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I thought I'd post this ancient research on increasing scalp circulation with high frequency electricity to metabolize cells, produce nitric oxide, oxygen and circulation in treating hair loss.
ELECTRICAL
HAIR GROWING
“Study of the descent of man and of embryology shows that our ancestors wereentirely covered with hair, as are the anthropoid apes. According to Darwin, thegradual disappearance of hair is due to repulsion felt by women toward hairy men;that is, to sexual selection.”
Monthly cyclopaedia of practical medicine and universal medical journal 1898
“Mary Butler, aged 86, living in Eagle-street, Red-Lion square, having been afflictedwith the sciatica for more than twenty years, was last month electrified ten or twelvetimes, and has been easy ever since. It seems the electric fire in cases of this and
of many other kinds, dilates the minute vessels, and capillary passages, as well asseparates the clogging particles of the stagnating fluids. By accelerating likewise themotion of the blood, it removes many obstructions.”
Desideratum John Wesley 1871
Stephane Leduc used an electrical current to plant zinc ions inthe skin of a rabbit. This induced a strong growth of hair. There is atheory that a lack of hair is a result of too much hormone or too littleblood supply. Perhaps hair loss is a lack of scalp minerals, and theelectrical current replaced them.
Lewis Jones treated a husband and wife who both suffered frompatchy alopecia. This may have resulted from a microorganism onegave the other. The ionic implanting of zinc cured them both.
Dr. H. Marques treated a number of patients with zinc ions. Heplaced pads with a 2% solution of zinc chloride over the bald patchesand used the negative pole. He administered three treatments a week,increasing the current to 15 ma. Hair began to appear in about eightdays. One patient had no hair at all on his scalp. He began to sproutnew hair 12 days after the ion treatment. About half of Marques’cases treated with zinc had hair regrowth.
In 1893, Paul Oudin treated a case of hair loss due to syphilis.There were separate tufts of hair over the head of the patient. Oudinused three violet ray treatments a week given over a period of fourmonths, and most of the hair regenerated.
Henri Bordier was the next to treat hair loss with violet ray equip-ment. He used an Oudin device to irritate the scalp for four to fiveminutes. He then applied a shower of tiny painless sparks, whichproduced intense redness and then a slight crust. He would apply finesparks for 20-30 seconds at one place. This would result in crusts, andwhen they flaked off, new pink skin gradually became brownish. Thiswas followed by the appearance of white hair, which darkened andbecame normal in nine months. Demetrios Vassilides reported that he had cured 14 cases ofbaldness with electricity. He cured a mild case in a month, but somecases required 16 months. He noted that the hair often changed to adarker color. It took longer to restore the color than to overcome thebald spots. Nine of the men began to grow hair within five months oftreatment. One man didn’t have a single hair on his head for the lastten years, but it began to grow with continued treatment.
A young physician applied violet ray currents to the bald patcheson his head until they were bright red. He treated them three timesa week for three weeks. The patches became smaller and fine hairsbegan to grow in at the edges. He continued with two treatments aweek for two months, and his hair became completely normal.
A German woman who worked as a domestic servant had fall-ing hair and extreme dryness. In order to save what little hair thatremained, high-frequency currents were applied to her scalp. A fewweeks later, there was definite growth on the right and left sides. Thenew hair was shiny when compared with the surrounding hair. Thetwo patches expanded and merged into each other; eventually theentire scalp appeared normal.
In 1919, a 40-year-old woman came to Samuel Sloan for treat-ment. She didn’t have a single hair on her head, and no eyebrowsand eyelashes. She had gone to a number of prominent doctors andreceived no help. Dr. Sloan gave her 12 treatments with the violetray until her skin became red and slightly tender. She was told to rubhazeline cream into the scalp and return after four weeks.
When she returned, she was still completely bald. Another 12treatments were given. She returned three months after the treatmentswith several patches of dark hairs on her head. Her eyebrow and eye-
219
lashes of her left eye were beginning to grow. Another 12 treatmentswere given, her scalp covered with fine hair and her eyebrows andeyelashes started to return to normal. Soon she had a full head of hair.
George McKee used a version of the violet ray invented by HenryPiffard. He found its stimulation increased blood supply and resis-tance to germ invasion. It left hyperemia lasting for hours.
The hair of a 25-year-old woman began to fall out at an alarm-ing rate. She was treated with capsicum, cantharides, castor oil andalcohol without results. After five weeks of violet ray treatment, newhair began to grow.
A 20-year-old woman suffered from seborrhea for several years.Her hair was falling out, and she was treated with the usual methodswithout result. Treatment continued irregularly until her hair wasthick and steadily growing in length.
A 40-year-old man had very thin hair over the front of the headand a sparse growth at the top. He was given violet ray treatment forsix months, but nothing happened. He decided to give up the treat-ment, but then a heavy growth of coarse white hair made its appear-ance. After ten months, he had a good growth of normal hair.
Nobel Eberhart treated a woman with vibration and the violet rayfor hair falling out. She had numerous gray hairs, and wanted thempulled, but she didn’t get it done. After weeks of treatment, Eberhartnoticed that they were gone. The violet ray had turned them black.
Eberhart treated a case of lupus six days a week. He targeted astubborn patch near the ear, which resulted in a patch of dark brownhair in the patient’s gray hair. He believed that the gray was a result ofdisturbed nutrition.
The violet ray began to be used in beauty shops for treating hair.In the 1920s a version known as Roger’s Vitalator began to appearin barbershops for treating dandruff and bald patches. The AmericanHairdresser noted: “Wonderful results have been obtained in the useof the Violetta, and many cases of gray hair restoration have beenreported. The Violetta tends to revolutionize the whole profession.Dandruff was reported to disappear under the treatments.”
The Marvel Violet Ray Company had this testimonial in its book-let. “I have had one of your violet ray outfits for about three monthsand have found it very satisfactory for every ailment that I have tried
- - - Updated - - -
it on. I have been using this instrument on a neighbor that has beenbald for about 15 years and present indications show a good growthof hair.”
Almost no work has been done since 1930 on the use of electrici-ty to grow hair. One trial was reported with a pulsed electrostatic fieldon the hair. Group A began with a hair count of 91 in a one-inchcircular area of the head. Group B wasn’t treated, and the hair contentdcreased from decreased from 111 to 91, although these measure-ments are uncertain. In the group with a pulsed electrostatic field,83% showed an increase in hair count.
Electricity was also used to remove hair. In 1875, Dr. CharlesMichel used electrolysis to remove hair. In 1882, George Fox intro-duced the use of a fine needle alongside of the hair follicle to removehair. The operator uses slightly more voltage according to the thick-ness of the hair. There is a stinging pain when the current is passing,but most people can take this without problems. Fine pale hairs aremore difficult to remove permanently. It is essential to have good lightduring the treatment to see the fine hairs. Steel electrodes cannot beused, for they leave black marks. A short piece of sharp platinum wireis attached to the positive pole. The electrical procedure leaves tinyscars with each hair.
Bibliography
Journals in this bibliography are in alphabetic order. Most large medical librariesshelve them in this manner. All foreign titles of articles have been translated for thebenefit of my English readers. The authors of books are listed after the journals.
Alienist and Neurologist 7:254, 1886 “Alopecia the Results of Lesions of the Trophic NerveCenter – Relieved by the Use of Electricity” G.W. Overall
American Journal of Clinical Medicine 16:1211, 1909 “Effects of High-Frequency Currenton Gray Hair” N. Eberhart
Archives of Radiology and Electric 24:357, 1920
Archives d’Eléctricité Médicale 9:193, 1901 “Treatment of Baldness with the Currents of
High-Frequency” H. Bordier
Archives d’Eléctricité Médicale 20:207, 1912 “Treatment of Baldness with the Zinc Ion” H.
Marques
International Journal of Dermatology 29:446, 1990 “The Biological Effects of a Pulsed Elec-
trostatic Field with Specific Reference to Hair” W.S. Maddin, et al.
Journal of the American Medical Association 83:971, 1924 “Electricity in Dermatology”
E.D. Chipman
New York Medical Journal 84:180, 1906 “The High-Frequency Spark in the Treatment of
Premature Alopecia” G. McKee
ELECTRICAL
HAIR GROWING
“Study of the descent of man and of embryology shows that our ancestors wereentirely covered with hair, as are the anthropoid apes. According to Darwin, thegradual disappearance of hair is due to repulsion felt by women toward hairy men;that is, to sexual selection.”
Monthly cyclopaedia of practical medicine and universal medical journal 1898
“Mary Butler, aged 86, living in Eagle-street, Red-Lion square, having been afflictedwith the sciatica for more than twenty years, was last month electrified ten or twelvetimes, and has been easy ever since. It seems the electric fire in cases of this and
of many other kinds, dilates the minute vessels, and capillary passages, as well asseparates the clogging particles of the stagnating fluids. By accelerating likewise themotion of the blood, it removes many obstructions.”
Desideratum John Wesley 1871
Stephane Leduc used an electrical current to plant zinc ions inthe skin of a rabbit. This induced a strong growth of hair. There is atheory that a lack of hair is a result of too much hormone or too littleblood supply. Perhaps hair loss is a lack of scalp minerals, and theelectrical current replaced them.
Lewis Jones treated a husband and wife who both suffered frompatchy alopecia. This may have resulted from a microorganism onegave the other. The ionic implanting of zinc cured them both.
Dr. H. Marques treated a number of patients with zinc ions. Heplaced pads with a 2% solution of zinc chloride over the bald patchesand used the negative pole. He administered three treatments a week,increasing the current to 15 ma. Hair began to appear in about eightdays. One patient had no hair at all on his scalp. He began to sproutnew hair 12 days after the ion treatment. About half of Marques’cases treated with zinc had hair regrowth.
In 1893, Paul Oudin treated a case of hair loss due to syphilis.There were separate tufts of hair over the head of the patient. Oudinused three violet ray treatments a week given over a period of fourmonths, and most of the hair regenerated.
Henri Bordier was the next to treat hair loss with violet ray equip-ment. He used an Oudin device to irritate the scalp for four to fiveminutes. He then applied a shower of tiny painless sparks, whichproduced intense redness and then a slight crust. He would apply finesparks for 20-30 seconds at one place. This would result in crusts, andwhen they flaked off, new pink skin gradually became brownish. Thiswas followed by the appearance of white hair, which darkened andbecame normal in nine months. Demetrios Vassilides reported that he had cured 14 cases ofbaldness with electricity. He cured a mild case in a month, but somecases required 16 months. He noted that the hair often changed to adarker color. It took longer to restore the color than to overcome thebald spots. Nine of the men began to grow hair within five months oftreatment. One man didn’t have a single hair on his head for the lastten years, but it began to grow with continued treatment.
A young physician applied violet ray currents to the bald patcheson his head until they were bright red. He treated them three timesa week for three weeks. The patches became smaller and fine hairsbegan to grow in at the edges. He continued with two treatments aweek for two months, and his hair became completely normal.
A German woman who worked as a domestic servant had fall-ing hair and extreme dryness. In order to save what little hair thatremained, high-frequency currents were applied to her scalp. A fewweeks later, there was definite growth on the right and left sides. Thenew hair was shiny when compared with the surrounding hair. Thetwo patches expanded and merged into each other; eventually theentire scalp appeared normal.
In 1919, a 40-year-old woman came to Samuel Sloan for treat-ment. She didn’t have a single hair on her head, and no eyebrowsand eyelashes. She had gone to a number of prominent doctors andreceived no help. Dr. Sloan gave her 12 treatments with the violetray until her skin became red and slightly tender. She was told to rubhazeline cream into the scalp and return after four weeks.
When she returned, she was still completely bald. Another 12treatments were given. She returned three months after the treatmentswith several patches of dark hairs on her head. Her eyebrow and eye-
219
lashes of her left eye were beginning to grow. Another 12 treatmentswere given, her scalp covered with fine hair and her eyebrows andeyelashes started to return to normal. Soon she had a full head of hair.
George McKee used a version of the violet ray invented by HenryPiffard. He found its stimulation increased blood supply and resis-tance to germ invasion. It left hyperemia lasting for hours.
The hair of a 25-year-old woman began to fall out at an alarm-ing rate. She was treated with capsicum, cantharides, castor oil andalcohol without results. After five weeks of violet ray treatment, newhair began to grow.
A 20-year-old woman suffered from seborrhea for several years.Her hair was falling out, and she was treated with the usual methodswithout result. Treatment continued irregularly until her hair wasthick and steadily growing in length.
A 40-year-old man had very thin hair over the front of the headand a sparse growth at the top. He was given violet ray treatment forsix months, but nothing happened. He decided to give up the treat-ment, but then a heavy growth of coarse white hair made its appear-ance. After ten months, he had a good growth of normal hair.
Nobel Eberhart treated a woman with vibration and the violet rayfor hair falling out. She had numerous gray hairs, and wanted thempulled, but she didn’t get it done. After weeks of treatment, Eberhartnoticed that they were gone. The violet ray had turned them black.
Eberhart treated a case of lupus six days a week. He targeted astubborn patch near the ear, which resulted in a patch of dark brownhair in the patient’s gray hair. He believed that the gray was a result ofdisturbed nutrition.
The violet ray began to be used in beauty shops for treating hair.In the 1920s a version known as Roger’s Vitalator began to appearin barbershops for treating dandruff and bald patches. The AmericanHairdresser noted: “Wonderful results have been obtained in the useof the Violetta, and many cases of gray hair restoration have beenreported. The Violetta tends to revolutionize the whole profession.Dandruff was reported to disappear under the treatments.”
The Marvel Violet Ray Company had this testimonial in its book-let. “I have had one of your violet ray outfits for about three monthsand have found it very satisfactory for every ailment that I have tried
- - - Updated - - -
it on. I have been using this instrument on a neighbor that has beenbald for about 15 years and present indications show a good growthof hair.”
Almost no work has been done since 1930 on the use of electrici-ty to grow hair. One trial was reported with a pulsed electrostatic fieldon the hair. Group A began with a hair count of 91 in a one-inchcircular area of the head. Group B wasn’t treated, and the hair contentdcreased from decreased from 111 to 91, although these measure-ments are uncertain. In the group with a pulsed electrostatic field,83% showed an increase in hair count.
Electricity was also used to remove hair. In 1875, Dr. CharlesMichel used electrolysis to remove hair. In 1882, George Fox intro-duced the use of a fine needle alongside of the hair follicle to removehair. The operator uses slightly more voltage according to the thick-ness of the hair. There is a stinging pain when the current is passing,but most people can take this without problems. Fine pale hairs aremore difficult to remove permanently. It is essential to have good lightduring the treatment to see the fine hairs. Steel electrodes cannot beused, for they leave black marks. A short piece of sharp platinum wireis attached to the positive pole. The electrical procedure leaves tinyscars with each hair.
Bibliography
Journals in this bibliography are in alphabetic order. Most large medical librariesshelve them in this manner. All foreign titles of articles have been translated for thebenefit of my English readers. The authors of books are listed after the journals.
Alienist and Neurologist 7:254, 1886 “Alopecia the Results of Lesions of the Trophic NerveCenter – Relieved by the Use of Electricity” G.W. Overall
American Journal of Clinical Medicine 16:1211, 1909 “Effects of High-Frequency Currenton Gray Hair” N. Eberhart
Archives of Radiology and Electric 24:357, 1920
Archives d’Eléctricité Médicale 9:193, 1901 “Treatment of Baldness with the Currents of
High-Frequency” H. Bordier
Archives d’Eléctricité Médicale 20:207, 1912 “Treatment of Baldness with the Zinc Ion” H.
Marques
International Journal of Dermatology 29:446, 1990 “The Biological Effects of a Pulsed Elec-
trostatic Field with Specific Reference to Hair” W.S. Maddin, et al.
Journal of the American Medical Association 83:971, 1924 “Electricity in Dermatology”
E.D. Chipman
New York Medical Journal 84:180, 1906 “The High-Frequency Spark in the Treatment of
Premature Alopecia” G. McKee
