150 Years of Electrolysis Excellence in Permanence
A big thank you to Dr. Charles Michel for starting the still ongoing revolution of permanent hair removal!
Dr. Charles Michel (1832–1913) was an American ophthalmologist best known for publishing the first clinical report of successful electrology in 1875.
Michel was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He received an MD degree at the Medical College of the State of South Carolina (now known as Medical University of South Carolina) in 1857. During the Civil War he served in Confederate Army as a surgeon and medical inspector.[1] After the war and until his death, Dr. Charles Michel spent practicing ophthalmology in Missouri.
Dr. Michel was practicing in Missouri, when he began using a battery-powered needle epilator to treat trichiasis (a condition where eyelashes grow inward toward the eye, causing irritation and potentially more serious complications if left untreated.) in 1869. This direct current–powered method was called electrolysis because a chemical reaction in the hair follicle causes sodium hydroxide to form, which damages the follicle.[2] Electrolysis is also sometimes called galvanic electrolysis.[3]
Prior to the invention and widespread use of electrolysis as a safe and non-damaging, reliable approach to permanent hair removal, those with unwanted hair attempted all manor of painful, scarring methods that overpromised and underdelivered. For example, tweeze the hair and then insert a dirty needle into the follicle. The thought behind this was that the resulting inflammation and possibly infection would seal up the follicle and kill the hair. Doctors tried surgical removal of hair follicles. Sometimes topical applications of sulphuric acid or hypodermic injections of carbolic acid were employed. More commonly a barbed needle would be inserted into an offending follicle and twisted rapidly in the hopes of killing the hair follicle. All of these methods, on top of being ineffective, were painful and unnecessarily injurious to the skin tissue, and the only permanent thing involved was the considerable disfigurement that was left behind. Suffice it to say that those with unwanted hair have been desperately attempting ways to permanently rid themselves of it for hundreds of years.
Prof. Paul M. Kree invented the multiple needle technique in 1916. By using as many as 10 needles simultaneously, the multi-needle method brought electrolysis to the fore as a more commercially viable method of permanent hair removal for those working over larger face and body areas. Importantly, Electrolysis offered career opportunities for women as physicians would frequently employ them to provide hair removal services within their practices while they were free to practice medicine. While there are any number of male electrolysis practitioners, it remains to this day a strong career choice for many women.
In 1923 Dr. Bordier of Paris, France, wrote the firs article on the use of high-frequency current for the removal of hair. This new method was significantly faster than the galvanic method that was widely used at the time. It was given the name “thermolysis” because it destroyed the tissue with heat, rather than the chemical action of the galvanic current. In truth, this method was slow to be accepted by American electrologists. It was not until the 1940s that high-frequency current was widely popular, and even now the basic principles of high-frequency have not changed appreciably.
The ”blend” method is a technique that utilizes simultaneous galvanic and low-intensity high-frequency currents. The combined qualities of the blend allow for both thorough and swift hair removal, with the benefits of each method helping to cancel out the downsides of the other. This method was patented in 1948 by Arthur Hinkel and Henri St. Pierre, who had been experimenting at perfecting the method for years prior.
In the last 75 years or so since the introduction of the blend, techniques and available machines have only improved. While the basic technology is largely the same; electrical science is not fluid, the comfort of the current delivery and the entire experience of permanent hair removal continues to get better and better. Electrolysis is still a wonderful career option for those who wish to apply themselves to the discipline required to become proficient. Those of us who are practicing today certainly stand on the shoulders of those who came before us as technological innovators, teachers, mentors, and practitioners. The American Electrology Association is so proud to represent those who choose a career in Electrology and who insist on the highest standards of practice as we look forward to a future of helping those with unwanted hair achieve the confidence they deserve. Here’s to you, Electrologists, as you carry on with empathy, skill, and a commitment to excellence!
Footnotes
- Michel CE. Trichiasis and distichiasis; with an improved method for radical treatment. St. Louis Clinical Record, 1875 Oct; 2:145-148.
- Electrolysis, Thermolysis, and the Blend, Hinkel and Lind
- https://blog.dectro.ca/electrolysis-techniques-than-and-now-1st-part/