Coffee for Hair Growth!

So I came across some interesting articles, inspired by a look at SouthernTease's blog. I revisted the idea of using coffee for hair growth. It seems caffeine stimulates hair follicle growth.

The study isn't complete and I believe they're still developing a topical application, but the idea's interesting!

I work for my school's dining services and I throw coffee out every night. Now I'll save the caffeine, mix it with my new shea butter and use it on my scalp. Better yet, I'll try infusing coffee into an oil. We'll see how that turns out.

I'll experiment on myself to see if this works!

Studies:

Study proves caffeine in shampoo does penetrate to the hair follicle
Posted on April 3rd, 2007 in Hair Loss News, Hair Loss Studies by admin | 1,333 Views |

Caffeine is being used as an ingredient in some hair loss shampoos. The reason for this is that an in-vitro study was done where follicles were treated with a caffeine solution and it was found that caffeine blocks the effects of a DHT, the hormone that causes Male Pattern Baldness and damages the hair follicles
Dr Fischer, who conducted the first trial, took scalp biopsies from 14 men in the early stages of hair loss. He extracted the hair follicles and then placed them in test tubes with solutions containing different levels of caffeine. The follicles that were being treated with caffeine saw their average growth increase by around 46 per cent and the life cycle of the hair extended by 37 per cent, when compared to the control group.
This study prompted some manufacturers to add caffeine to their hair loss products.
In this study, researchers in Germany wanted to see if topically applied caffeine could be delivered to the follicle when being part of a shampoo.
According to their study they were able to prove that after 2 minutes of shampooing, the caffeine in the shampoo was able to penetrate into the scalp via the hair follicles and stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the skin).
This proves that shampoo is an effective delivery vehicle for caffeine, provided that it’s left on the scalp for 2 minutes or more.

Follicular Penetration of Topically Applied Caffeine via a Shampoo Formulation.

Full study:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118530586/HTMLSTART
 
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bee

New Member
Hmm...I drink a half a pot a day, never thought to use it on my hair. I read somewhere that used coffee grounds are a great exfoliant and helps with cellulite.
 

luckiestdestiny

Well-Known Member
Why would it have to be coffee? It says Caffeine, not coffee. So you could just use a tea with caffeine rinse on hair, couldn't you?
 

JustKiya

Well-Known Member
Iiinnnnnnntteresting. The 37% increase in life cycle is what really perked my ears up!

Hrrrrm. I wonder if used grounds could be dried, and then infused into an oil. Hrrrm...... :scratchch

Or if you could just grind up some noDoz. :yep:

Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
 

luckiestdestiny

Well-Known Member
:yay: Yay! Glad I could help. It's also easier, than getting out all the coffee grains. I've been using nettle as a tea rinse as it helps stimulate hair growth (no caffeine though), but what I think I'll do is this, shampoo, rinse with tea (that has caffeine) and let it sit for over two minutes, then rinse, and condition, dc, and then pour on my nettle rinse as a finale the way it says to do in the other thread I put up about it( just boil the tea, cool, and use it as a final rinse), and tada! The best of both worlds, caffeine blocking the dht, while nettle stimulating the scalp. Let's see if I can get some good growth off of this. I just love you guys at lhcf :love:! And to think...it's so much easier than all those other growth serums. The nettle, I've only been doing for a little over a week but I'm seeing a little growth from it, let's see what happens when I add the caffeine for a kick.
 
:yay: Yay! Glad I could help. It's also easier, than getting out all the coffee grains. I've been using nettle as a tea rinse as it helps stimulate hair growth (no caffeine though), but what I think I'll do is this, shampoo, rinse with tea (that has caffeine) and let it sit for over two minutes, then rinse, and condition, dc, and then pour on my nettle rinse as a finale the way it says to do in the other thread I put up about it( just boil the tea, cool, and use it as a final rinse), and tada! The best of both worlds, caffeine blocking the dht, while nettle stimulating the scalp. Let's see if I can get some good growth off of this. I just love you guys at lhcf :love:! And to think...it's so much easier than all those other growth serums. The nettle, I've only been doing for a little over a week but I'm seeing a little growth from it, let's see what happens when I add the caffeine for a kick.


That's a great idea! Keep us posted!
 

luckiestdestiny

Well-Known Member
Would you really be awake if you're not drinking it? I'd think only a little would get into your blood stream. We'll see. lol
 

Tamrin

unapologetic
My Aunt did that for me when I was younger. She trimmed my ends and did the coffee with JBCO thing. My mom forbade it after she found out my aunt was mixing up the concoction to put in my hair. (Mom has the belief that your hair is linked to your brain and people can take things away from you if you let them touch your hair) She did it a few times. There was no doubt it worked. My hair grew like weeds. I was natural then. hmmmm I guess she was onto something. My aunt always had bsl hair and thick too. need to call my aunt in Canada. All I remember was her boiling coffee grounds.
 

luckiestdestiny

Well-Known Member
My Aunt did that for me when I was younger. She trimmed my ends and did the coffee with JBCO thing. My mom forbade it after she found out my aunt was mixing up the concoction to put in my hair. (Mom has the belief that your hair is linked to your brain and people can take things away from you if you let them touch your hair) She did it a few times. There was no doubt it worked. My hair grew like weeds. I was natural then. hmmmm I guess she was onto something. My aunt always had bsl hair and thick too. need to call my aunt in Canada. All I remember was her boiling coffee grounds.
I know this is an old saying, but I'm bringing it back into style....it's ON! It is so on! This is what I'm doing this weekend (but with tea instead as it's only about caffeine). I am soo excited. Anytime I can try something that is harmless in side effects, and natural, I'll jump to it!
:dance7:
 

Tamrin

unapologetic
I may do it too. Between the MT and the caffein. Tomorrow Im going starbuck. Maybe some bustelo. Thats the strong stuff. I don't think folgers is strong enough.
 

gissellr78

New Member
All this time i thought my mom was loca! She also boiled cinnamon and shoe sole to rinse my hair for hair loss lol i thought it was nutz....and now there is a dominican hair treatment for it lol
 

JustKiya

Well-Known Member
Most interesting. I've been doing some reading, and according to this article

The truth is that coffee is actually good for your skin for a number of reasons. First, caffeine has been proven to increase blood flow, which can be extremely beneficial in the topical treatment of cellulite.

So - they are talking about applying caffeine to the skin, to increase blood flow. :look:

Increasing blood flow to the scalp (via exercise, cayenne, peppermint, menthol, scalp massages, etc, etc) is a known way of encouraging hair growth and strength.

There are quite a few skin care items for sale with caffeine in them, as well as a some hair care products.

I also stumbled across this tip:

Coffee Hair Glow Recipe
This recipe smells divine and it really works: you’ll have more lustrous hair after just one application.

Make a strong brew (espresso if possible) and allow to cool until only warm, not hot. Apply the coffee to dry hair and allow to remain on for 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water.

So, even if it doesn't help with growth, it sounds like it'll make your hair look better. :yep:
 
Yay! I'm glad you all are interested. So I just mixed some instant coffee with my shea butter and rubbed it into my arms a while ago. My arms are still tingling and I felt the "perky" affect instantly. It's weird because I don't drink coffee and when I do I don't usually feel the effect. I'm going to do my infusion now. I love the smell of coffee on my skin!
 

Tamrin

unapologetic
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118530586/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Report
Effect of caffeine and testosterone on the proliferation of human hair follicles in vitro
T. W. Fischer, MD, U. C. Hipler, PhD, and P. Elsner, MD
From the Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany, Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
Correspondence Tobias W. Fischer, MD Department of Dermatology and Allergology Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena Erfurter Str. 35 07740 Jena Germany E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright © 2007 The International Society of Dermatology
Abstract


Background Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common problem in men of all ages, affecting approximately 50% at 50 years of age. The underlying cause is an androgen-dependent miniaturization of genetically predetermined hair follicles. Here, the hair organ culture model was used to investigate the effects of testosterone and caffeine; the latter being a promising candidate for hair growth stimulation.

Methods Hair follicles from 14 biopsies, taken from the vertex areas from male AGA patients, were cultivated for 120–192 h in vitro with normal William's E medium (control) or William's E medium containing different concentrations of testosterone and/or caffeine. Hair shaft elongation was measured daily and at the end of cultivation, cryosections of follicles were stained with Ki-67 to evaluate the degree and localization of keratinocyte proliferation.

Results Significant growth suppression was found in hair follicles treated with 5 µg/ml testosterone. This was counteracted by caffeine in concentrations of 0.001% and 0.005%. Moreover, caffeine alone led to a significant stimulation of hair follicle growth. These results were confirmed immunohistochemically by Ki-67 staining.

Conclusions Androgen-dependent growth inhibition of ex vivo hair follicles from patients suffering from AGA was present in the human hair organ culture model, a constellation which may serve for future studies to screen new substances against androgen-dependent hair loss. Caffeine was identified as a stimulator of human hair growth in vitro; a fact which may have important clinical impact in the management of AGA
 

JustKiya

Well-Known Member
It was actually already brewed, so instead of drinking it I mixed a little with shea butter.

Ah, okay.

Now, I don't know - I'm digging more, and it seems like the only ones saying that it is a vasodilator are the cellulite people. :lol: But, all of the ones that seem to imply it's a vasoconstrictor, also seem to be talking about internal use. :ohwell:
 
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