means to apply
the adhesive on the skin comprises a flexible strip having a coating
of said adhesive thereon.
46. Method to measure the flux of hairs from the telogen phase
to the exogen phase on a definite surface area of the skin of a
living being, comprising (a) at least a first series of steps which
includes: a first step which comprises applying on said surface
area an adhesive selected among those having an adhesive strength
which is higher than the anchorage strength of hairs in exogen phase
but lower than the anchorage strength of the least anchored hairs
other than those which are in exogen phase; and a second step which
comprises tearing said adhesive from said surface area; and (b)
a second series of steps which follows said at least first series
of steps (a) and which includes: a first step which comprises repeating
said first and second steps of said at least first series of steps
(a) with another adhesive having an adhesive strength substantially
equal to the one of the adhesive of said at least first series of
steps (a); a second step which comprises counting the amount of
hairs which have been detached from the skin surface area by said
another adhesive; and a third step which comprises dividing said
amount of hairs by the surface area and by the time elapsed between
said tearing steps of both the first (a) and the second (b) series
of steps.
47. Method according to claim 46, wherein said time is from at
least one day to at most one month.
Hair loss description
[0001] The present invention relates to a process for removing
non-adherent or loosely attached elements from the skin of living
beings.
[0002] The skin of living beings is frequently recovered with scales,
excess of grease or similar particularly in very hairy regions of
the body such as the scalp in case of human beings. Generally such
scales are continuously formed on the skin during the whole life
of the living being. It is further known that living beings continuously
leave hairs during their life. Of course this loss of hairs is normally
important in very hairy regions such as the scalp of human beings.
[0003] For hygienic and healthy reasons it is generally requested
to remove periodically such non-adherent elements from the skin
of living beings particularly human beings.
[0004] For skin and hair evaluation there is also a need for a
method adapted to measure the hair loss of living beings, particularly
of human beings. Indeed, hair loss (i.e. the amount of hair lost
in one definite unit of time, for example one day, one week or one
month) may be an information on the health of a human being or of
an animal or on the influence of different factors on the health,
such as standard of living.
[0005] It is known to use strips having an adhesive wax or similar
thereon to remove unwanted hairs (U.S. Pat. No. 1 620 539). This
known method is easy, rapid and inexpensive. However when using
such strips all the hairs which are put in contact with the adhesive
wax of the strip are removed from the skin. This may be a disadvantage
for certain applications, particularly to remove scales or shedding
hair from the scalp without damage to the hair fiber itself or the
hair roots which are in a growing phase.
[0006] For certain applications, particularly for very hairy regions
such as animal fleece or man and woman scalp there is thus a need
for a means which is adapted to remove non-adherent elements from
the skin (such as scales or shedding hairs) without damage for the
hair.
[0007] Accordingly it is an aim of this invention to provide a
process which is adapted to remove non-adherent elements from the
skin of living beings without altering hairs. Another aim of this
invention is to provide a process which is adapted to detach and
remove hairs which are loosely attached to the skin of a living
being.
[0008] A further aim of this invention is to provide a method to
measure the hair loss from the skin of living beings.
[0009] An additional aim of this invention consists in providing
methods and apparatus for skin and hair evaluation of living beings,
particularly of human beings.
[0010] Accordingly the invention relates to a process for removing
non-adherent and/or loosely attached elements from the skin of a
living being, comprising applying an adhesive on said skin and tearing
said adhesive from said skin, this process being characterized in
that said adhesive is selected among those having an adhesive strength
which is lower than the greatest anchorage strength of hairs in
said skin.
[0011] It is known that hairs grow from follicles that undergo
cyclical phases of growth and rest. It is generally considered that
the hair cycle comprises four successive phases. A first phase (the
anagen phase) corresponds to an intense activity of the follicles
with hair production and growth at the skin surface. The duration
of the anagen phase varies greatly with the species and the age
and from region to region of the body. The end of the anagen phase
corresponds to an arrest in hair production and a shrinkage of the
dermal papilla. It is followed by the so-called catagen phase where
the dermal papilla undergoes an ascending movement together with
the hair shaft. The catagen phase is thus characterized by an apparent
elongation of the hair fiber which reflects the outward migration
of the hair shaft. The catagen phase is completed when the dermal
papilla abuts the bottom of the permanent portion of the hair follicle
and no hair elongation is observed at the skin surface. It is followed
by the telogen phase which is a true resting stage. During this
third phase the dermal papilla expands and attracts epithelial cells
from the bulge of the follicle in a downward movement. The epithelial
cells then start production of a new non-pigmented hair fiber. Under
physiological conditions this may correspond morphologically in
timing to the end of the telogen phase and the beginning of the
exogen phase of the previous hair cycle terminating with hair shedding.
[Handbook of Cosmetic Science and Technology; A. O. Barel, M. Paye
and H. I. Maibach editors, Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York Basel, 2001,
pages 35-46: Ghassan Shaker and Dominique Van Neste (Skinterface
sprl, Tournai, Belgium), "Hair" (FIG. 1 of pages 38 and
39)]. The anchorage strength of an hair fiber in the skin varies
with time. In case of human beings it generally decreases from the
anagen to the exogen phase: during the anagen and the catagen phases
the hairs are generally strongly anchored in the skin; the anchorage
of the hairs in the skin is less strong during the telogen phase
and it is very week during the exogen phase. However this is not
a generality for all body sites of all living beings. For some animals
(notably telogen furs) or some body sites of human beings (such
as eyebrows or eyelashes) the anchorage strength of hairs in the
telogen phase may be greater than the anchorage strength of the
hairs which are in the anagen phase.
[0012] The duration of the hair cycle is influenced by a series
of factors such as species, age, standard of living and region of
the skin (Rodney Dawber & Dominique Van Neste, "Hair and
Scalp Disorders" Martin Dunitz Editors, London, 1995 pages
11-14; Dominique Van Neste & Hugh Rushton "Hair Problems
in Women"; Elsevier Science Inc.; 1997; pages 113-114).
[0013] In this invention, "non-adherent elements" are
elements which do not belong or will not interact for long with
the surrounding living skin and are at most loosely attached to
the skin. They may comprise dust, solidified particles of sebum
or of coagulated blood, detached hairs and any similar elements.
[0014] "Non-adherent" means that these elements are either
not attached to the skin or only loosely attached to the skin. "Loosely
attached elements" comprise non adherent elements as just defined
hereabove as well as elements which are at least partly inside a
follicular orifice and at most loosely attached to the skin inside
said follicular orifice. Such elements may comprise hairs or any
other fibers for example artificial hair.
[0015] "Loosely attached to the skin" means that the
attachment strength of these elements to the skin is lower than
the greatest anchorage strength of living hair follicles that produce
hairs in said skin. So in case of human beings, the attachment strength
of these elements to the skin is lower than the anchorage strength
of the hairs which are in the anagen phase.
[0016] In the process according to the invention the adhesive is
any means adapted to seize or catch said non-adhesive elements.
It may be glue. However preferred adhesives comprise elastic macromolecular
matrices. With an elastic macromolecular matrix the non-adhesive
elements and the hairs are seized and anchored in the matrix and
there is competitiveness between the anchorage strength of the hair
fibers in the follicles and the elasticity of the polymeric matrix
and this competitiveness allows a selective removal in function
of the anchorage strength. Polymers with decreasing elasticity allow
selective removal in function of the anchorage of the fiber which
will be removed. Generally silicon-based adhesives are convenient.
[0017] In an advantageous embodiment of the process according to
the invention the adhesive is used as a coating on a strip, preferably
a flexible strip, for example a tissue or a plastic sheet.
[0018] The process according to the invention is particularly adapted
to remove hairs which are in the aforesaid exogen phase of the hair
cycle.
[0019] Thus according to a particular embodiment of this invention
in case of human beings the adhesive is selected among those having
an adhesive strength which is higher than the anchorage strength
of the hairs in exogen phase but lower than the anchorage strength
of the hairs which are in the telogen phase. This embodiment of
the invention is adapted to remove the hairs which are in exogen
phase while healthy hairs which are in the anagen, catagen and telogen
phases are substantially not affected.
[0020] This particular embodiment of the invention is particularly
adapted to remove hairs which, although being in the exogen phase,
are nevertheless temporarily retained inside the follicular orifices
by a gluing strength (the so-called trichostasis). In this particular
embodiment of the invention, such exogen hairs retained by trichostasis
in follicular orifices are aforesaid "loosely attached elements".
[0021] This particular embodiment of this invention is further
adapted to capture disordered anagen follicles as a result of inflammation
or any physical and/or chemical damage (for example laser treatment,
radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc.). The origin of the agents and/or
phenomenon which are responsible of these disordered follicles may
be either internal or external to the body of the living being.
[0022] A second aim of the invention consists in the use of the
invention process defined above for pealing away the skin of living
beings (particularly human beings) or for thinning hairs of human
beings or animals. The invention process defined above is indeed
adapted to clean skin from any unwanted elements such as scales,
dusts and solidified particles of sebum or blood. It may be used
for thinning the hair of men or women by removing hairs from the
scalp which are in an exogen phase as well as damaged anagen and/or
catagen hairs if any without damage to healthy hairs which are in
either the anagen, the catagen or the telogen phases.
[0023] The process according to the invention has also an application
in the preparation of a skin surface before making very fine photography
thereof or for scientific studies of the hair cycles.
[0024] A third aim of the invention is the use of the invention
process defined above to measure the hair loss of living beings,
this use comprising counting (by any means known per se) the number
of hairs which have been detached from the skin by said adhesive.
[0025] It is indeed known that hair loss is influenced by different
factors, particularly the origin or species, age, sex, living conditions
and standard of living, disease, medical treatment, physical treatment,
chemical treatment, etc. The process according to the invention
is well adapted to measure hair loss of living beings and so to
appreciate the influence of each or a plurality of the aforesaid
factors on the hair cycle and the loss of hair.
[0026] Accordingly a further object of the invention is a method
to measure the hair loss from the skin of living beings, this method
comprising in a first step applying on said skin an adhesive selected
among those having an adhesive strength which is higher than the
anchorage strength of hairs in exogen phase but lower than the anchorage
strength of the least anchored hairs other than those which are
in exogen phase; in a second step tearing said adhesive from said
skin and in a third step counting the amount of hairs which have
been detached from the skin in said second step.
[0027] In the measuring method according to the invention, the
adhesive may advantageously be a calibrated coating on a strip.
[0028] In a preferred embodiment of the measuring method according
to the invention, this measuring method includes at least three
successive phases, comprising
[0029] (a) a first phase which comprises the aforesaid first, second
and third steps; and
[0030] (b) at least one second phase which comprises repeating
the aforesaid first, second and third steps of the first phase (a)
with another adhesive having substantially the same adhesive strength
as the one of the adhesive of the first phase (a); and
[0031] (c) a final phase which comprises doing the sum of the amounts
of hairs which have been counted respectively in said first phase
(a) and in said second phase (b).
[0032] An advantageous modification of this preferred embodiment
includes
[0033] (d) after said second phase (b) and before said final phase
(c), at least one additional phase which comprises repeating the
aforesaid first, second and third steps of the first phase (a) with
an additional adhesive having substantially the same adhesive strength
as the one of the adhesives of the first phase (a) and the second
phase (b); and
[0034] (e) the aforesaid final phase (c) comprises doing the sum
of the amounts of hairs which have been counted respectively in
said first phase (a), in said second phase (b) and in said at least
one additional phase (d).
[0035] In this advantageous modification just described, said at
least one additional phase (d) may either consist in a single third
phase or include a third and a fourth (and possibly a fifth and
even more than a fifth) phase.
[0036] The measuring method according to the invention has several
applications for animals and human beings.
[0037] When the measuring method according to the invention is
used for measuring hair loss of human beings said least anchored
hairs are the hairs which are in the telogen/exogen physiological
phase. Accurate analysis of hair loss of animals or human beings
is more and more requested to have a better knowledge of the action
of different parameters or factors on the loss of hairs, such as
the species, age, sex and living conditions. Thus in addition to
the analysis of the hair loss from the scalp of living beings (particularly
human beings) the measuring method according to the invention allows
to measure parameters of the detached hairs such as for example
the thickness, length, color, genetic material, etc.
[0038] In this application of the measuring method of the invention
it may be interesting to obtain a pattern of hair loss from the
skin of living beings, particularly from the hair scalp of human
beings. It is indeed known that the loss of hairs from the scalp
is not uniform on the surface of the scalp but varies greatly from
region to region of the scalp. There is thus a need for a knowledge
of the topographical distribution of the hairs on men or women scalp,
and particularly for the modifications in this topographical distribution
with time or other physical or physiological factors.
[0039] Thus, in an improved embodiment of the measuring method
according to the invention, this method comprises dividing the skin
in a plurality of zones before said first step, and said first,
second and third steps are executed successively on each of said
plurality of zones.
[0040] In this improved embodiment of the method according to the
invention, a specific means to divide the skin in a plurality of
zones may be to dispose a mask on the skin, this mask having openings
separated by strips of a material which is impervious to the adhesive
applied in the first step of the method. So the adhesive used in
said first step will pass only through the openings of the mask
and attain the scalp.
[0041] In this aforesaid improved embodiment of the measuring method
according to the invention, it is preferred to spread a marking.
This marking product may advantageously be a liquid dye. In this
preferred embodiment of the invention the dye is selected among
those having an adhesive strength or surface tension which is lower
than the detachment strength of the adhesive in the second step
of the method. So the marking product will attain and remain only
in the follicular orifices of the skin where hairs have been removed
from in the second step (or steps) of the method. This will allow
a better visual appearance of hair loss on the skin. Any liquid
dye having no detrimental action on the hairs and the skin may be
used. Examples of liquid dyes comprise eosin, fluorescein, paraphenylene
derivatives, etc. (non-exhaustive list).
[0042] The invention concerns also an apparatus to achieve the
aforesaid improved embodiment of the measuring method according
to the invention, said apparatus comprising a mask, means to apply
said mask on a specific zone of the skin, means to apply an adhesive
on said specific zone of the skin in said mask, means to tear said
adhesive from the skin and means to count hairs detached by the
adhesive.
[0043] In the apparatus according to the invention the adhesive
may be a liquid one. In this embodiment of the apparatus of the
invention, the means to apply the adhesive on the skin may be a
brush or a spraying device or a spatula or similar.
[0044] In another embodiment of the apparatus according to this
invention the means to apply the adhesive on the skin comprises
a flexible strip having a coating of said adhesive thereon.
[0045] In the apparatus according to the invention any convenient
means may be used to count hairs detached by the adhesive.
[0046] The apparatus according to the invention is adapted to obtain
the pattern of hair loss of animals or human beings. It is particularly
well adapted to have a pattern of scalp hair loss of men or women.
[0047] The measuring method and apparatus according to the invention
may be used with advantage to measure the flux of hairs passing
from the telogen to the exogen phase, i.e. the amount of hairs which,
on a definite surface area of the skin (for example a definite area
of the head of a human being), pass from the exogen phase to the
telogen phase in a definite unit of time (for example in one hour,
ten hours, one day, two (or more) days, one week or more, one month
or more, etc.).
[0048] The invention concerns thus also a method to measure the
flux of hairs from the telogen phase to the exogen phase on a definite
surface area of the skin of a living being, said method comprising
[0049] (a) at least a first series of steps which includes
[0050] a first step which comprises applying on said surface area
an adhesive selected among those having an adhesive strength which
is higher than the anchorage strength of hairs in exogen phase but
lower than the anchorage strength of the least anchored hairs other
than those which are in exogen phase; and
[0051] a second step which comprises tearing said adhesive from
said surface area; and
[0052] (b) a second series of steps which follows said at least
first series of steps (a) and which includes
[0053] a first step which comprises repeating said first and second
steps of said at least first series of steps (a) with another adhesive
having an adhesive strength substantially equal to the one of the
adhesive of said at least first series of steps (a);
[0054] a second step which comprises counting the amount of hairs
which have been detached from the skin surface area by said another
adhesive; and
[0055] a third step which comprises dividing said amount of hairs
by the surface area and by the time elapsed between said tearing
steps of both the first (a) and the second (b) series of steps.
[0056] In case of human beings, said time in said third step of
said second series of steps (b) may advantageously be of from at
least one day to at most one month.
[0057] The characteristics of the invention disclosed above can
be adapted, without any inventive modification, to the measure of
the quality of any heterogeneous surface comprising fibers of which
some could be or become loosely attached to a support.
[0058] Accordingly the applicant considers that the use of the
characteristics of its measuring method and apparatus to such a
measure is inside the scope of this patent application.
[0059] For a more complete understanding of the invention and advantages
thereof, reference is now made to the following description of preferred
embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
[0060] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a vertical section through
a portion of the scalp of a human being;
[0061] FIG. 2 shows the scalp of FIG. 1, using the process of this
invention.
[0062] In these figures, same reference numerals designate same
components.
[0063] In FIG. 1 a scalp portion 1 comprises follicles 2, 3 and
4 with hair fibers 5, 6 and 7. Reference numeral 8 designates dermal
papilla. Hair fiber 5 is in an anagen phase and hair fiber 6 is
in a telogen phase. In follicle 4 a new non-pigmented hair 9 is
developing and hair fiber 7 is in an exogen phase.
[0064] In FIG. 2 a strip 10 comprising an adhesive 11 has first
been applied on the scalp portion 1 and thereafter tore away therefrom.
According to the invention the adhesive 11 is an elastic polymeric
matrix having an adhesive strength to the hairs which is higher
than the anchorage strength of hair fiber 7 in its follicle 4 but
lower than the anchorage strength of the hair fibers 5 and 6 in
their respective follicles 2 and 3. So after tearing of the strip
10 from the scalp 1 the hair fiber 7 (in exogen phase) is removed
from the scalp and retained on the strip 10, while hair fibers 5
and 6 (respectively in anagen and telogen phases) remain anchored
in the scalp 1. |