At the beginning of the 20th century western science was heralded as the answer to all the world's problems. People believed almost unquestioningly in modern science. Scam artists capitalized by dressing up their miracle cures in scientific clothes. Rather than providing pills and potions, the sharks produced elaborate technological equipment that would provide this miracle cure. Pseudo principles of electricity or vacuums were made up to support the new technology. Perhaps the most widespread and frequently used baldness cure scam ever was based on the domestic vacuum. A helmet was put over the scalp and sealed with a rubber gasket to form an airtight chamber. A vacuum pump was then switched on. This scalp "vacuuming" was claimed to do a variety of things according to different manufacturers. The vacuum sucked impurities out of the hair follicles, it unclogged pores permitting hair growth, or the vacuum literally sucked trapped hair fiber through the scalp skin. The most popular explanation was that it stimulated the scalp and increased blood flow. This it certainly did. After the treatment, individuals had very red scalps as the result of a giant suction blister!

Electro scalp stimulation was another popular treatment available from hair stylists and cosmetologists. Applying "Farradaic" electrical current was supposed to stimulate hair follicles to keep growing healthy hair fiber. Unfortunately every so often there are occasional attempts to revive similar types of quack treatment. Both the vacuum and electro stimulation miracle cures are found in different guises around the world today, usually provided by up market alternative health clinics.