Caffeine: A Cure for Baldness?
Caffeine may help balding men and women regrow some hair.
Research published in the International Journal of Dermatology concludes that caffeine is “a stimulator of human hair growth”
Hair restoration is a multi-billion dollar industry and this research could eventually lead to safer, more effective cures for baldness.
Caffeine and Baldness Research
The researchers who worked on this project were T. W. Fischer MD, U. C. Hipler PhD andP. Elsner MD.
- They took biopsies from the scalps of 14 men in the early stages of hair loss.
- They then exposed the hair follicles to solutions containing different levels of caffeine.
- They also exposed some of the follicles to DHT, the hormone responsible for hair loss.
- After 8 days, even the hair follicles exposed to the DHT showed growth.
- Growth was greatest in follicles that were placed in solutions of caffeine only.
See the full journal abstract here.
How Much Caffeine Are We Talking About?
Before you brew yet another cup of coffee, unfortunately, a few extra cups of coffee aren’t going to do much.
Scientists estimate up to 60 cups a day would be needed for significant amounts to reach follicles in the scalp. (via Daily Mail)
So that’s only about 6000mg of caffeine, which might regrow your hair after stopping your heart.
Instead of drinking it – it seems you need to rub a caffeine-rich solution into the scalp.
Fortunately there are some caffeinated shampoos on the market.
Caffeinated Shampoos
- Alpecin Caffeine Shampoo
- Organix Awakening Shampoo & Conditioner
- Wash With Joe
- Alaffia Coffee & Shea Revitalizing Shampoo
- Dr Wolff Plantur 39 Phyto Caffeine Shampoo
A person could also easily make their own caffeinated shampoo by adding liquid caffeine into his/her favorite shampoo.
Just be careful because caffeine will absorb through the skin and into the bloodstream.
It looks like with all caffeinated shampoos, you must leave them in your hair for a couple of minutes in order for the caffeine to be absorbed into the scalp.
Whether or not these caffeinated shampoos have enough caffeine in them to cure baldness is unknown. We could not find any mention of how much caffeine they actually contain.
It looks like caffeine may indeed help with baldness, but more research will be needed as well as more fine tuned products that seek to utilize the research more effectively.
Have you used caffeinated shampoos to treat baldness? Do they work?
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