WO2010115309A1

WO2010115309A1 - A hair-styling accessory

Info

Publication number: WO2010115309A1
Application number: PCT/CN2009/071226
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tsz Hang Yuen; Wah Hing Cheung; King Yuen Rosita Lai
Original assignee: Sun Luen Electrical Manufacturing Company Limited
Priority date: 2009-04-10
Filing date: 2009-04-10
Publication date: 2010-10-14
Also published as: CN202739108U

Abstract

An accessory (100, 200) for styling hair includes a connector (110, 210), a body portion (120, 220) which is engaged with the connector (110, 210) and is rotatable relative to the connector (110, 210) about a common central longitudinal axis (L₁-L₁, L₂-L₂), a first brush (102a, 202a) with at least a first brush finger (104a,204), a second brush (102b, 202b) with at least a second brush finger (104b, 204) and a movement guidance plate (122, 222) fixedly engaged with the body portion (120, 220). The connector (110, 210) is releasably engageable with an air outlet end of a hair dryer. The first brush (102a, 202a) and the second brush (102b, 202b) are engaged with the movement guidance plate (122, 222). The body portion (120, 220) is rotatable relative to the connector (110, 210) to move the first and second brushes (102a,202a, 102b, 202b) relative to each other to vary the distance between the first and second brush fingers (104a, 104b, 204).

Description

A Hair-Styling Accessory

This invention relates to an accessory for styling hair, e.g. for shaping, curling, drying or brushing hair, and, in particular, such a hair-styling accessory which is releasably engageable with an air outlet end of an appliance for shaping, curling, drying or brushing hair, such as an electric hair dryer.

There are in existence many hair-styling accessories, e.g. diffusers and brushes, in which a number of brush fingers are fixed to a base connected with a generally cylindrical tunnel. The accessories are releasably engageable with a hair dryer so that hot air outputted by the hair dryer passes through the tunnel, to allow a hair stylist to perform hair styling with the accessories attached to a hair dryer. A shortcoming associated with such conventional hair styling accessories is that as the brush fingers are not movable relative to the base, the distance and relative position between the fingers cannot be varied to adapt to different requirements of the hair stylist or of the one whose hair is being styled.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an accessory for styling hair and an appliance for styling hair in which the aforesaid shortcoming is mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the trade and public.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an accessory for styling hair, said accessory including a first body portion; a second body portion which is engaged with said first body portion and is rotatable relative to said first body portion about a common longitudinal axis; a first brush member with at least a first brush finger; a second brush member with at least a second brush finger; wherein said first brush member and said second brush member are engaged with said second body portion; characterized in that said second body portion is operable to move said first and second brush members relative to each other to vary the distance between said first and second brush fingers.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an appliance for styling hair, said appliance including an air outlet and an accessory for styling hair, said accessory including a first body portion; a second body portion which is engaged with said first body portion and is rotatable relative to said first body portion about a common longitudinal axis; a first brush member with at least a first brush finger; a second brush member with at least a second brush finger; wherein said first brush member and said second brush member are engaged with said second body portion; characterized in that said second body portion is operable to move said first and second brush members relative to each other to vary the distance between said first and second brush fingers.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an appliance for styling hair, said appliance including an air outlet; a body portion rotatable relative to said air outlet about a common longitudinal axis; a first brush member with at least a first brush finger; a second brush member with at least a second brush finger; wherein said first brush member and said second brush member are engaged with said body portion; characterized in that said body portion is operable to move said first and second brush members relative to each other to vary the distance between said first and second brush fingers.

Accessories for styling hair according to embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of examples only, with reference to the following drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an accessory for styling hair according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the accessory shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a top perspective view of the accessory shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of part of the accessory shown in Fig. 1 in a brush-closed configuration;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the part of the accessory shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the part of the accessory shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the part of the accessory shown in Fig. 4 in a brush-open configuration; Fig. 8 is a top view of the part of the accessory shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the part of the accessory shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of an accessory for styling hair according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the accessory shown in Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a top perspective view of the accessory shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is a further longitudinal sectional view of the accessory shown in Fig. 10 with some parts removed for clarity purposes, and in a brush-open configuration;

Fig. 14 is a top view of the accessory shown in Fig. 13; Fig. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the accessory shown in Fig. 13 in a brush-closed configuration;

Fig. 16 is a top view of the accessory shown in Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is an enlarged view of the encircled part in Fig. 15;

Fig. 18 is a top view of a first movement-guidance plate of the accessory shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 19 is a top view of a second-movement guidance plate of the accessory shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 20 is a side view of a brush of the accessory shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 21 is a top view of the brush shown in Fig. 20; Fig. 22 is a bottom view of the brush shown in Fig. 20;

Fig. 23 is a longitudinal sectional view of the brush shown in Fig. 20;

Fig. 24 is a simplified top view of the accessory shown in Fig. 10 in a brush-closed configuration; and

Fig. 25 is a simplified top view of the accessory shown in Fig. 10 in a brush-open configuration.

Parts forming an accessory for styling hair according to a first embodiment of the present invention are shown in Fig. 1 and in which the hair-styling accessory is generally designated as 100. Figs. 2 and 3 show further views of the accessory 100. The accessory 100 may be a brush or a diffuser. The accessory 100 has six brushes 102. The number of brushes 102 carried by the accessory 100 may, of course, be different. For example, the accessory 100 may have four or eight brushes 102, according to the specific design of the manufacturer. Each brush 102 is provided with a number of parallel brush fingers 104 with their lower ends fixed to and along a curved base 106 and in order of succeeding increasing length. The brush fingers 104 are parallel to a central longitudinal axis Li-Li of the accessory 100.

A disc 108 is fixedly engaged with a connector 110 via a screw 112, a spindle 114 and a nut 116. The connector 110 is in the shape of a hollow cylinder which is strengthened by two diametrical cross-bars 118 which cross each other at a right angle. A hollow, generally bowl-shaped body portion 120 is fitted over the connector 110 so that the body portion 120 and the connector 110 are rotatable relative to each other about the axis Li-Li . A movement-guidance plate 122 is fixedly engaged with the body portion 120 for simultaneous movement. The plate 122 may be separately formed from the body portion 120, or they may be integrally formed with each other. The plate 122 has a central recessed region 124 for receiving a ring 126 within which the disc 108 is received. By way of such an arrangement, as the disc 108 is fixedly engaged with the connector 110 and the plate 122 is fixedly engaged with the body portion 120, when the body portion 120 is rotated relative to the connector 110 about the axis Li-Li, the plate 122 is also rotated relative to the disc 108 about the axis L -L .

The connector 110 may be releasably engaged with an airflow generating appliance, e.g. an electric hair dryer, by being fitted over the air outlet end of the appliance. By way of such an arrangement, air (in particular air heated by the hair dryer) exiting the outlet end of the hair dryer can pass through the connector 110, the body portion 120, the plate 122 and the disc 108 and the space between the fingers 104 of the brushes 102, for drying and/or styling hair.

The disc 108 has six generally semi-circular recesses 132 equi-angularly disposed along its circumference. As to the plate 122, such also has six straight slots 134 equi-angularly disposed about its centre.

Below the respective curved base 106 of each brush 102 are two pins 128, 130, which are parallel to and extend in opposite direction to the brush fingers 104. For each brush 102, the pin 128 is positioned at or close to one longitudinal end of the curved base 106 near the shortest brush finger 104, and the pin 130 is spaced apart from the pin 128, and is positioned, for example, at or around the mid-point of the curved base 106. The pin 128 is partly received within a respective recess 132 of the disc 108 so that the pin 128 (and thus the brush 102) can rotate relative to the disc 108 about the pin 128. As to the pin 130, such is received through a respective slot 134 of the plate 122. It can be seen from Fig. 2 that the pin 130 has an enlarged free end which prevents the pin 130 from being detached from the slot 134. By way of such an arrangement, the pin 130 may slide to-and-fro along and relative to the slot 134. It is also clear that the movement of the brush 102 is controlled by the disc 108 and the plate 122.

Operation of the accessory 100 will now be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 4 to 9. For clarity purposes, only the brushes 102, disc 108, and plate 122 are shown in these drawings. For better understanding of the mechanism for moving the brushes 102, only the movement of two adjacent brushes 102a, 102b, and particularly their respective outermost longest brush finger 104a, 104b, will be described.

As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, a pin 128a of the brush 102a is engaged with the disc 108 for relative rotational movement, as discussed above, and a pin 130a of the brush 102a is received within a slot 134a of the plate 122 for to-and-fro sliding movement along and relative to the slot 134a. Similarly, a pin 128b of the brush 102b is engaged with a circumferential recess of the disc 108 for relative rotational movement, and a pin 130b of the brush 102b is received within a slot 134b of the plate 122 for to-and-fro sliding movement along and relative to the slot 134b. It can be seen that in this brush-closed configuration, the brushes 102a, 102b and their respective finger 104a, 104b are in their inner position, and the brushes 102a, 102b are in contact with each other.

As mentioned above, as the disc 108 is fixedly engaged with the connector 110 and the plate 122 is fixedly engaged with the body portion 120, when the body portion 120 is rotated relative to the connector 110 about the axis L₁-Li, the plate 122 is also rotated relative to the disc 108 about the axis L_rL|.

A user may thus rotate the body portion 120 relative to the connector 110 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in Figs. 5 and 6 by a maximum of 120°, so as to rotate the plate 122 relative to the disc 108 in the same direction through the same angle. After such an action, while the disc 108 will remain stationary, the slots 134a, 134b will be moved to their respective position shown in Figs. 7 to 9. Because of such a movement, the respective pin 130a, 130b of the brushes 102a, 102b will move along the respective slot 134a, 134b from one longitudinal end thereof to another longitudinal end thereof. Thus, the brushes 102a, 102b will be moved to the position as shown in Figs. 7 to 9.

It can be seen that, in the brush-open configuration as shown in Figs. 7 to 9: a. the distance between the outermost brush fingers 104a, 104b has increased, as compared with that in the brush-closed configuration as shown in Figs. 4 to 6; b. the outermost brush fingers 104a, 104b are in their outer position and are further away from the central longitudinal axis L-i-L-i, as compared with that in the brush-closed configuration as shown in Figs. 4 to 6 in which the brush fingers are in their inner position; c. the brushes 102a, 102b are out of contact with each other; and d. the brushes 102a, 102b extend generally radially away from the central longitudinal axis L₁-L₁.

To return the brushes 102a, 102b to the brush-closed configuration as shown in Figs. 4 to 6, a user may rotate the body portion 120 relative to the connector 110 in the direction indicated by the arrow B in Figs. 8 and 9 (which is opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow A in Figs. 5 and 6) by 120°, so as to rotate the plate 122 relative to the disc 108 in the same direction through the same angle. After such a movement, the brushes 102a, 102b will resume the position and configuration as shown in Figs. 4 to 6.

It should of course be understood that a user may decide not to rotate the plate 122 relative to the disc 108 by the maximum allowable angle of 120°. The plate 122 may be rotated relative to the disc 108 by any angle from 0° to 120°, so that the brushes 102a, 102b may assume different degrees of openness or closeness relative to each other depending on the need of the hair-stylist or user. It should also be noted that a single rotational movement of the body portion 120 relative to the connector 110 will bring about movement of all the brushes 102 carried by the plate 122 between their respective inner and outer positions.

In addition to being a brush, the accessory 100 may also act as a diffuser facilitating a user or hair stylist in effecting curling of hair. A hair-stylist may have the brush fingers 104 inserted into the hair of his/her customer with the accessory 100 initially in the brush-open configuration as shown in Figs. 7 to 9. The brushes 102 may then be moved from their outer position (as shown in Figs. 7 to 9) towards their inner position (as shown in Figs. 4 to 6) so as to trap tresses of hair among and around the brush fingers 104. Hot air may then exit the hair dryer to which the accessory 100 is engaged to dry and simultaneously curl the hair. The extent to which the hair is curled depends on the degree of closeness to which the brush fingers 104 are brought together.

As discussed above, the accessory 100 may be releasably engaged with an airflow generating appliance, e.g. an electric hair dryer, by being fitted over the air outlet end of the appliance, to form an electric diffuser or brush. It is also envisaged that the connector 110 is dispensed with and the remaining parts of the accessory 100 form an integral portion of a hair styling appliance. In particular, the body portion 120 may be joined with and rotatable relative to an air outlet of the hair dryer about a common central longitudinal axis to move the brushes relative to each other to vary the distance there-between. The arrangement, structure and function of the other features of the accessory 100 can remain unchanged.

Parts forming an accessory for styling hair according to a second embodiment of the present invention are shown in Fig. 10 and in which the hair-styling accessory is generally designated as 200. Figs. 11 and 12 show further views of the accessory 200. The accessory 200 may be a brush or a diffuser. The accessory 200 has five brushes 202, although it should be understood that the number of brushes 202 may be different. Each brush 202 is provided with a number of parallel brush fingers 204 with their lower ends fixed to and along a curved base 206 and in order of succeeding increasing length. The brush fingers 204 are parallel to a central longitudinal axis L₂-L₂ of the accessory 200.

A circular first movement-guidance plate 208 is fixedly engaged with a connector

210 via four screws 214. The connector 210 is in the shape of a hollow cylinder 210a conjoined with a generally bowl-shaped like hollow portion 210b. A second movement guidance plate 222 is fixedly engaged with a body portion 220 for simultaneous movement. The plate 222 may be separately formed from the body portion 220, or they may be integrally formed with each other. The body portion 220 with the plate 222 is engaged with the first movement-guidance plate 208 by a screw 212 and a nut 216 such that the plate 208 is rotatable relative to the body portion 220 and the plate 222 about the common central longitudinal axis L₂-L₂. By way of such an arrangement, as the plate 108 is fixedly engaged with the connector 210 and the plate 222 is fixedly engaged with the body portion 220, when the body portion 220 is rotated relative to the connector 210 about the axis L₂-L₂, the plate 222 is also rotated relative to the disc 208 about the axis L₂-L₂ through the same angle.

The connector 210 may be releasably engaged with an airflow generating appliance, e.g. an electric hair dryer, by being fitted over the air outlet end of the appliance. By way of such an arrangement, air (in particular air heated by the hair dryer) exiting the outlet end of the hair dryer can pass through the connector 210, the plate 208, the body portion 220, and the plate 222 and the space between the fingers 204 of the brushes 202, for drying and/or styling hair. In particular, it can be seen from Fig. 18 that the plate 208 has a number of air-passage holes 238 through which air from the hair dryer can pass. Similarly, it can be seen from Fig. 19 that the plate 222 has a number of differently shaped air-passage holes 240 through which air from the hair dryer can pass.

As shown in Figs. 20 to 23, below the respective curved base 206 of each brush 202 are a shorter pin 228 and a longer pin 230, which are parallel to and extend in opposite direction to the brush fingers 204. The plate 222 has five curved slots 234 (see Fig. 19) which are equi-angularly disposed about the centre of the plate 222, and the plate 208 also have five curved slots 236 (see Fig. 18) which are equi-angularly disposed about the centre of the plate 208. When assembled, the plate 222 and the plate 208 are axially spaced apart from each other along the common longitudinal axis L₂-L₂, and the slots 234 and the curved slots 236 are curved in different directions. Although the slots 234, 236 are shown here as being curved, it is envisaged that they may be straight. Irrespective of whether the slots 234, 236 are straight or curved, when assembled, the slots 234 and the slots 236 are inclined in different directions.

As shown in Figs. 11 and 17, the shorter pin 228 of each brush 202 is received through a respective curved slot 234 of the plate 222 for to-and-fro sliding movement relative to and along the slot 234. The longer pin 230 of each brush 202 is received through, firstly, the same curved slot 234 of the plate 222 through which the shorter pin 228 of that brush 202 is received and, secondly, a curved slot 236 of the plate 208. The pin 230 is thus slidingly movable to-and-fro relative to and along both the curved slot 234 of the plate 222 and the curved slot 236 of the plate 208. As a result, the movement of the brush 202 is controlled by both the first movement-guidance plate 208 and the second movement-guidance plate 222. The longer pin 230 has a enlarged portion 23Od (see Figs. 17 and 23) which is between the plate 208 and the plate 222 so as to prevent disengagement of the pin 230 (and thus the brush 202) from the plates 208, 222.

Referring now to Figs. 13 and 14, such show the brushes 202 in a brush-open configuration, in which the brushes 202 are furthest away from one another and from the central longitudinal axis L₂-L₂, and are out of contact with one another. The brush fingers 204 carried by the different brushes 202 are therefore also furthest away from one another. Using two brushes 202a, 202b as specific examples, the shorter pin of the brush 202a is inserted within a slot 234a of the plate 222 for relative to-and-fro sliding movement and the longer pin of the brush 202a is received within both the slot 234a of the plate 222 and a slot 236a of the plate 208 so that the longer pin is slidable relative to both the slot 234a and the slot 236a. The shorter pin of the brush 202b is inserted within a slot 234b of the plate 222 for relative to-and-fro sliding movement and the longer pin of the brush 202b is received within both the slot 234b of the plate 222 and a slot 236b of the plate 208 so that the longer pin is slidably movable relative to both the slots 234b and 236b in a to-and-fro manner.

By way of such an arrangement, when the body 220 (which carries the movement-guidance plate 222) is rotated relative to the connector 210 (which carries the movement-guidance plate 208) in the direction indicated by the arrow C in Fig. 14, the plate 222 is simultaneously rotated in the same direction relative to the plate 208, whereby the brushes 202a, 202b are moved inward towards, and thus closer to, the central longitudinal axis L₂-L₂. When the plate 222 is thus rotated by up to 144°, the plate 222, the plate 208 and the brushes 202a, 202b will assume the brush-closed configuration as shown in Figs. 15 and 16. It is thus possible to adjust the distance between brushes 202 and brush fingers 204 of different brushes 202. It can also be seen in Figs. 24 and 25 that adjacent brushes 202 are in contact with each other when they are in the brush-closed configuration as shown in Fig. 24 and that adjacent brushes 202 are out of contact with each other when they are in the brush-open configuration as shown in Fig. 25.

To return the brushes 202 to the outer position, the body 220 is rotated relative to the connector 210 in the direction indicated by the arrow D in Fig. 16 (which is opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow C in Fig. 14), to move the brushes 202 away from the central longitudinal axis L₂-L₂. It is therefore possible to position the brushes 202 anywhere between their inner respective inner and outer positions by appropriately rotating the body 220 relative to the connector 210.

In addition to being a brush, the accessory 200 may also act as a diffuser assisting a user or hair stylist to effect curling of hair. A hair-stylist may have the brush fingers 204 inserted into the hair of his/her customer with the accessory 200 initially in the brush-open configuration shown in Figs. 15, 16 and 25. The brushes 202 may then be moved from their outer position (as shown in Figs. 15, 16 and 25) towards their inner position (as shown in Figs. 13, 14 and 24) so as to trap tresses of hair among and around the brush fingers 204. Hot air may then exit the hair dryer to which the accessory 200 is engaged to dry and simultaneously curl the hair. The extent to which the hair is curled depends on the degree of closeness to which the brush fingers 204 are brought together.

The accessory 200 may be releasably engaged with an airflow generating appliance, e.g. an electric hair dryer, by being fitted over the air outlet end of the appliance, to form an electric diffuser or brush. It is also envisaged that the connector 210 is dispensed with and the remaining parts of the accessory 200 form an integral portion of a hair styling appliance. In particular, the body portion 220 may be joined with and rotatable relative to an air outlet of the hair dryer about their common central longitudinal axis to move the brushes relative to each other to vary the distance there-between. The arrangement, structure and function of the other features of the accessory 100 can remain unchanged. It should be understood that the above only illustrates examples whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that various modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It should also be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any appropriate sub-combinations.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An accessory (100, 200) for styling hair, said accessory including: a first body portion (110, 210); a second body portion (120, 220) which is engaged with said first body portion and is rotatable relative to said first body portion about a common longitudinal axis (L₁-L₁, L2-L2); a first brush member (102, 102a, 202, 202a) with at least a first brush finger (104, 104a, 204); a second brush member (102, 102b, 202, 202b) with at least a second brush finger (104, 104b, 204); wherein said first brush member and said second brush member are engaged with said second body portion; characterized in that said second body portion is operable to move said first and second brush members relative to each other to vary the distance between said first and second brush fingers.

2. An accessory according to Claim 1 further characterized in that said second body portion is operable to move said first brush finger of said first brush member between an inner position and an outer position, wherein said first brush finger, when in its outer position, is further away from said longitudinal axis than when it is in its inner position.

3. An accessory according to Claim 2 further characterized in that when said first brush finger is in said inner position, said first and second brush members are in contact with each other, and when said first brush finger is in said outer position, said first and second brush members are out of contact with each other.

4. An accessory according to Claim 1 or 2 further characterized in including a first movement controlling part (108, 208) and a second movement controlling part (122, 222) which are movable relative to each other.

5. An accessory according to Claim 4 further characterized in that said first controlling part is received within a recess (124) of said second controlling part for relative rotational movement about said central longitudinal axis.

6. An accessory according to Claim 4 further characterized in that said second body portion is fixed engaged with said second controlling part, and wherein said second controlling part includes at least a first slot (134, 134a, 234, 234a,) and a second slot (134, 134b, 234, 234b).

7. An accessory according to Claim 5 or 6 further characterized in that said first body portion is fixedly engaged with said first controlling part.

8. An accessory according to Claim 7 further characterized in that said first brush member has a first engagement member (130, 130a) and a second engagement member (128, 128a), wherein said first engagement member is engaged with said first slot of said second controlling part for relative sliding movement, and wherein said second engagement member is engaged with said first controlling part for relative pivotal movement.

9. An accessory according to Claim 8 further characterized in that said second brush member has a third engagement member (130b) and a fourth engagement member (128b), wherein said third engagement member is engaged with said second slot of said second controlling part for relative sliding movement, and said fourth second engagement member is engaged with said first controlling part for relative pivotal movement.

10. An accessory according to Claim 6 further characterized in that said slots are substantially straight.

1 1. An accessory according to Claim 4 further characterized in that said first controlling part (208) includes at least a first slot (236, 236a) and a second slot (236, 236b) which are inclined in a first direction, and said second controlling part (222) includes at least a third slot (234, 234a) and a fourth slot (234, 234b) which are inclined in a second direction different to said first direction.

12. An accessory according to Claim 11 further characterized in that said first controlling part is fixedly engaged with said first body portion and said second controlling part is fixedly engaged with said second body portion.

13. An accessory according to Claim 11 further characterized in that said first controlling part is spaced apart from and rotatable relative to said second controlling part about said longitudinal axis.

14. An accessory according to Claim 11 further characterized in that said first brush member (202a) has a first engagement member (228) and a second engagement member (230), wherein said first engagement member is engaged with said first slot (236a) of said first controlling part for relative sliding movement, and wherein said second engagement member is engaged with said first slot (236a) of said first controlling part for relative sliding movement and with said third slot (234a) of said second controlling part for relative sliding movement.

15. An accessory according to Claim 14 further characterized in that said second brush member (202b) has a third engagement member (228) and a fourth engagement member (230), wherein said third engagement member is engaged with said second slot (236b) of said first controlling part for relative sliding movement, and wherein said fourth engagement member is engaged with said second slot (236b) of said first controlling part for relative sliding movement and with said fourth slot (234b) of said second controlling part for relative sliding movement.

16. An accessory according to Claim 11 further characterized in said second body portion is operable to move said first brush member between an inner position and an outer position, wherein said first brush member, when in its inner position, is closer to said longitudinal axis than when it is in its outer position.

17. An accessory according to Claim 1 further characterized in that said first body portion is releasably engageable with an air outlet of an airflow generating appliance.

18. An appliance for styling hair, said appliance including an air outlet engaged with an accessory (100, 200) according to Claim 1.

19. An appliance for styling hair, said appliance including: an air outlet; a body portion (120, 220) rotatable relative to said air outlet about a common longitudinal axis; a first brush member (102, 102a, 202, 202a) with at least a first brush finger (104, 104a, 204); a second brush member (102, 102b, 202, 202b) with at least a second brush finger (104, 104b, 204); wherein said first brush member and said second brush member are engaged with said body portion; characterized in that said body portion is operable to move said first and second brush members relative to each other to vary the distance between said first and second brush fingers.