Can caffeine cure baldness?
Categories: Men's Health
We've talked about coffee many times at That's Fit, and it's no wonder; coffee is the number one source of caffeine in this country, ahead of both soft drinks and tea.
But did you know that recent research suggests that caffeine may be the new up and coming treatment for baldness? Researchers believe that caffeine protects hair follicles by blocking a chemical called DHT, which is produced by the male hormone testosterone. In fact -- and this was news to me -- experts believe that men with more testosterone in their bodies are at a higher risk of balding, especially when there's a family history of hair loss. DHT damages hair follicles, but caffeine appears to block that process and stimulate growth. In recent lab test, hair follicles exposed to caffeine grew an extra 33 to 40 percent.
Before running out to your nearest coffee shop, you need to read this: Researchers don't believe that drinking more coffee will affect your scalp -- or your hair loss -- in any significant way. In fact, you'd have to drink a heart-racing 60 cups of coffee to gain any benefit. It makes me jittery just thinking about it! Instead, a German cosmetics firm has developed a caffeine-infused lotion that can be rubbed directly onto the scalp. If it works, it seems like a simple and natural solution.
But did you know that recent research suggests that caffeine may be the new up and coming treatment for baldness? Researchers believe that caffeine protects hair follicles by blocking a chemical called DHT, which is produced by the male hormone testosterone. In fact -- and this was news to me -- experts believe that men with more testosterone in their bodies are at a higher risk of balding, especially when there's a family history of hair loss. DHT damages hair follicles, but caffeine appears to block that process and stimulate growth. In recent lab test, hair follicles exposed to caffeine grew an extra 33 to 40 percent.
Before running out to your nearest coffee shop, you need to read this: Researchers don't believe that drinking more coffee will affect your scalp -- or your hair loss -- in any significant way. In fact, you'd have to drink a heart-racing 60 cups of coffee to gain any benefit. It makes me jittery just thinking about it! Instead, a German cosmetics firm has developed a caffeine-infused lotion that can be rubbed directly onto the scalp. If it works, it seems like a simple and natural solution.
Recent Posts
- Heidi Klum Hits The Runway After Baby (11/20/2009)
- Thanksgiving Dinner Satisfaction And Perfect Portion Control: Time to Celebrate (11/20/2009)
- Cheesy Workout Video Round-up (11/20/2009)
- Kim Kardashian's Sexy Salad Commercial (11/20/2009)
- Simple Thanksgiving Swaps (11/20/2009)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Gina 1-26-2007 @ 7:54AM
Trust me, if it would work, I'd buy out the coffee industry for my hubby LOL
Reply
Bill Foreman 1-25-2007 @ 9:04PM
DHT is testosterone converted by 5-alpha-reductase, an enzyme. This happens through endocrinal processes in the liver. I cannot imagine how a topical solution would have any effect on the endocrine system or block the conversion of testosterone into DHT. It's snake oil. Instead, one would need to take a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor orally or through injections. We already have those. Ingesting coffee may have a marginal benefit, but saw palmetto surely does it better. There is also Propecia (finasteride) and a couple of others, but this often has unwanted side effects. Caffeine applied to the scalp is not going to appreciably affect serum DHT levels.
Reply
Michelle 1-25-2007 @ 9:14PM
Only thing that has helped (made me feel like hair was sprouting out of my scalp) is this vegetable drink-- it just sucks having to make it fresh every day, but God answered my prayer because I prayed to Him in the Name of Jesus Christ His Son for the answer to this problem:
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/getrecipe.zsp?id=45011
Reply
Gary 1-25-2007 @ 9:18PM
Yeah but how does it taste????? No seriously, couldn't I just wash my hair with like, some folgers.......maybe a carmel latte?
Reply
Dave 1-25-2007 @ 9:54PM
Why are you talking religion when the article is on hair loss? I hope this is true and the caffeine works. I am not looking forward to looking like a bowling ball
Reply
Robert 1-25-2007 @ 10:01PM
LOL...how bogus and BS is this? I am 38, and have been balding since i was 17. I drink more caffine in a day than most do in three days. Don't ever believe all that is put in front of you.
Reply
Taro 1-25-2007 @ 10:06PM
People aren't reading this carefully. Pay attention. It says you can *not* get this benefit by drinking coffee!
Reply
RoryB 1-25-2007 @ 10:20PM
My testosterone has always gotten me into trouble. And now to find out that it is contributing to my baldness...!?! Ridiculous.
Reply
Wayne 2-06-2007 @ 1:00PM
WOOOOHOOOO Just bought a big urn coffee maker for my 60 cups per day. What a rush!!!!!! :-D
Juan Valdez you're my hero!!!
Reply
Elliott Pisor 1-25-2007 @ 11:06PM
A heart-racing 60 cups? Just today I heard Dr. Dean Edell, my neighbor, explain that 40 cups in one day is universally fatal. Than means your heart won't race at the 60 cup mark and you won't be "jittery" either.
Reply
Arthur 1-25-2007 @ 11:11PM
Huh... I've drunk Comminty Dark Roast (black,no sugar or milk, thank ya)since I was 3... now I'm 60, and balding.
And I my baldness is to due the head-board rub, during wild sex.
Reply
Ronnie 1-25-2007 @ 11:12PM
Wasn't George Costanza always drinking coffee???.... not that's there's anything wrong with that..
Reply
Jerrie 1-25-2007 @ 11:44PM
I really don't believe coffee has any significant benifit for baldness. I think it may have something to do with wearing caps. All the guys who wear caps or hats in my family are balding. The ones that don't wear caps aren't. My husband wears caps all the time and he says he doesn't agree with me, of course he is balding too. lol
Reply
Sandra 1-26-2007 @ 3:41AM
After 39yrs. of cutting mens hair, if coffee worked I'd be a lot richer. The balding pattern comes from the mothers gene pool, along with color blindness. Testosterone, the male sex hormone is the culprit; but not one of my male clients mind being told the reason their hair went south, having an excess abundance of the male sex hormone!
Reply
Dan B 1-26-2007 @ 5:43AM
Jesus, bald, religion, it's an amazing combination and maybe it could only occur in this great country. When religion and belief in a higher being stop being a matter of free choice, they lose their value whether it be in this country or another. I doubt any of us really wants that. Think and choose. That's what it's about and an important incentive for so many of our families that migrated here.
Reply
Ron 1-26-2007 @ 6:09AM
I drink a group of coffee, have for many many years and I've been balding for many years as well. I take sal palmetto and have noticed an increase in baby hair but it doesn't develope into mature hair. All the reading I have done seem to agree that the main culprit is DHT. I really don't think it's a matter of having an abundance of testosterone, but how much of that testosterone is converted to DHT. Yea, testosterone is the male sex hormone, but it's more like what influences gender developement, as in what makes us guys. Assuming the research is correct, perhaps the over abundance of testosterone allows more of it to be converted to DHT which would increase the amount of baldness. Far be it for me to know the answer, I just know that the amount of coffee I drink hasn't had an effect on my hair loss, at least that I am aware of. I'm lucky that my wife finds it attractive and sexy so I'm not worried about it. If something came along to correct it, I would probably go for it, as long as the side effects were very minor or better yet, non existant. In the mean time, I accept it, have moved past it, and ready for my second pot of java.
Reply
Greg 1-26-2007 @ 7:29AM
Wow! It is stimulating to see so many educated Americans who can't read! Drinking coffee isn't the answer, and the article is clear on that. It is a "topical" application which they are prescribing, which means it goes on the surface (scalp) not in the gullet (belly). I'm not a doctor (but I play one on TV), but the blogger who so eloquently discussed the scientific basis of the endocrine process also missed the importance, that it "protected the hair follicle" from the effects of DHT, not that it reduced the level of DHT. This would not require an endocrinal manipulation, rather, a "topical application". Think of it like teflon for the hair. Teflon is not "drawn out" of the metal to which it is applied, rather, it is APPLIED to the metal, which coats it and prevents things from sticking. This treatment would be absorbed by or would effectively "coat" the hair follicle and thus protect it from the effects of the DHT. That testosterone leads to baldness is nothing new, as the DHT link has been know for decades. It is the ability to mitigate the damage it does (or reverse it) that is the constant source of new information. Either way, it is good news for Starbucks. Buy stock now.
Reply
Nicholas 1-28-2007 @ 8:38PM
It's funny how people are so quick to respond.
Read. Application, not consumption.
Reply
Sheila 1-28-2007 @ 8:39PM
Does this coffee thing work for women also? My hair is thinning on top the dermatologist said it is from taking some medication for Bell's Palsy.
Reply
eek 1-28-2007 @ 8:51PM
And is baldness a "disease" we need to "cure"???...what about those sexy, masculine guys that look great with shaved heads?? Make the best of what you have and save the coffee for morning stimulation.
Reply