Alpecin caffeine shampoo

[W2]

Has any of you tried it? Seen the comercial a couple of times and ... well, increased hairgrowth ... sounds okay, right?

[Henna Fan]

Hi W2, Ive not tried the Alpecin but Ive just started trying out Plantur 39 which I understand is the same thing but for girls! Anyway, remembered Id seen your question a couple of days ago, and as I'm just starting out with this, thought this is a good place to share what I've experienced so far.

My first mistake is I bought the Plantur39 for fine and brittle hair. To be honest, the shop only had one bottle in and whilst I did see 'fine and brittle' I thought well surely it's going to be the most gentle so let's give it a go. My first wash was yesterday, and immediately, despite following with a super rich conditioner, I had an area of tangles that I never normally have, so had to take extra care teasing the tangles out. Towel wrapped and immediately hit google (so should have done a full research first) to discover that the fine and brittle version, does indeed cause tangle and mats if not followed with masses of conditioner or treatment. I understand, the version for coloured/stressed hair is better so my next purchase will definitely be the coloured hair version. Anyway, slight error number 2 is, I also find out after purchase, that this product should be used daily. (Gulp!). However, they do do a Tonic, which is intended to be massaged into scalp and then left to dry. So, I think to be fair to the whole experiment, and not one to waste a bottle of the stuff, Ill commit to daily washing for a few more days and then pick up the tonic to do in between times and drop off to hopefully weekly shampoos only.

So after the tangle disaster yesterday on my first attempt, this evening I coconut oiled first, shampooed just once (yesterday I did twice as I've not washed it for a week) and combed my super moisture conditioner through before rinsing. Soooo much better, no tangles and indeed (as I found yesterday too) my hair does feel really nice and afterwards. I'm committing so many sins here, drying on a low heat as I really can't spend every evening with wet hair for hours, daily washing, etc, however, Ill watch the condition very carefully as of course Im doing this to try and slow some very heavy shedding. For me at the moment it's the lesser of two evils. No point in having glorious untouched locks, if most of them are ending up in my plug hole.

So so far, it's way too early to tell (though there was hardly any shed this evening, but of course I only washed it yesterday!) but it's not unpleasant now Ive worked around the tangle issue. My scalp has been fine (I was expecting maybe some tingling or sensitivity) and no unpleasant effects there either. I'm hennaed, and the shine and condition is still as good as it was before I started, and dare I say it may have slightly more volume which is a plus, but it's way too early for me to report on whether it does indeed help with my hair fall. Watch this space Ill certainly keep you posted xx

[Kaelee]

Not specific to this product, but does caffeine in hair products actually do anything? I have a conditioner with it in (Garnier) and I was wondering if it actually has any effect or not.

[Henna Fan]

Hi kaelee, from what Ive read (which is limited to the Alpecin/Plantur products) it's not as simple as just putting coffee or a standard form of caffeine on your hair. The Alpecin products have caffein that has had it's molecular structure changed which allows it to be absorbed into the scalp and that in turn impacts the hair follicle issues that give us hair thinning. They do state on their product page that caffein itself isn't absorbable, nor does drinking 50 cups a day impact your hair. What does separate these products from others, is that they have done clinical trials with this stuff, and had very good results. I'm however approaching it with an open mind. I'm taking regular photos, twice a week, as I have some very thin areas around my temples etc and it'll be the best way to then monitor any changes to hair growth. The final test would of course be the thickness of my ponytail, but that could be at least a year or so from now, and to be honest, if I don't see any changes in my obvious patches within a couple of months, I don't think Ill be punishing myself for a year with daily washes or treatments!

So far so good. Ive still had no unpleasant side effects and indeed having cracked the protecting my length whilst washing (this stuff is only effective on your scalp and hair follicles) it's very easy to use, just a faff that I'm still on daily washing whilst I wait for an online order of the leave in tonic. I do have to say though, my hair fall does indeed seem to be less. let's wait and see. X

[morrigan*]

If you have light hair check on bottle if it's darkens hair, because my hubby used it , and his blond hair darkened quiet a bit.

[Leeloo]

I was curious about caffeine absorption through skin, since these caffeine shampoos cost a pretty penny. I was wondering if I could add some coffee to my shampoo and get a similar effect. I did a quick search on google and found a study that says that regular coffee gets absorbed through skin pretty well:

Feldmann, R., & Maibach, H. (1970). ABSORPTION OF SOME ORGANIC COMPOUNDS THROUGH THE SKIN IN MAN. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 54 (5), 399-404 DOI: 10.1111/1523-1747.ep12259184

I did think so because when I tried to use coffee to color my greys I did get a good caffeine boost from the rinse.

Here is the link to the discussion about the study on caffeine absorption through skin: http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurio...ine-rub-it-in/

[renia22]

It seems that you would need to leave caffeine on for hours & hours for it to be absorbed through your skin, so putting it in a shampoo & claiming it's absorbed & effective this way sounds a little shady? Fun none the less, though

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/0...inking-coffee/

There have been some threads where people have tested dabbing caffeinated coffee or tea on their scalps to see if helps decrease shedding. I would try it:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...eine+hair+loss