Golden Age of Quackery

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Few of you will remember this little beauty, but this was “point zero” of the greatest fraud ever perpetrated in the field of hair removal: DEPILATRON!

Yesterday, Bill Schuler (Hinkel Company) “gifted” me with his electrolysis museum (17 antique machines). Included in this array was the very first Depilatron that was contrived by an East Coast/Connecticut electrologist (Marion Fozzard). By 1975, the thing went viral.

Depilatron was the “Big Bang” of what later became known as the Electronic Tweezers.

All such devices were total frauds, and yet companies such as Deutsche Nemectron made and sold these units (under license). Within a short time, Depilatron went “world wide.”

In 1975, a new (real) electrolysis unit sold for $875. The Depilaton (just an HF unit with a tweezer) sold for $12,000.

This was a very long and sorry story that took decades to resolve; and only by grinding and protracted attrition. Meanwhile this hideous contrivance (and all Electronic Tweezers) cheated countless estheticians and patients with this sly and callous quackery.

Sadly, history DOES have a way of repeating itself, and all of us need to remain vigilant. The frauds, although not as blatant as Depilatron, are still very much with us … and always will be.

#2

How much are the tickets to “electrolysis museum”? :wink: I would want to hear stories from people that ran such quack projects. Did they believe their own lies based on puff-theories or were they in on the scam all along as it went?

#3

I get exhausted just thinking about the 20-years of fighting this crap. YES, there were “expert” doctors who said the thing worked … with FDA clearance an all. This was a total and absolute fraud.

I was involved as were all of the AEA members. I was actually part of the State’s under-cover work and wore a “bug” … and interviewed Depilatron executives. Later, they were “charged” and I got death threats …

There was even some supposed involvement with organized crime families on the East Coast. This could be a movie!

#4

Today I feel like a paleontologist that just discovered the fossil of “Argentinasaurus.” My old brain is about to explode … I hardly know where to begin with my documentation of these artifacts.

Within all the stuff Bill dropped off yesterday are recordings of Arthur Hinkel’s lectures … all of them. There is a recording of Rita Hayworth, and of Christine Jorgensen talking about hair removal. Many recording of AEA meetings. Bunches of 8mm film showing … I don’t know what.

There are photos of all Hinkel’s experiment set-ups, diagrams for machine development and notes on everything; including private notes on famous people.

There are antique machines, from the very first multiple-needle made by Paul Kree (early 1900s), a few of Mahler’s original units (now Instantron), the first Clareblend and the Hinkel UC-1 (I helped designed these units) and … hold on … the original “House of St. James multiple needle.” This was the first modern version of multiple needle and the history of this unit (well, mostly the originator) could be a pulp fiction novel!

I have the first “transistor” unit, along with the old spark gap and vacuum tube types. Even the automatic thermolysis unit Hinkel manufactured. (And, of course the Depilatron.)

Where were all these resources when I needed them … like 20 years ago? Maybe it’s too late to do anything with this extensive data. I’ll spend the next week or so sorting through all this and see what I come up with.

Any suggestions? (Okay, now, not THAT one!)

#5

Multiple-needle history from 1976. Below are two landmark devices. Notice the use of “computer” on the House of St. James device? Of interest is that the House of St. James unit did not have rectified DC. Instead it used a re-chargeable battery. He claimed this was the most “pure” DC … and, actually, I think he’s right. I tested the CRX-Western unit, and it still works! I suppose you could still do multiple or single Galvanic with these units. For further reading, check the following articles.

http://www.google.com/patents/US4155363

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19810116&id=Jt4cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GWMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6914,115260

CRX-Western

House of St. James:

#6

I would guess that most of these units still work. Hinkel bought them all and they were never used (only tested).

#7

Pop the cover on the St. James unit Michael and inspect the battery. It may have been removed for preservation of the unit but if not batteries have always had age problems and get nasty when they misbehave.

#8

Would be so cool to have links available to the lectures!!!

The woman who trained me had the depilatron device shown at top. She used it on people who couldn’t stand electrolysis! A colleague used it on me once. Those little tweezers get HOT! Burned my skin!

#9

Mike that is so cool. I want to see pics of all the machines.

#10

Hey … I think I will make a new thread because these machines are not “Quackery” … except for the Depilatron.

I’m going to photograph and film these units and get their history … then cart them over to Phoenix where Maria Denacola has started an “Electrolysis Museum.” (She got a bunch of machines from Larry Kunze.)

In the morning I’m going to talk about the Kree “Radio-matic.” I have a pre-WWII unit that, in a way, is mind-blowing.

#11

The Mother Ship!

#12

Please see new thread on “Electrology History”

#13

Continuing on with the electronic tweezer nonsense; this point is about how utterly stupid governing authorities often are in the face of fraud.

As the war against “ET” continued, the State of California went to work answering all the complaints. As I said, I was involved in the investigation.

Of course, there was no valid scientific proof showing the thing worked. Many medical experts weighed-in and our own Fino Gior ended up in Federal Court on our behalf (and was never really honored for his contribution.) But here’s the interesting part.

The “legal experts” on the California Board of Electrology/Cosmetology read our “rules and regulations” carefully. The RULES define a electrologists as using A NEEDLE! So, here’s what they decided after all the investigations and tons of money spent …

Electrologists would be FORBIDDEN to use Depilatron (electronic tweezers), because there was no NEEDLE! However, the device would be perfectly legal for either estheticians or people with NO LICENSE. And they DID!

As they say, “the law is an ass!”

It was a slow grind but eventually consumers found out it was a fraud. However, you can still find these rip-off devices on-line. One of these has a ROLLER that uses DC that’s supposed to magically find the follicle and kill it.

The shit never stops folks … and it never will!