What can Caffeine do for your Hair Loss?

It speaks volumes that one of the best selling shampoos for men is Alpecin's Caffeine Shampoo. The advert tagline "German Engineering For Your Hair" enticed men and women to start using the shampoo. The original advert from 2011 advertised the shampoo as the "fastest growing men's shampoo in the UK because it prevents hair loss"

In 2018, the Advertising Standards Agency placed a ban on Alpecin advertising the product as able to reduce hair loss after it was ruled their was insufficient evidence to support the claim. Alpecin argued their corner and provided 8 full studies that supported the use of caffeine as a hair loss treatment. They didn't win the argument. 

So can Caffeine help to reduce your hair loss or not?

Well there are studies that show that Caffeine should have a benefit at promoting hair growth, but will it prevent further hair loss from DHT? A study by Dr Tobias Fischer showed that caffeine can speed up the hair growth cycle and increase the length of hair from 33-40%. Caffeine is able to do this by increasing the blood circulation to the scalp when applied topically. By increasing the blood flow, you will be increasing the level of growth factors to each hair follicle. More food to the hair follicle equals a quicker, healthier and stronger hair. 

So why did the ASA reject Alpecin's argument about their Caffeine Shampoo? It takes time for anything to penetrate through the scalp to make it to the hair follicle. Our skin is made of keratin, the same as our hair - a water insoluble protein. Our skin is designed specifically to stop anything getting into the body that isn't supposed to be there. So how can the Caffeine in a shampoo make it into the scalp in just the 2 minutes its on the scalp. Short story - it can't.

A Caffeine shampoo is not the way forward, but that doesn't you have to discredit all Caffeine products. In the Alpecin range they have a Caffeine Liquid that you apply after you wash your hair and leave in. This is the product that will be able to penetrate to the base of your hair follicles and make a difference. 

We stock both Revivogen MD Scalp Therapy and HairMax Acceler8 Hair Booster, which contain caffeine as one of their active ingredients.

You can also try Help Hair's Mocha Frappe Shake to get your caffeine fix. However it does need to be noted that drinking cup after cup of coffee is not going to give you the luscious, long hair that you are after. In fact you are more likely to do damage to your hair by doing that.