The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-12-16
Removal OF Hair from the Face.

The operation OF removing HAIR from the
face is tedious, and Is thus performed by
DIR. Butler, Of New York. The patien,
being seated In chair in semi-reclninq
position, the head well supported, and the
face opposite a strong light, the operator
selects the hair for the first attack, takes
hold of 1t in a pair Of forceps, making i,
tense by gentle traction. A moistened
sponge elcctrode from the positive pole OF
the battery having previously been placed
on the back of the neck, or fixed at some
other convenient adjacent spot, a three
corncrcd needle with sharp cutting edges
set In suitable handle and attached to
the negative pole Of the battery, is made
enter the hair follicle, alongside tho
care being taken to make the needle
'ate to the entire depth of the folliclc.
action Of the current soon causes q
few bubbles Of the vlscid fro,h alluded to-,
to be observed. AS soon as this evidence
of electrolytic decomposition manfests it.
self, the needle should be rotated q few
times, 80 as to cause the sharp corners of
the needle to scrapc away the debris, aud
allow electrical contact with fresh sur
face. The operation 10 continued until
the hair becomes quite loose, and comes
away with the very slightest traction, the
whole operation lasting very much
shorter time than 1t takes to describe 1t.
The operator then proceeds with the next
hair in like manner, and 30 on with the
whole series, as many as there are to be
removed, or as long as the patient can bear
II. IL ls ny no means painful procedure
(oxcept III trichiasis), but is usually COM
planned of as a disagreeablc sensation.
There is great difference in patients,
however, in this regard; some will tolcr-
ate seance Of half an hour or even more ::
indeed, had one patient who stood it, or
rather sat it out, untlinchingly and uncom-
plalningly, for over an hour, and would
willingly have allowed the seance to be
continued much longer, but that the opera
tors eyes became 30 tired that it was IN
possible to proceed. l should not omit to
mention that use modification OF a
jewelers. magnifyiug glass, which | had
made for me by blcyrowitz Brothers, tho
"ell-known opticians. 1t consists of a
lens with four inch focus set in O cork
cap, for the sake Of lightness, and made of
such shape as to fit the eye, and is read
NY held there as single cycglass is made
to 90. Even with the lens the operation
Is fatiguing to the eyes; but without it it
'ls almost impossible to continue the scunce
uninterrupted for over ten or twelve min
utes, and then 1t must necessarily be done
III all unsatisfactory manner, us it IS i'm
possible to see how the details arc being
carried out. With the lens, sklllful
operator ought to he ublc to destroy about
three or four hairs to the minute, and con-
hnuc the seance half an hour. 1t will bc
noticed that have laid great stress upon
the non-removal of the hair previous to
the destruction of the papilla this is one
of the principal points in the operation, for
as long Us thv Auir Icnlulns Ill, wc nave u
po9itivn gn,fln as To the direction nf thr
tollicle, and when 1t becomes looscncd,
from the action OF the current, it may be
taken as almost proof that the pupilla has
been entirely clcctrolyzed. used tho
word "almost' adviscdly, as about ten or
twenty per cent. Of the hairs acted upon
return, and have to be clcctrolyzcd tho
second timn