Does caffeine cause hair loss?

A very common question that hair loss experts are asked is if there is a correlation between consuming caffeine and losing your hair. This can be a very big worry for coffee lovers, because for some people, coffee is as essential as water or oxygen. It is estimated that 83% of adults drink coffee, according to the National Coffee Association’s 2013 online survey. As it is with any indulgence, including coffee, you need to be aware of what effects it has on your body. Although there may be some issues with coffee consumption, the good news is hair loss is not one of them.

Caffeine has actually been proven to be good for hair growth. In fact, caffeine may actually help some men and women to regrow some of their hair. The Internal Journal of Dermatology even issued a statement saying that caffeine is a, “stimulator of human hair growth.”

Research was conducted by T. W. Fischer MD, U. C. Hipler PhD and P. Elsner MD. In their experiment, they took biopsies from 14 men’s scalps, who were all in the earlier stages of hair loss. They took those hair follicles and exposed them to solutions that contained different caffeine levels. In addition, they also exposed some of the hair follicles to DHT, which is the hormone that is responsible for hair loss. They waited for 8 days and found that all of the hair experienced growth, even the hair that was exposed to DHT.

In 2007, there was another study by the Internal Journal of Dermatology that found that caffeine boosted the length of hairs by 33-40%. The leader of the study, Dr. Tobias Fischer said, “’Hair follicles that were treated with caffeine showed a highly significant growth rate at 24 hours, and still showed further significant growth at eight days.”

It has been shown that caffeine works as a stimulant for the hair shaft and it helps the hair to grow faster by blocking the effects that DHT can have on the hair. Now does this mean that everyone should go out and drink a lot of coffee? The answer is no. In order to get the desired effects from caffeine, you would need to drink between 50-60 cups of coffee a day in order for your hair to get the desired dosage of caffeine to stimulate hair growth (this equates to 6000mg of caffeine). Since this would be a terrible thing to do for your body and for your overall health, there are instead topical solutions that contain caffeine that can be utilized.

You are able to absorb caffeine very quickly and successfully through your skin, which is why topical solutions that contain caffeine have become very popular. There are many different products on the market that contain caffeine, such as Garnier’s line of shampoo and conditioner called Fall Flight Strand Saver and Ultrax Lab’s Hair Surge Shampoo. Sally Hershberger also carries a hairspray called Major Body 3-in-1 that contains caffeine.

These products work by having caffeine as an ingredient and the caffeine will work its way to the root of your hair follicles and will give them the stimulation and energy that is necessary for hair growth.

So those of you out there who love your coffee do not need to worry that the caffeine in it is a contributing factor to hair loss. If you are concerned about your hair loss, it is best to consult with a hair loss physician who can find out more information about you and determine what the cause of your hair loss is and offer you hair loss solutions.