I recall back in the 1960's seeing my barber "combing" someones head with a device made of glass that clearly had a high voltage in it as there were blue sparks in it. I think the customer had alopecia or some other hair loss issue.
Done a Google but can't find anything - Maybe snake oil. Any ideas?
Am 12.10.2020 um 10:49 schrieb JohnP:
violet ray generator?
Matthias Czech snipped-for-privacy@t-online.de wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:
Likely! Led me to this - Many thanks!
Violet Ray High Frequency Vitalator
I can't help wondering if the treatment wasn't actually responsible for the hair loss!
Apparently, electrical stimulation of the scalp to slow hair loss was a much-promoted treatment. Originally proposed by Nicola Tesla, I believe. Plenty of links
Hairdressing. A singe is a treatment available at a barber's. A lit taper (candle) or other device is used to lightly burn and shrivel the hair. The practice of singeing was popular approximately a century ago; it was believed that hair had "fluid" in it and singeing would trap the fluid in.
In message <rm16h6$ck4$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, jon snipped-for-privacy@nospam.cn writes
Certainly still popular in more recent times. I have vivid memories of waiting my turn in the local barber shop, and watching hair on the back of the neck of older customers being singed. Needless to say, I was terrified the barber would set fire to my head too :-) That would be late 50s/early 60s.
Now offered by a number of Turkish barbers local to me.
alan_m snipped-for-privacy@admac.myzen.co.uk> wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:
Turkish Barbers - a promotion opportunity for Car Washers!
I didn?t like the barber?s at all. It was full of old men and you could hardly breathe for tobacco smoke. There was also a strange smell, which was caused by the practice of singeing. This was a method of removing hair by holding lighted tapers near the head. It caused a horrible pong. It was always done in the end chair, which was at right angles to the main run of chairs. They couldn?t have dragged me to that chair if they?d used chains. The ordinary methods of removing hair were bad enough. A board would be put across the arms of the chair for me to sit on. This brought me up to a comfortable working height for the barber, who snipped away, every snip sounding to me as if it might remove an ear. Finally he would hold a mirror up behind me and say, in an exaggeratedly servile voice, whilst no doubt winking at my mam, ?Is that all right sir??
Most kids those days had their hair cut at home. Given dad?s generally parsimonious attitudes to the needs of his children I don?t know why I was taken to the barber in town.
Bill
Now replaced by "hot scissors", for much the same reason.
(i.e. snake oil)
"By cleverly warming the blades, the natural qualities of the hair are preserved by sealing the ends... totally transformed into healthy hair ... will heal your hair for good... the ends ... are sealed ... important bodily moisture and care substances are preserved... protected from environmental pressures..."
Thomas Prufer
In the last couple of years, around my way one growth industry appeared to be hair dressing. Within easy walking distance at least six new establishments opened and three were branded "Traditional Turkish". A variety of flyers were posted through the letter box and for the Turkish establishments prices ranged from around £8 for a basic men's haircut to around £30+ for the full works including setting fire to your hair. I note recently that most of these new establishments have gone, possibly due to the lack of custom during to lockdown but more probably too many hairdressers for the catchment area.
The other local growth industry that has recently come and gone is "vaping" shops/parlours.
Probably attracted the dandruff to it. Sometimes if you wash hair it tends to get glued to the scalp rather than being removed.
I'd not seen anything like this myself, but it would be relatively easy to make one up. Brian
Have you ever played with Tesla coils. I know back earlier in the century these were used for all sorts of snake oil devices. Some say they were also one of the very first electronic sex toys, but because the voltage was high and the current very very low some interesting feelings can be generated in the skin. I do have a minor worry about ozone though as you could certainly smell it but I guess in a well ventilated room it was OK. I'm still here and I used to construct high voltage devices all the time. Nice purple glows around probes etc. Brian
What in the 60s? I'd rather doubt that myself.
Brian
williamwright snipped-for-privacy@f2s.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:
Very amusing and true.
Reply to Brian
Maybe late 50's then.
"Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)" snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in news:rm3ia7$tou$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
I recall that the customer had alopecia.(well bald patches) - so it must have been in the hope of stimulating growth.
But ozone is good for you! That's what led to the growth of seaside resorts (except the smell was really rotting seaweed). That and bathing beauties before the invention of the swimsuit.
'The term "laser" originated as an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories.'
I actually have one, picked it up at a local market, made in the 1960s. Has a comb attachment for hair I assume, a bulb bit and a metal bar attachement. The glass bits have a plasma bluish violet glow when used whilst the bar just gives a large shock, the spark jumps about 15mm. Its good for entertainment value if nothing else.
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