Caffeine is a classic go-to pick-me-up for late nights or early mornings. But, did you know that it may have benefits outside of just boosting your alertness and energy levels?
Some studies have looked into the effects of applying caffeine topically (directly to the scalp), either alone, or in combination with other hair loss ingredients.
Below, we will explain the outcome of a few topical caffeine studies looking into the hair benefits, outline what effects some of these studies are hinting at, review who can use or benefit from a topical caffeine formula, and let you know where you can get your hands on a topical caffeine formula to try out for yourself (Hint: through us at Strut).
One review study looking into the effects of topical caffeine and androgenetic alopecia reported reduced hair loss using caffeine-containing topical formulas. And reports about a male androgenetic alopecia study where topical caffeine was found to be non-inferior to treatment with Minoxidil (the active ingredient inside of Rogaine).
Another study looked into the outcome of women with androgenetic alopecia using a caffeine-containing shampoo or a placebo shampoo for 6 months and then measuring for positive hair effects. At the end of the trial, the caffeine shampoo group was found to have significantly fewer hairs lost during a pull test, have less hair loss intensity, and have better hair strength as compared to the placebo group.
Finally, an in vitro biopsy study done on males with androgenetic alopecia found that exposure to caffeine was a stimulator of human hair growth, and that caffeine could help counteract the growth suppression effects of androgens like Testosterone in vitro.
According to the studies outlined above, there is some evidence that topical caffeine may aid in androgenetic alopecia efforts, in both men and women.
Positive effects like less hair pull-out, increased growth, slowed hair loss, counteracting the negative hair effects of androgens, and increased hair strength may be possibilities.
Unless you are allergic to caffeine or caffeine-like compounds (like aminophylline or theophylline), there shouldn’t be any reason why you can’t use topical caffeine on your scalp, if you want to give it a try.
According to the studies, both men and women may get hair benefits from topical caffeine if they are dealing with patterned hair loss. However, if you are a woman who is pregnant or breastfeeding, it may be best to avoid use, since studies have not been done on this specific application assuring safety yet.
The studies also tend to focus on men and women who are dealing with hair loss or thinning from androgenetic alopecia (also known as male pattern or female pattern hair loss). So, if this is the type of hair loss you are experiencing, you may have a better chance of seeing some level of benefit from use. Since there are few to no studies looking into topical caffeine with other forms of hair loss, it is unclear whether the positive effects may be the same in other situations.
More studies are needed to confirm just how caffeine affects hair loss, but the information that we currently have suggests that improvements in hair growth and reduction in androgenetic hair loss may be a real possibility.
Caffeine is safe to use in both men and women, and may be a future area of study for hair growth compounds.
If you want to try out caffeine for hair, it is unlikely that you would experience negative effects from its use, unless you are allergic to caffeine or caffeine-related chemicals. Certain hair loss formulations are already including caffeine in multi-ingredient formulations as a way to provide a multi-pronged approach to hair loss treatment.
Here at Strut, we have a passion for innovative formulations that help target male pattern hair loss and female pattern hair loss. Whether that means offering the most popular FDA-approved treatments, or thinking outside the box and developing off-label multi-ingredient compounded formulations -- we have them all. Some of our formulations can also include topical caffeine as an ingredient, like our Strut Hair Booster.
If you are interested in seeing if a prescription hair loss treatment customized to your goals is a good fit for you, simply select an item and complete a free online questionnaire and image-based consultation. Our U.S. licensed doctors will review your information and put together a customized treatment plan, if appropriate for you. Then, a U.S. compounding pharmacy will ship your medication to your front door with our free shipping.
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