Charles Michel (ophthalmologist)

Charles Michel was an American ophthalmologist best known for publishing the first clinical report of successful electrology in 1875.

Michel was practicing in St. Louis, Missouri, when he began using a battery-powered needle epilator to treat trichiasis (ingrown eyelashes) 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. Electrolysis is also sometimes called galvanic electrolysis.

References

• Michel CE. Trichiasis and distichiasis; with an improved method for radical treatment. St. Louis Clinical Record, 1875 Oct; 2:145-148
• Wagner RF Jr, Brysk H, Tyring SK. Revisiting the Michel/Green controversy of 1879: was Carron du Villards the first to use probe/needle electrolysis for permanent hair destruction? International Journal of Dermatology 1997 Dec;36(12):947-51.