Ellen White, Wigs, and Phrenology

By Dirk Anderson (last updated Apr. 2025)

Franz Joseph Gall

In the 19th century, a peculiar science captivated the minds of doctors, educators, ministers, and prophets. Known as phrenology, this pseudoscience claimed that the shape of a person's skull revealed deep insights into their character, intellect, and even their moral destiny. Developed in the late 1700s by Franz Joseph Gall, a German physician, phrenology was based on the belief that the brain was composed of multiple "organs" responsible for different traits, such as benevolence, combativeness, or self-esteem. It was theorized that these organs grew or shrank depending on how often they were used. These variations, Gall believed, caused distinct bumps or indentations in the skull, which a trained phrenologist could "read" like a map of the soul.

The idea quickly gained traction, especially in the United States and Europe. Phrenologists set up bustling offices, gave public lectures, and offered personal readings to help individuals choose careers, spouses, and even guide the education of their children. Prominent figures like Horace Greeley, Walt Whitman, and even Abolitionists turned to phrenology as a tool for understanding human potential. It offered, for a time, a rational-sounding method for decoding the mysteries of personality.

Yet, despite its cultural influence and popularity, phrenology had a fatal flaw: it was not scientifically sound. As advances in neurology and psychology unfolded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, researchers found no evidence that skull shape accurately reflected mental capacity or moral character. The so-called "organs" of the brain could not be isolated in the way Gall had imagined, and individual differences in skull contour were shown to have no connection to behavior. Eventually, phrenology was discredited and relegated to the annals of pseudoscience—a historical curiosity that reminds us how easily flawed ideas can masquerade as fact when they promise simple answers to complex questions.

Phrenology as Quackery

Phrenology was to people as presented as a scientific or medical field of study, but it was really quackery. Renato Sabbatini explains:

Phrenology was introduced as a supposedly scientific medical discipline...but its easy application by self-taught experts quickly led to its use by quacks for commercial exploitation of gullible persons, very much like astrology, palm-reading, tarot and similar esoteric approaches. "Phrenological Parlours" sprouted throughout Europe and the USA in the popular heyday of this movement, between 1820 and 1842. People used the advice of phrenologists for everything, including for hiring employees, for selecting a partner for marriage and for diagnosing mental illness or the origin of psychological afflictions.

Itinerant phrenologists were also common in these days. They would roam the hinterland carrying a portable board or a bust with the maps devised by Gall and his followers, and would talk on the marvels of phrenology to an assembly of credulous on-lookers. Afterwards, he would diagnose and advise those who ventured forward and were willing to pay his modest fees.

Eventually phrenology found its way to the dustbin of medical history. Phrenology was equated to other forms of quackery, mainly due to the abuses in the hands of shady commercial entrepreneurs. Its demise happened in the final quarter of the nineteenth century.¹

Mrs. White Denounces Phrenology

Mrs. White denounced phrenology in an 1862 testimony:

The sciences of phrenology, psychology, and mesmerism are the channel through which he comes more directly to this generation and works with that power which is to characterize his efforts near the close of probation.

Phrenology and mesmerism are very much exalted. They are good in their place, but they are seized upon by Satan as his most powerful agents to deceive and destroy souls. His arts and devices are received as from heaven, and faith in the detector, the Bible, is destroyed in the minds of thousands. Satan here receives the worship which suits his Satanic majesty. Thousands are conversing with, and receiving instructions from, this demon-God and acting according to his teachings. The world which is supposed to be benefited so much by phrenology and animal magnetism, never was so corrupt. Satan uses these very things to destroy virtue and lay the foundation of spiritualism.

I was directed to this scripture as especially applying to modern spiritualism: Colossians 2:8: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Thousands, I was shown, have been spoiled through the philosophy of phrenology and animal magnetism, and have been driven into infidelity. If the mind commences to run in this channel, it is almost sure to lose its balance and be controlled by a demon.²

From this testimony, the following can be ascertained about phrenology:

• A channel through which Satan works
• Can lead to unbalancing of the mind and demonic control
• Destroys the Bible
• Destroys virtue and spoils people
• Equates to worship of Satan
• Satan instructs people through phrenology
• Used by Satan to deceive and destroy souls

This is a serious assessment indeed! If true, phrenology was extremely dangerous to the spiritual life of any Christian and should be avoided at all costs.

At a camp-meeting in New Zealand in 1893, Mrs. White described how the people requested her to speak on the dangers of phrenology which she claimed to have seen in vision:

Elder McCullagh preached in the evening, and in the course of his sermon, spoke of the evil effects of the study of, and placing dependence in, the science of phrenology. He showed that its tendency was to lead men to undervalue the power of the grace of God, and to place too high an estimate on their own judgment. Some who had devoted much time to the study of phrenology, and placed much dependence upon it, were offended, and spoke freely against what had been said. Quite a number spoke of their interest in phrenology, and their desire to know wherein its study was injurious. After breakfast, the regular program for the forenoon was suspended, and I presented to the people some of their dangers, as they had been shown to me before coming to this country.³

Thus, it is evident that Mrs. White took a public stance against phrenology from at least 1862 through the early 1890s.

Did Mrs. White Practice What She Preached on Phrenology?

In 1864, the Whites visited Dr. Jackson's health reform institute in Dansville, New York. Ronald Numbers explains that Mrs. White brought her sons Edson and Wille to Dr. Jackson for a phrenology reading (for which Dr. Jackson charged five dollars per reading).⁴ She wrote to some close friends sharing her elation with the doctor's flattering findings:

I think Dr. Jackson gave an accurate account of the disposition and organization of our children. He pronounced Willie's head to be one of the best that has ever come under his observation. He gave a good description of Edson's character and peculiarities. I think this examination will be worth everything to Edson.⁵

Evidently Mrs. White felt safe from the power that she had warned just two years earlier to be "the most powerful agent to deceive and destroy souls." When James was healthy, she had spoken of how "large and active" were his "cautiousness, conscientiousness, and benevolence." She noted that these had "been special blessings in qualifying him for his business career." However, during his illness these "special developments, which had been a blessing to him in health, were painfully excitable, and a hindrance to his recovery."⁶

Later, she incorporated some of the teachings of the deceptive and dangerous science of phrenology into her health writings.

Mrs. White's Phrenological Statement on Wigs

According to the pseudo-science of phrenology, "the animal organs of the brain were located in the back and lower part of the head, while organs of intellect and sentiment occupied the frontal region."⁷ Heating the back of the head was thought to bring blood to this area and supposedly stimulated the sexual passions.⁸ Always wary of sexual passions developing in her followers, Mrs. White objected to the use of wigs. In 1871, she wrote:

The artificial hair and pads covering the base of the brain heat and excite the spinal nerves centering in the brain. The head should ever be kept cool. The heat caused by these artificial coverings induces the blood to the brain. The action of the blood upon the lower or animal organs of the brain, causes unnatural activity, tends to recklessness in morals, and the mind and heart are in danger of being corrupted.⁹

Does Mrs. White's phrenological statement about wigs have any scientific merit?

Scientific Review of Ellen White's Wig Statement

Statement 1: "Artificial hair and pads covering the base of the brain heat and excite the spinal nerves..."

Scientific Verdict: Invalid

No scientific evidence supports the idea that external coverings like wigs or hair pads cause meaningful neurological stimulation by "heating" the base of the brain. The base of the skull (where the brainstem lies) is protected by bone, skin, and muscle. Superficial warming from hairpieces does not directly affect deep neural structures. The spinal cord and cranial nerves are not "excited" by ambient temperature changes at the scalp unless heat is extreme (e.g., sunstroke).

Statement 2: "The heat...induces the blood to the brain."

Scientific Verdict: Incorrect cause-effect relationship

Blood flow to the brain is carefully regulated by the autonomic nervous system, not by scalp temperature. It is true that increased body temperature (fever, for example) can affect brain function, but not from hairpieces.

Statement 3: "The action of the blood upon the lower or animal organs of the brain, causes unnatural activity… recklessness in morals..."

Scientific Verdict: Complete nonsense

This is rooted in phrenology, a now-discredited 19th-century theory that linked morality and behavior to specific areas of the brain (like the so-called "animal organs"). There is no evidence that changes in blood flow to specific brain areas due to external heat induce immoral or reckless behavior. Modern brain science does recognize brain regions related to impulse control, emotion, and decision-making, but these are not influenced by wig-wearing or hair coverings.

Final Verdict

Ellen White's quote reflects theories of phrenology—a pseudoscience that she said Satan used to "destroy virtue." Her statement is not scientifically valid by modern standards. It reflects false and debunked medical theories and moral anxieties rather than evidence-based understanding of human physiology and psychology.

More Phrenological Statement by Ellen White

Whether intentionally or not, Mrs. White used phrenological terminology in her testimonies and letters. These statements will be evaluated below for scientific accuracy.

Over-Study Injures Organs of Brain, Causes Dropsy and Convulsions

In 1870, Mrs. White wrote:

In the school-room, the foundation has been too surely laid for diseases of various kinds. But, more especially, that most delicate of all organs, the brain, has often been permanently injured by too great exercise. This has often caused inflammation, then dropsy of the head, and convulsions, with their dreaded results. And the lives of many have been thus sacrificed by ambitious mothers. Of those children who have apparently had sufficient force of constitution to survive this treatment, there are very many who carry the effects of it through life. The nervous energy of the brain becomes so weakened, that after they come to maturity, it is impossible for them to endure much mental exercise. The force of some of the delicate organs of the brain seems to be expended.¹⁰

Extreme academic pressure can negatively affect a child's mental health, cognitive function, and development. Studies show that excessive academic pressure can lead to anxiety, depression, and burnout, especially when not balanced with play, physical activity, and rest. While excessive pressure can lead to mental fatigue, it does not permanently damage the brain in healthy children. The brain is resilient, especially in young people, and can grow and adapt in response to learning (neuroplasticity).

Scientific Verdict: Largely inaccurate and overstated

There is no scientific evidence that mental exertion alone causes inflammation of the brain, hydrocephalus (dropsy of the head), or convulsions. Hydrocephalus is typically caused by congenital abnormalities, infections, tumors, or traumatic injury, not by reading or studying too much. Terms like "nervous energy" and "the forces of the delicate organs of the brain" reflect the outdated theories of phrenology, not modern neuroscience.

Vice Strengthens Animal Organs of the Brain

In 1871, Mrs. White wrote:

The indulgence of unnatural appetite and passions has a controlling influence upon the organs of the brain. The animal organs are strengthened, while the moral are depressed.¹¹

This reflects phrenological thinking, which divided the brain into "animal" (base/desire) and "moral" (higher reasoning) organs. According to this view, indulging in vice strengthened certain physical brain areas associated with appetite and weakened others related to morality.

Scientific Verdict: Inaccurate

According to modern science, the brain is not divided into "animal" and "moral" organs. While habits (good or bad) can be formed, there is no structural strengthening of specific "organs" in the sense phrenologists claimed.

Important to Exercise Different Organs of the Brain

In 1893, Mrs. White wrote:

Make some arrangements at once to change your line of labor, and let there be a calling into exercise organs of the brain that have not been having so severe a strain.¹²

Scientific Verdict: Inaccurate

This statement echoes the phrenological idea that different types of labor exercised different "organs" in the brain. However, the brain does not have separate physical "organs" for different traits, and there is no rotating schedule of brain use like a muscle gym.

Some Brain Organs Can Get Worn

In 1900, Mrs. White wrote:

The worn organs of the brain must be guarded.¹³

Scientific Verdict: Inaccurate

The idea of "worn organs" in a physical, compartmentalized sense is phrenological and inaccurate. The brain works as a dynamic, integrated system, not as isolated compartments.

Enjoying Life Damages the Brain Organs

In 1902, Mrs. White wrote:

Indulgence in games and worldly pleasures, gratification of perverted appetite, affect the perceptive organs of the brain.¹⁴

This statement implies that entertainment or pleasure-seeking physically damages specific perceptive brain areas.

Scientific Verdict: Overstated

There is no scientific evidence that "perverted appetite" or games damage "perceptive organs." Sensory processing areas (visual cortex, auditory cortex) are not structurally harmed by amusement. Excessive indulgence in addictive behaviors (gambling, overeating, etc.) can alter dopamine regulation, affect judgment, and increase impulsivity, but this is not linked to phrenological "organs."

More Statements

Scattered other references to "organs" can be found throughout her writings:

• Adam had "perfectly developed" "organs of the mind."¹⁵
• Eating eggs "strengthen the animal organs."¹⁶
• Alcohol beclouds the "fine organs of the brain."¹⁷
• Excessive brain work causes "the organs of imagination" to "lose their freshness and power."¹⁸
• Told James "I was shown that some organs of the mind were worn, the very organs which had been called into exercise the most."¹⁹
• Parents must give "careful attention" to their children's intellectual development to ensure "that the various organs of the mind" are exercised so that they develop "equal strength."²⁰
• William Farnsworth ate pork, resulting in the following: "The higher order of the mental organs have been weakened and controlled by the lower base organs. The animal propensities have been gaining strength."²¹

Phrenology's concept of brain "organs" has been completely discredited by modern neuroscience. There are no isolated "organs" in the brain. For example, imagination involves a network of brain regions, including the default mode network (DMN), the prefrontal cortex (for planning and abstract thought), the temporal lobes (for memory and mental imagery), and other regions tied to emotion, memory, and executive function.

Conclusion

While Mrs. White publicly denounced phrenology as destroying "virtue," and while claiming to have visions from God showing it was a channel for demons, she was privately paying a physician to perform phrenology readings on her sons. Phrenology had such a hold upon her, that she later incorporated false phrenological theories into her writings which her followers supposed was truth coming from heaven. Either Mrs. White was mistaken about phrenology being a channel for demons, or else she was involved in channeling demonic power. You decide.

Citations

1. Renato M.E. Sabbatini, Phrenology, the History of Brain Localization, Brain & Mind, March 1997.

2. Ellen White, Testimonies, vol. 1, 290, 296-297.

3. Ellen White, Review and Herald, June 6, 1893.

4. Ronald Numbers, Prophetess of Health: Ellen G. White and the Origins of Seventh-day Adventist Health Reform (Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1992), 90-91.

5. Ellen White, Letter 6, 1864 (to Bro. and Sister Lockwood, Sep. 14, 1864, from Jackson's clinic in Dansville, New York).

6. Ellen White, "Our Late Experience," Review and Herald, Feb. 27, 1866; James White to Ira Abbey, June 27, 1873.

7. Numbers, 158-159.

8. Ibid., 159.

9. Ellen White, The Health Reformer, Oct. 1, 1871. Republished verbatim in Healthful Living (1897), 185.

10. Ellen White, A Solemn Appeal (1870), 131.

11. Ellen White, Testimony for the Church, no. 21 (1871), 72. Republished in 3T 51 and Signs of the Times, Aug. 11, 1887.

12. Ellen White, Letter 35, 1893.

13. Ellen White, Letter 72, 1900.

14. Ellen White, Letter 56, 1902.

15. Ellen White, Health Reformer, June 1, 1872.

16. Ellen White, Letter 22, 1878.

17. Ellen White, Letter 21a, 1871.

18. Ellen White, Letter 53, 1898.

19. Ellen White, Manuscript 4a, 1881.

20. Ellen White, Testimonies, vol. 3 (1885), 25.

21. Ellen White, Manuscript 2, 1868.