We all know about the energy boost that a strong cup of espresso can offer first thing in the morning or when we are struggling to get going after a mid-afternoon slump, but scientists have known for some time about how caffeine interacts with the enzymes that control energy supply to the body’s cells to create this effect.
Analysis of how caffeine affects hair follicles is simply the next step for hair specialists in scientific research. The fact that hair follicles have a high-energy demand during the growth phase, and how caffeine can contribute to hair growth at this critical period, is what has been intriguing hair growth specialists.
What the research says
Dr Klenk is a German scientist who has pioneered research into the role of caffeine in hair growth. He wanted to find out how caffeine, the hair follicle and testosterone interacted in the lab, and discovered that caffeine can actually reduce the negative effects of testosterone on the hair follicle.
Can’t I just drink more coffee?
However, it would take more than a few strong coffees every day to achieve this effect on the hair follicles – 40-50 cups of espresso might stimulate hair follicle activity in the same way as a specially formulated topical treatment, but it would certainly have a detrimental effect on every other part of your body in those quantities!
Best products
There are several products on the market containing caffeine, that claim to stimulate hair growth, but a lack of robust clinical evidence make their claims unsupportable. Minoxidil, which is well researched, has a new high strength preparation which contains caffeine and Medroxyprogesterone to boost hair growth, with promising results.
