Official Caffeine Rinse Thread!

[alishaxmarie]

Talk of caffeine rinses has been floating around the forums for a bit now so I've been asked to compile some basic information for those curious enough to give caffeine rinses or pastes a try! :)

Benefits/Purpose

To temporarily decrease shedding..
To temorarily increase rate of growth
To invigorate oneself and one's scalp -- DO NOT USE CAFFEINE RINSES AT NIGHT!
Ground coffee is often added to henna to thicken the mixture and give the user a more auburn tone rather than an orangey-red one.
Coffee, black teas, and pu-erh teas can be used to temporarily stain tresses or enhance natural highlights and lowlights in dark-haired individuals.
White, green, or oolong teas will not stain and thus are especially suggested for light hair.
Caffeine pills will not stain either and only need to be crushed and added to water for a rinse.
Alternatively, you can do a coffee rinse over conditioner to prevent any staining that may occur.
**Staining is not guaranteed and is only temporary!** It generally involves either several repeated rinses or a rinse or paste left on for at least 30 mins or longer.


How Does This Work?

Caffeine is absorbed by your hair follicles when used topically. The main study found that caffeine works by blocking the effects of a chemical known as DHT, which is known for its role in hair loss. It takes at least 2 minutes for caffeine to begin penetrating the scalp. (Source 1 (http://www.hairboutique.com/blogs_p/index.php/2012/09/10/coffee-hair-growth-secrets/), Source 2 (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/68082.php))
"The average growth of the follicles treated with caffeine increased by around 46 per cent compared to the control group. In addition, the life cycle of the hair treated with caffeine was extended by 37 percent. Caffeine boosted the length of the hairs by between 33 and 40 per cent. Hair follicles treated with caffeine showed a highly significant growth rate at 24 hours and still showed further significant growth at eight days." (Source (http://www.hairboutique.com/blogs_p/index.php/2012/09/10/coffee-hair-growth-secrets/))
These studies were performed on males with androgenetic alopecia. So, no scientific studies have been done to test the effects of caffeine on a woman’s scalp, let alone a scalp that does not have a hair loss disorder. Nevertheless, the current evidence does show that caffeine definitely penetrates hair follicles which may stimulate hair growth and discourage hair loss temporarily.


Rinse Method
1.) Brew coffee or tea as you normally would (1 to 2 tbsp of ground coffee per cup of water or 1 to 2 tsp of tea leaves)

This can be done in a coffee maker, using a French Press, or by steeping the coffee or tea leaves in a metal tea ball (https://www.google.com/search?q=tea+ball&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dnVIU96zMKnj0gHF_IDACw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1366&bih=643), tea bags, or even stapled coffee filters. Instant coffees or teas will have additives that you do not want to pour on your hair and scalp so avoid these.
Some rinsers choose to double brew their coffee in order to get the most caffeine content possible. However, "the diffusion rate for caffeine through human skin is 2.2 x 10^6 grams per centimeter squared of skin, per hour." This means that your scalp is only capable of absorbing so much caffeine in a given time span and therefore it may be pointless to make an extra-strong rinse. (Source (http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/02/can-i-put-caffeine-on-my-skin-instead-of-drinking-coffee/))
You can add herbs or other ingredients (such as EO's and oils like coconut and olive) to the brew to modify the scent or to make it more conditioning, bring out shine or color, etc.

2.) MAKE SURE TO LET THE TEA/COFFEE COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE YOU USE IT AS A RINSE!

It is up to you whether you use this prior to washing your hair or in-between your cleansing and conditioning steps on wash day.
Some users even like to use coffee or tea as a leave-in instead of a rinse, feel free to experiment to see what works for you!

3.) Pour over your head in the shower and leave in for 10-15 minutes, more if you'd like.

I like to dip my length in my coffee pot or cup of tea and then pour the rest back over my head so that I know my hair is evenly coated.
Some rinsers dump the brew over their head, catch the run-off in another container, and repeat the process of pouring and catching until their hair is thoroughly saturated and there is no more liquid to repeat the process with.
Another method is to pour your tea or coffee (or caffeine tablet water) into a spray bottle (with a wide nozzle that won't be easily clogged) or applicator bottle so that you can spray your caffeine rinse directly onto your scalp. This can be done regardless of if you leave it in or rinse it out.

4.) Rinse out.

After your caffeine rinse, you may resume your chosen washing method as usual.
It may be a good idea to do this before/after a CO-wash, before the second conditioner application of a CWC, or after using shampoo bars or regular shampoo. You want to make sure the caffeine has access to open, clean hair follicles so that it may do its job. However, I personally still see results when using the tea/coffee as the liquid in my deep-conditioning CO-wash (as in I pour on the rinse then add conditioner and leave on for 20-30 mins before rinsing).
**Coffee and tea rinses can be drying for some so you will want to follow up with some kind of conditioner or moisturizer.**


Paste Method
1.) Mix 2 tbsp of ground coffee with 1 tbsp of boiling water.
Instead of ground coffee, one may also use caffeine powder or ground up caffeine tablets to make a paste. Amount depends on the caffeine content of your pills/powder.
2.) Add 2 tbsp of some kind of conditioner to make a thick paste.
3.) Leave on for the length of time you would leave on a deep conditioning treatment.

This combats any drying effects the coffee may cause.
Leaving coffee on the hair for 30 mins to an hour will increase the chances of staining. Any staining can be removed by washing your hair. If you don't use shampoo, this may take 2 or more washes depending on the intensity of the stain. (ie: Did you do several consecutive coffee rinses/pastes or one excessively long treatment?) Like henna, the stain would deepen with multiple applications over a short period of time.
I found this recipe here (http://www.longhairloom.com/haircarerecipes.html#C).
Alternatively, you can simply add ground coffee or a caffeine pill into an SMT mix (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) or apply an SMT on top of a caffeine rinse.


***Please keep in mind that your body will be absorbing the caffeine you apply to your head. Caffeine is a stimulant. It therefore is very likely to interfere with your ability to sleep if you use it late at night. As a drug, it can cause minimal physical dependence. DO NOT FEAR, withdrawal effects are very very mild and may include headaches, drowsiness, lethargy, irritability, trembling, restlessness, and reduced concentration. As with any drug, sensitivity to caffeine reduces with use – so you may progressively need more of it to achieve the same results when using these rinses over a long period of time. However, if you only use a caffeine rinse once or twice a week at relatively low doses, I highly doubt you will suffer any diminishing of results or withdrawal symptoms. After all, your follicles are only capable of absorbing so much caffeine at a time.***

[LauraLongLocks]

Thanks for the link to this new thread. I was also told another way to apply it is to put it in an applicator bottle or spray bottle and squirt it onto the hair. I think I'll give that a try, but I need to remember to do it in the morning. I guess I can make the brew at night and apply in the morning.

[longhairdreamin]

Thank you for this!!! :applause

[alishaxmarie]

Thanks for the link to this new thread. I was also told another way to apply it is to put it in an applicator bottle or spray bottle and squirt it onto the hair. I think I'll give that a try, but I need to remember to do it in the morning. I guess I can make the brew at night and apply in the morning.

I steep catnip tea overnight so that's fine :) I mentioned using the teas as leave-ins but I should have also specifically mentioned spraying it onto the scalp with some kind of applicator/spray bottle regardless of rinsing or leaving in, thank you LLLocks.


Thank you for this!!! :applause

It was my pleasure! :blushing: Accumulating all the information wasn't even difficult since I had already posted a lot of information on the Growth Rate Experiments thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=119947) but I hope it's helpful :blossom:

[antler_tines]

Oh this is interesting, so maybe you can use coffee grounds as an exfoliant for your scalp too? ( if you don't scrub too hard )

[longhairdreamin]

I ordered some caffeine powder (should be here this weekend :) ).... I think I will mix it in my deep conditioner that I leave on for about 15min... I am so excited to see if it will speed my growth and stop my ridiculous shedding! ;)

[missquinzel]

I'll give this a try tomorrow and see how my hair works with it!! Very interesting stuff ;)

[Budgie]

Oooh I've got to try this to fix my shedding! Just wondering, with caffeine powder, what is the pH? I don't know if I'd try this if it's too alkaline.

[Budgie]

Nvm, it doesn't have a pH.

[CheshireGrin]

I'm a little freaked out. I just did the coffee rinse followed with an ACV rinse and I'm afraid I ruined my hair with it. I do ACV rinses often enough and never had a problem with them and I've done a coffee rinse before without anything bad happening. It seems they are not a good combination for my hair AT ALL. I can't explain it, my hair is like a frizzy plastic-y barbie doll/straw texture now. It's awful. This same exact thing happened to me once before when I tried putting almond milk in my hair. Right now I'm sitting with every drop of hemp conditioner I had left in my hair with a damp towel covering it. Does anyone know what I should be doing? shudder:

[alishaxmarie]

I'm a little freaked out. I just did the coffee rinse followed with an ACV rinse and I'm afraid I ruined my hair with it. I do ACV rinses often enough and never had a problem with them and I've done a coffee rinse before without anything bad happening. It seems they are not a good combination for my hair AT ALL. I can't explain it, my hair is like a frizzy plastic-y barbie doll/straw texture now. It's awful. This same exact thing happened to me once before when I tried putting almond milk in my hair. Right now I'm sitting with every drop of hemp conditioner I had left in my hair with a damp towel covering it. Does anyone know what I should be doing? shudder:

I think leaving that conditioner in for a good 15-20 mins will re-moisturize your hair just fine. You could also do an SMT but you'll have solved your issue by the time you see this lol. I guess the coffee combined with an acidic rinse was too drying for you. :shrug:

[CheshireGrin]

I think leaving that conditioner in for a good 15-20 mins will re-moisturize your hair just fine. You could also do an SMT but you'll have solved your issue by the time you see this lol. I guess the coffee combined with an acidic rinse was too drying for you. :shrug:

Yes, thank you! I just washed it out and my hair feels amazing. I feel pretty silly now. :oops: My hair is on the dryer side so I probably should have been more cautious. Next time I'll try the coffee paste mixed with conditioner instead.

[Lucky_Lucy]

alishaxmarie - Thanks for all the info XD We totally needed a thread for this! I usually measure my hair on Sundays(yay for growth experiments XD), so after I measure my hair tomorrow, I'll start doing the coffee rinses. I want to use a spraying bottle though(seems to me like it'll use less of the coffee mix, while distributing it evenly + my damaged ends are quite dry, as opposed to the rest of my hair lol, so it would be better for me if I applied it directly to the scalp).




Oooh I've got to try this to fix my shedding! Just wondering, with caffeine powder, what is the pH? I don't know if I'd try this if it's too alkaline.

pH is measured for a solution(coffee powder + water); the pH for coffee is acidic, around 5(weak). So I think it'll be OK for you to try, as it's not alkaline at all :D

[Rosetta]

Thank you so much for this thread, Alishaxmarie! it's good to have all this info in one place :)

I tried it for the first time today, but I need to work on the method a bit; I just tried to dab it into the scalp with kitchen paper (didn't really want to pour it on my head, it would have been everywhere ;))...

[LadyCelestina]

I read once that caffeine over a certain concentration actually stunted hair growth. Anybody has any reliable info on whether it's true or not?

[longhairdreamin]

I read once that caffeine over a certain concentration actually stunted hair growth. Anybody has any reliable info on whether it's true or not?

I thought I read that somewhere too... I can't remember where though. I am curious to know this as well...

[alishaxmarie]

I read once that caffeine over a certain concentration actually stunted hair growth. Anybody has any reliable info on whether it's true or not?


I thought I read that somewhere too... I can't remember where though. I am curious to know this as well...

I can't find any numbers for "too much caffeine" but if you're worried:

don't brew your tea/coffee extra strong
don't leave it on for an excessive amount of time
don't use caffeine rinses daily


If you don't overdo things, I doubt you'd absorb enough caffeine to inhibit your growth, but as with all things, YMMV.


"The diffusion rate for caffeine through human skin is 2.2 x 10^6 grams per centimeter squared of skin, per hour."
(Source can be found in my original post.)

[longhairdreamin]

I can't find any numbers for "too much caffeine" but if you're worried:

don't brew your tea/coffee extra strong
don't leave it on for an excessive amount of time
don't use caffeine rinses daily


If you don't overdo things, I doubt you'd absorb enough caffeine to inhibit your growth, but as with all things, YMMV.


(Source can be found in my original post.)

:toast: Here's to me trying not to over-do things... :D. Thanks! :flower

[molljo]

Is this technique useless for us obsessive tea and coffee drinkers, I wonder? I drink around four cups of coffee a day, and although I like the idea a lot, I don't really think my system can cope with even more caffeine.

[longhairdreamin]

Is this technique useless for us obsessive tea and coffee drinkers, I wonder? I drink around four cups of coffee a day, and although I like the idea a lot, I don't really my system can hope with even more caffeine.

I thought I read that you would need somewhere around 60 cups a day before it had any impact on your hair vs applying topically...

[alishaxmarie]

I thought I read that you would need somewhere around 60 cups a day before it had any impact on your hair vs applying topically...

That's what I've seen too. I guess the caffeine would be used elsewhere in the body long before enough was consumed to reach the follicles :shrug:

[AmberMuffinz]

Hmm, interesting. I would definitely like to try this but I too rinse with acv / water mixture (and "wash" with baking soda / water mixture) so I dunno how that would go down. Although I don't do this often anyway, maybe once every two weeks. I wonder how it would fair since someone else had issues with that mixture?

Has anyone tried this without using any conditioner or shampoo afterwards? I think tea would be less of an issue for my method than coffee.

[LauraLongLocks]

I sprayed coffee onto my scalp today. How often should I do it?

[HazelBug]

I think I will try this in the months after my baby is born. I had such a horrible shed that my hair didn't fully recover from last time. I lost about an inch in circumference and went from about 4" to just under 3". Now I'm close to 3.5 but worried about the shed to come. If it at least slows it a little then I will feel better. I think I will try to do this about 1 time a week for the first 6 months. I had my big shed from months 4 to 6 last time. It was horrible. This gives me a little hope.

[longhairdreamin]

Whoohoo! :cheer: My caffeine powder came yesterday! Here's to hoping it helps cut back on my shedding! :toast:

[Wisé]

Thanks alishaxmarie for opening this thread and compiling all the info. You are awesome!
BTW: As that is what I use, I noticed you didn't mention the possibility to use caffeine powder/ground up caffeine tablets in the 1) of the Paste Method paragraph. Just thought I'd mention it.


For everyone who didn't read the growth experiments thread I'll repost my results written there:


Today I am going to do my second caffeine rinse, after giving the first one 20 days time to show its effect. I will do it the same time as last time, the only difference is that I started counting my shed hairs to see whether caffeine reduces shedding so I will be able to report some facts about that, too.

This is what I did:

Based on the 30g ground coffee Abi uses, I will use 200mg caffeine, which is exactly one of my tablets. Because 30g is around two tablespoons and one tablespoon contains around 100mg caffeine.

I have no really good growth measures as of now, but from the length snapshots I took roughly once a year I deduce less then 1/2 inch length gain per month (It's actually even less, the max I found was 0,3 inches/month, but that's overall gain, not how much it grew from my head).
I will measure the length of a face framing curl I have, because it is all one length, unlike my fairytale ends. It is 32 cm (~12,5 inches) now.

My results:
My curl is now at 33cm (~13 inches) after 20 days. That is an average growth of 1,5cm (~0,59 inches) per month so that is a definite improvement to my previous growth. I am really excited, all the time I thought the experiment had failed, bc I couldn't make out any difference for the longest time, so I measured thrice to ensure I did not make any mistakes.

For those who asked, both times I did follow the caffeine treatment with an ACV rinse. I did not have any strange effects on my hair. My hair always feels a bit gummy after an ACV, but like always I added my leave in cond & gel erasing the feeling and my hair is completely normal once try.
But keep in mind, that I only used caffeine tablets, not coffee.

[TrapperCreekD]

I did my first caffeine rinse with coffee yesterday! :bluebiggr Washday turned out to be hectic so I hurriedly sprayed it on and didn't get the best scalp coverage, and then ended up leaving it on for a couple hours before I washed it out.

I'm thinking about doing it for three washes and then taking a small break. Do you think that every ~5 days is often enough for the scalp to get used to the extra caffeine?

[LauraLongLocks]

I did my first caffeine rinse with coffee yesterday! :bluebiggr Washday turned out to be hectic so I hurriedly sprayed it on and didn't get the best scalp coverage, and then ended up leaving it on for a couple hours before I washed it out.

I'm thinking about doing it for three washes and then taking a small break. Do you think that every ~5 days is often enough for the scalp to get used to the extra caffeine?

The research cited in the first post says it lasts for up to 8 days. I plan on doing mine once a week.

[Lyv]

I started doing this a little over a week ago! So far I've done it twice and instead of using it as a rinse I either spray it on or use a dropper because I don't want it to stain or dry out my hair, I didn't realize the color would just wash right out though so I may give a rinse a try. I'm going to wait to measure until March 2nd to see how it affects my growth but I do think it is helping with shedding!

[Of the Fae]

I did one this morning. I rubbed coffee paste on my scalp. It feels invigorating :)

[TrapperCreekD]

The research cited in the first post says it lasts for up to 8 days.

Thank you, somehow I totally missed that! :doh:

[LadyCelestina]

I looked at that "caffeine over a certain concentration stunts growth" thing and it is probably a myth...I could not find any better info on it other than personal blogs and other mostly unreliable sources.


So coffee on :)!

[LadyCelestina]

For caffeine, dose-response experiments showed that a
concentration of 0.15% was stimulatory in the MSOCM,
but suppressive in the hair follicle model. Also concentrations
of 0.05% and 0.01% showed suppression. These high
concentrations were regarded as nonphysiologic or toxic,
an effect which can be observed in many substances. High
concentrations may cause an over-stimulation of hair follicle
metabolism resulting in extensive consumption of energy
reserves, exhaustion of the proliferation capability and finally
lack of hair shaft elongation.

Heck if it's not right there in the study then I don't know.It looks like a poem and is a bit hard to understand.ETA: but I guess it's pretty much saying that you should pay attention to concentration.
ETA 2: Is it humanly possible to use such a concentration with normal coffee or tea?

[LauraLongLocks]

So it's been 9 days and I sprayed coffee again today. I don't know yet if it is doing anything for me. I'll find out on my regular measure-in day, May 1st.

ETA: It might be helping with my shed rate. The first few days after my first application, I noticed a slight reduction in shedding. Then it went back to normal.

[Budgie]

.

Heck if it's not right there in the study then I don't know.It looks like a poem and is a bit hard to understand.ETA: but I guess it's pretty much saying that you should pay attention to concentration.
ETA 2: Is it humanly possible to use such a concentration with normal coffee or tea?

I was thinking of making hairdrenalin potion (oil infused with lots of black tea) and this worries me now.

[zirena]

I'm looking into green tea since I get blonde highlights and wouldn't want to stain them. Also, I was thinking of maybe brewing a bit of peppermint tea in there too, not sure if it would be as stimulating as peppermint oil? :hmm:

[LauraLongLocks]

If I brew too much coffee, will my leftovers keep until my next application? Do I need to refrigerate it?

[queenovnight]

Oh! So that's the benefits! I spray green tea on my face, and started using it on my scalp. I just kinda thought it helped with moisture (I'm curly) and I thought it smelled nice. So yeah, thanks for the info! - I'll be trying the coffee thing!

[LadyCelestina]

I was thinking of making hairdrenalin potion (oil infused with lots of black tea) and this worries me now.

Worries me a bit as well,as I'm not sure how to find out if you are using it at the right concentration...And I sort of enjoyed doing black or green tea rinses before...Only now while I am reading this thread it occured to me that they might have this unpleasant side effect...But at least it is just stunted or no growth if I understand it correctly.

("Just stunted growth" -There was a thread about ginger rinses,not too long ago,and,well, according to one study (performed on mice),the active ingredient of ginger (which was used in the study) even killed the hair roots in mice...::run:)

ETA: Or it could also mean caffeine over a certain concentration is useless?

[Lyv]

If I brew too much coffee, will my leftovers keep until my next application? Do I need to refrigerate it?

I was wondering that too! I googled it and didn't find much except one person saying the caffeine breaks down but their explanation didn't make very much sense to me so hopefully someone here knows because I have made too much every time lol.

[DragonLady]

Refrigerated coffee stays good enough to drink for a couple of days.

[missquinzel]

I did a coffee rinse on friday and was planning doing another one on friday and did my first one about 2 weeks ago. I was planning on doing one once a week but i'm slightly worried if it will stain my hair :/ I haven't noticed any type of discoloration but i'm a dark blonde/light brown aka "Blonette" lol so I don't know if I should worry about doing it too much or not. Perhaps green tea would be better? But coffee has more caffeine. My hair always feels so nice after the coffee rinse I don't know if I want to switch to tea. I will be measuring my hair on May 14th to see if i've had any growth. I haven't measured my hair growth process in a very long time, but when I did it was typically about a half inch or less a month. I'm taking better hair supplements now than I was before and will be curious to see if this change as well as the coffee rinses will have helped a bit.

[alishaxmarie]

I'm looking into green tea since I get blonde highlights and wouldn't want to stain them. Also, I was thinking of maybe brewing a bit of peppermint tea in there too, not sure if it would be as stimulating as peppermint oil? :hmm:

I may just have a tough scalp but peppermint tea did nothing for me as far as tingling goes, it did smell good though. I tried peppermint EO last night and I guess I diluted it too much because I still didn't feel any scalp tingling :( If it tingled at all, it was only maybe the slightest bit but oh wellz :shrug: that's better than having some kind of negative reaction to the EO (especially considering I used it on my DBF as well haha).

[TrapperCreekD]

Doing my final rinse of the month tomorrow - is it measuring day yet???

[ExpectoPatronum]

So yesterday, I used a caffeine rinse in my hair (four bags of green tea in some amount of water...I really don't know...but it was steeped for a few hours just because). I dumped it on my head after a shampoo and tried to let it sit for the length of one song (I listen to music in the shower lol) and rinsed it out and went ahead with conditioning. I didn't notice anything right away, but when I washed my hair today, my shedding was reduced by at least half! I counted less than twenty hairs! I may have to make this a weekly thing. I didn't believe it would work, but it did for me!

If you're having problems with shedding, I really recommend you give it a try. You have nothing to lose. And don't be surprised if you don't notice a huge difference right away. I didn't until I washed the next day :)

[Hedera]

Oooooh, this sounds interesting!
I wonder how to incorporate it into my washing routine though; half the time I wash in the evenings, so that is out - and in the mornings I tend to just do a quick CV bar wash maybe a vinegar rinse and that's it...

I suppose I could try and make a paste and put that on my scalp before I wash, and then read the LHC boards for 15 minutes or so. ;)

Does anyone have any ideas on what to make a paste with, other than conditioner?
I don't really have any conditioners I like at the moment, and I really prefer not to put them on my scalp anyway (my times of CO washing are long past).

Maybe yoghurt?
Honey?

I do have a jar of ground coffee that tastes horrible which I got when learning how to use my moka pot (love my moka pot!), so I can use that - just not sure, other than water, what to mix it with.

[alishaxmarie]

Oooooh, this sounds interesting!
I wonder how to incorporate it into my washing routine though; half the time I wash in the evenings, so that is out - and in the mornings I tend to just do a quick CV bar wash maybe a vinegar rinse and that's it...

I suppose I could try and make a paste and put that on my scalp before I wash, and then read the LHC boards for 15 minutes or so.

Does anyone have any ideas on what to make a paste with, other than conditioner?
Maybe yoghurt?
Honey?



I personally don't feel particularly invigorated by caffeine rinses but others do which is why I suggested not to use caffeine rinses/pastes at night. If you shower/bathe 2 or 3 hours before bedtime, then you may not have any trouble sleeping afterwards but it would really depend on how sensitive you are to caffeine.

I don't see why you couldn't try yogurt or honey for a paste, maybe even just extra water would be good enough if you use enough ground coffee to cover the scalp. If you experiment, then definitely let us know how the paste turns out! If it's too thick/sticky to rinse out, causes curds with the yogurt for some reason, or just smells bad in combination together, etc. etc...

[GrowingOut]

Thank you for making this! Quick question: When you say the caffeine darkens the hair, it's only temporary right? (I have a very dark brown, and I'm not sure what a stain would do to it/If it is permenant)

[alishaxmarie]

Thank you for making this! Quick question: When you say the caffeine darkens the hair, it's only temporary right? (I have a very dark brown, and I'm not sure what a stain would do to it/If it is permenant)

Only coffee or black tea will potentially stain your hair. It's definitely not guaranteed to stain your hair, especially if you aren't leaving the rinse in for an extended period of time. If you do notice a stain, which you probably won't since your hair is already dark, it would only last until you shampoo/CO-wash it away. I only notice my uber-blond hairs (natural highlights from the sun) darkening if I leave a coffee/black tea rinse in for longer than 30 minutes (the 2 times I've noticed it were after leaving the rinse in for an hour or so) but even then the highlighted hairs still look dirty blond and not brown.

[Hedera]

Well, I'm sitting here with a paste made from about 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground coffee, a tablespoon or so of yoghurt and half a tablespoon of avocado oil (since I needed to use that up). :D

It wasn't easy to get on my scalp!
My hair doesn't feel thick otherwise, but now it kept getting in the way. I think next time I'll make the paste a bit runnier (I thought it would be easier to handle if it was more paste-like, not too drippy) by adding some extra yoghurt or water or something.

There are coffee grounds all over my hair and all over the bathroom floor, too.... Good thing I was planning to vacuum later today!
I think next time I'll try and apply it while leaning over the bath, or maybe just sitting in the (empty) bathtub or something; I thought I was leaning over the sink while applying it, but apparently mostly not.

Oh well, at least it won't stain as much as henna does!

I'll let you know how it washes out later - for results on faster growing, etc, I guess I'm going to have to wait a bit longer... ;)

[Hedera]

Ok, so far so good!

More details in my hair blog (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=116544), but in short; my hair feels very soft and clean, and my scalp is fresh and invigorated, almost tingly!
I'd like to keep this up for at least a few months, see if I can get a bit of extra growth from it.

[Komao]

I've been using the coffee conditioning paste every week. This, today is my 3rd time. During week days I keep some coffee in spray bottle and spray temples and hairline. I'm doing this in the hope that it will color grays that are coming in.
So far, hair feels soft and in good shape and gray is sort of muted. Looks more coffee colored or tan.
That's good but I just wish it would work really well on gray hair. Don't want to use dye on hair and not sure about using henna.
Does anyone know how long this takes or if you didn't have success after repeated attempts?
Do you know of any other natural ways to stain gray? Thanks :)

[TrapperCreekD]

How are all the caffeine rinsers doing?

I'm reporting back with success! I did a coffee rinse before each wash for three washes (every five days), left it on for forty-five minutes to an hour and then washed. 1" this month! :hollie:

[LightSabr]

Oh wow. Has anyone else managed results like the lovely Trapper? What is your normal growth rate?

[queenovnight]

Glad this thread popped back up! Now I can subscribed to it Lol.

TrapperCreekD,
That's great, and impressive! As LightSabr asked, Do you know your average growth per month? - I just adore your hair.

[TrapperCreekD]

Oops, I totally forgot to include my normal growth rate! :doh: My hair's right smack in the middle of average with half an inch of growth a month.

queenovnight, Thank you so much! :smooch:

[HintOfMint]

How are all the caffeine rinsers doing?

I'm reporting back with success! I did a coffee rinse before each wash for three washes (every five days), left it on for forty-five minutes to an hour and then washed. 1" this month! :hollie:

Okay, you've convinced me! I'm going to use coffee paste on my scalp tomorrow before I wash my hair. I've been feeling a bit down about the fact that my hair isn't going to be at classic for at least another two and a half, if not three, years. If this could speed up my growth just a little bit, I'd be so stoked.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Does the caffeine rinse need to be massaged into the scalp? And if it does, how would you know if it was the caffeine causing the growth or the massage?

[TrapperCreekD]

I didn't message mine but it probably couldn't hurt. I don't know how you'd be able to tell whether or not it helped, unless there was an exponential amount of growth, say more than twice your usual rate.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

So how long are you supposed to leave the caffeine on there? Do I just make a strong cup of coffee, let it cool and pour over my scalp, then wash off with shampoo? Or do I do a caffeine rinse after washing and then just rinse it out with water?

ETA And would it stain blonde hair?

[Callifornia]

Okay, I'm really excited to try this method as I am in the middle of a post-partum shed. My hair is fairly thin and I don't need to lose any of it. It grows an average 1/2in a month.

I will be using equate brand caffeine pills to try to not stain my hair at all.(blonde) The pills were fairly cheap at Walmart (3$ for 80)

I plan on trying a 30 minute or so soak before washes or after shampoo but before conditioner as I use cones and am afraid of it blocking some of the absorption. I might try the pill/conditioner paste massaged in prewash also. I wash every 4-6 days normally. I will report back when results are in!

[Johannah]

*saves thread to favorites* :rolleyes:

One of my next experiments.

[TrapperCreekD]

So how long are you supposed to leave the caffeine on there? Do I just make a strong cup of coffee, let it cool and pour over my scalp, then wash off with shampoo? Or do I do a caffeine rinse after washing and then just rinse it out with water?

ETA And would it stain blonde hair?

I read somewhere - maybe the beginning of the thread - that caffeine/coffee needs at least two minutes before it begins to absorb; ten or fifteen minutes should enough if you're in a hurry. Coffee does stain, but not a lot and it's not long lasting. Try a strand test and see what happens! Caffeine pills would probably be your best bet if you want to avoid any possibility of color change. If you decide to use coffee, I would recommend doing before you wash as shampoo/coffee/rinse-with-water seems to be the method people are using to achieve staining. HTH!

[midbackorbust]

Is anyone using green tea, or just coffee? I've tried it twice, applied just to my scalp using a dye bottle. I think it's too soon to see results yet...

[veryhairyfairy]

Sigh... I get so experimental with my hair when I don't have anything to do... and school is out, I'm not working full time, and so of course I decide to start doing caffeine treatments to get some more growth. :lol:
I did my first treatment yesterday; 1 teaspoon of instant coffee mixed with 3oz of catnip tea, applied with a spray bottle to scalp/roots only, left in for 30 mins or so, and washed like normal.

It definitely left the hair I applied it to feeling coated and dry and sticky and just really gross, so it's definitely a pre-wash treatment for me.

I'm super caffeine sensitive, and I definitely felt a 'rush' after I applied it.

We'll see what happens! I have about 1/4" of roots from my last henna 2 weeks ago, so I'm right on track for my usual 1/2" a month.

[MINAKO]

Is anyone using green tea, or just coffee? I've tried it twice, applied just to my scalp using a dye bottle. I think it's too soon to see results yet...

I've been using pu erh tea for the last few weeks randomly in between the coffee rinses and also made myself an oil whit it, which waited to set for 10 days.
It's basically the same as green tea differently fermented, so far i really liked it. Under the impression it helps with softness and shine, while i see the coffe reducing a very tiny bit of the shedding tho.

[queenovnight]

I've been doing the coffee rinse for about a week now.

I'm having awful headaches. I get them often, but these hit me after about 30mins of having the coffee in my hair and they are just awful and throbbing. Is anyone else having this issue? I think I might go back to green tea.

[MINAKO]

I've been doing the coffee rinse for about a week now.

I'm having awful headaches. I get them often, but these hit me after about 30mins of having the coffee in my hair and they are just awful and throbbing. Is anyone else having this issue? I think I might go back to green tea.

Oh no, that really doesn't sound good :( . I never expirienced anythink alike, but im used to drinking 2-4 big mugs of coffee a day, so i might just not be sensitive to it.
You should probalby not risk another headache and continue with the tea for now and maybe after sometime of not having any issues at all you could try again and see if the coffe was the cause.

[queenovnight]

The thing is, I drink quite a lot of coffee. At least 5 cups a day. But hopefully someone knows why. I'm thinking it might be the smell (since the coffee I drink smells like Almond Milk) so maybe it's just a bit too strong. But definitely sticking with tea for a little while.

[LightSabr]

Maybe you're applying too frequently?

[Zebra Fish]

Would instant coffee (like Nescafe) work too? Is has caffeine... or at least they say so xD But would be much easier that "real" coffee?

[MINAKO]

Would instant coffee (like Nescafe) work too? Is has caffeine... or at least they say so xD But would be much easier that "real" coffee?

I suppose this would work too, i just cant stand the smell of instant coffe anymore since i stopped drinking it at all. But yeah, its probably possible to mix up a paste to massage into the scalp without the dripping action. I might buy a pack to give it a try as well.

[TrapperCreekD]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't instant coffee have additives? I'd be a little worried about putting that on my scalp.

[Zebra Fish]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't instant coffee have additives? I'd be a little worried about putting that on my scalp.

I don't drink coffee, but on the one I have in house says only lyophilized coffee beans, and on nescafe web I found "Soluble coffee contains only coffee beans and water. Nothing else!". Really wouldn't know if its true or not... Maybe someone else can fill us on this :)

[TrapperCreekD]

We had some instant coffee sitting around but Mom used it and threw away the jar before I got a chance to check the label. Paging all instant coffee users!

[LauraLongLocks]

Trappercreek, your success makes me want to give it another try. Did you use fresh coffee each time, or did you save coffee from previous batches if you made extra?

[Gelsomina]

Sounds amazing. I can't wait to try this!

[LightSabr]

This didn't work for me. A month of applications and I'm left with my average growth rate. Good luck to everyone else!

[potoooooooo]

I gave this a try and I've had a persistent headache for two days - I never drink anything with caffeine in so I guess I have no tolerance to it. Depending on how much longer the headache lasts and how good the results are, I might stick it out, but unless it has an amazing effect on my hair I'm probably going to give up pretty quick! I'm growing out bleach damaged ends so I really want to grow faster haha otherwise I wouldn't even contemplate doing it again.

[LadyCelestina]

I might have missed an answer to this?Excuse me if the answer is really obvious :D But I would



.

Heck if it's not right there in the study then I don't know.It looks like a poem and is a bit hard to understand.ETA: but I guess it's pretty much saying that you should pay attention to concentration.
ETA 2: Is it humanly possible to use such a concentration with normal coffee or tea?



For caffeine, dose-response experiments showed that a
concentration of 0.15% was stimulatory in the MSOCM,
but suppressive in the hair follicle model. Also concentrations
of 0.05% and 0.01% showed suppression. These high
concentrations were regarded as nonphysiologic or toxic,
an effect which can be observed in many substances. High
concentrations may cause an over-stimulation of hair follicle
metabolism resulting in extensive consumption of energy
reserves, exhaustion of the proliferation capability and finally
lack of hair shaft elongation

[Pseudoavatar]

I read once that caffeine over a certain concentration actually stunted hair growth. Anybody has any reliable info on whether it's true or not?

Probably on Pinterest, there was a 'hoax' like that circling around for quite some time. It recommended that you use coffee on your skin before shaving. This was done just to mess with people, apparently.

[LadyCelestina]

No nope,it was in the study on caff. hair growth,please see my post above.

ETA: Here is a study that quote comes from - Effect of caffeine and testosterone on the proliferation of human hair follicles in vitro by Fischer,Hipler,Elsner
I believe this is the same study OP uses as source,but maybe missed this bit of information,because they maybe only read the abstract not the whole thing.If you happen to google the study,please look at page marked 32 left collumn to see exactly what I quoted.

ETA 2: here is the link to that study http://ebookbrowsee.net/effect-of-caffeine-and-testosterone-on-the-proliferation-of-human-hair-follicles-in-vitro-1324554466-pdf-d298658337

[veryhairyfairy]

We had some instant coffee sitting around but Mom used it and threw away the jar before I got a chance to check the label. Paging all instant coffee users!

I use Cafe Bustelo instant coffee and it just says 'coffee' in the ingredients... :shrug: I'm not too sure about the process of making instant coffee, though, and that may be where the additive worry comes in.

I've had some more headaches than usual since I started this recently, so I may be bowing out before I get the chance to see any results. I'm going to take a break from applying coffee to my scalp, and then come back when the headaches are gone and try again with a much weaker dilution. :)

[TrapperCreekD]

:grouphug: to everyone experiencing headaches!


Trappercreek, your success makes me want to give it another try. Did you use fresh coffee each time, or did you save coffee from previous batches if you made extra?

:cheer: Fresh, or from the night before. Mostly fresh, though, because coffee that's sat out all night is a bit chilly and my scalp prefers warm things.


I use Cafe Bustelo instant coffee and it just says 'coffee' in the ingredients... :shrug: I'm not too sure about the process of making instant coffee, though, and that may be where the additive worry comes in.

Honesty, I can't remember where I read the additive thing - possibly in the growth experiment thread? Or somewhere on the internet? - and the label only lists coffee, we can probably safely chock it up to Internet myth.

[Zebra Fish]

I tried for first time this evening. No headache, no lack of sleep (actually can't wait to go to bed), no anything special, but I wanted to share a story, was cute to me :p

In the afternoon I asked bf to make me a cup of coffee (as I don't drink it nor anything with caffeine, and he does). He just looked at me weirdly, I said: "No, I'm not gonna drink it." He calmly answered: "You are gonna put it on your hair" and went to make it. I then asked how comes he didn't tease me or lough or say anything. He replayed: "I'm prepared to worse stuff, this is quit normal." I laughed after that one :o He even opened a new one, 'coz he wasn't sure if the one he is using atm is pure coffee (both instant) and the other one is for sure. I found this cute :o

[HintOfMint]

I tried for first time this evening. No headache, no lack of sleep (actually can't wait to go to bed), no anything special, but I wanted to share a story, was cute to me :p

In the afternoon I asked bf to make me a cup of coffee (as I don't drink it nor anything with caffeine, and he does). He just looked at me weirdly, I said: "No, I'm not gonna drink it." He calmly answered: "You are gonna put it on your hair" and went to make it. I then asked how comes he didn't tease me or lough or say anything. He replayed: "I'm prepared to worse stuff, this is quit normal." I laughed after that one :o He even opened a new one, 'coz he wasn't sure if the one he is using atm is pure coffee (both instant) and the other one is for sure. I found this cute :o

Aw, that's adorable! I love it when men are just so calm about the weird beauty things their SOs do.

Decided to pour some boiling water over some grounds and let it sit to make a paste. I waited until it was cool and then... kind of... smeared the stuff into my roots. Kind of difficult, I may have had more success if I had just made a liquid and poured it over. Ah well. Maybe the grounds will be a decent exfoliant for my scalp as well.

[Callifornia]

Okay, I have done this three times (once per wash) and am absolutely thrilled to report my shedding is back to my normal rate!!! It stopped the post-partum shed in its tracks! This is amazing!

I was shedding at 2-3 times my normal amount for approximately 1 month before I stumble upon this thread. I began using caffeine pills from Walmart in a pre-wash treatment. I put two pills in dye bottle half full of warm water and shake until dissolved. Apply to scalp and massage into dry hair, leave it on for about thirty minutes, and do my normal shampoo and conditioner.

No headaches, no side effects at all. I have no idea yet if it is effecting my growth. I haven't been measuring, was only trying caffeine for the post-partum shed of doom.

[Khristopher]

I've been doing this for a month now! (4 times to this day). My shedding reduced a lot, I've noticed!
This is how I do it: boil filtered water, add coffee, nettle and horsetail, stir a bit and let it cool until it's warm. I pour half of it on my scalp/hair after diluted shampoo or the wash method I'm using, sometimes I mix a tablespoon of honey in it. Leave it on about 15 minutes and then condish and/or ACV rinse as usual. The other half... I drink it! :cool: With a tsp of honey too. I'm really liking this and don't want to stop anytime soon.
I didn't noticed any side effects, and I wasn't paying attention to my growth rate so I can't talk about it.
I'll report any new finds about this if they appear.

[Platzhalter]

I've already used caffeine rinse a few times, but never thought about making and using a paste. Sounds like an interesting alternative.

[AmberlynAsh]

Interesting! I wonder if I could infuse some coffee into some coconut oil & massage that on my scalp once a week. Anyone try something like that?

[Zebra Fish]

3 days ago I've done it second time. It's still to early to tell if it affects anything, specially as I don't measure length. Just wanted to share that my bf says my scalp is a bit darker, I mean the hair near the scalp, as I only apply it to the scalp. Which is a good thing for me as I use Vampire red on my hair, an my hair is that weird shade of dark ash blond-light greyish brown, so my roots look better when dark specially as I'm lazy and don't redo them too often :p I can't really see the difference, but he says it is and that is suits me good. Just wanted to post a mention if you are afraid for your hair to become darker - it might happen.

HintOfMint - how did the paste thingy go? Is it hard to wash out? I never used anything exfoliant on my scalp, so I'd like to try :o

[Fiachain]

I definitely feel a new project coming, thanks for the thread! I've used ground coffee to exfoliate in the shower, that worked wonders, I hope the coffee-rinse is as good :)

[TrapperCreekD]

Month 2: ??? I'm getting an inconsistent measurement of half an inch to an inch of growth this month. It feels like I got more than half an inch, but if not, I'm going to continue the rinses anyway since I don't mind smelling like coffee for a few days each month. :)

[Callifornia]

Looks like I forgot to update.

Shedding still slightly increased from normal but sooo much better than when I started my postpartum shed. And my hair has doubled it's growth rate! I'm normally a steady plodding 1/2" per month. It's been a good 1" or more every month since I've started the rinses! It's so exciting!

Still no side effects, still doing the rinse about once per week on wash day. Still doing two caffeine pills dissolved in about 1/3cup water on my scalp and worked in a bit. (I won't say massaged because I don't take the time to properly do one. I just work it into my scalp for a few seconds and go) I leave it on for about 20-30 minutes and wash.

[LauraLongLocks]

I haven't been caffeine rinsing, and now that I found out I am pregnant, I will wait until the baby is here before giving this a try again. But what it looks like is it only takes a weekly application for it to work, and that is exciting to me. I think I may try this in conjunction with a deep condition treatment when I am no longer pregnant, maybe mix a caffeine pill with water and then add it to my CO-wash or something, lol.

[Eastbound&Down]

The thing is, I drink quite a lot of coffee. At least 5 cups a day. But hopefully someone knows why. I'm thinking it might be the smell (since the coffee I drink smells like Almond Milk) so maybe it's just a bit too strong. But definitely sticking with tea for a little while.

That is a common symptom of caffeine overdose. You may need to decrease the amount and frequency of your coffee rinses, I have the same problem with caffeine.

[Lilelfen1]

This is just too great. Thank you for compiling all of this into one place, Alishaxmarie!!! Now one question: Where would one find a spray bottle with a large spray opening???

[truepeacenik]

I use Cafe Bustelo instant coffee and it just says 'coffee' in the ingredients... :shrug: I'm not too sure about the process of making instant coffee, though, and that may be where the additive worry comes in.

I've had some more headaches than usual since I started this recently, so I may be bowing out before I get the chance to see any results. I'm going to take a break from applying coffee to my scalp, and then come back when the headaches are gone and try again with a much weaker dilution. :)

Instant coffee is strong brewed coffee that is sprayed into a freeze dryer.
So if your brand doesn't have flavors, etc, it's pretty close to home brewed, chemically. Taste is another matter.

[Luminaria]

What if you infuse coffee beans in oil and oil your hair with it? Would that help with hair growth or are only rinses effective? Has any tried coffee infused oil?

[TrapperCreekD]

Ooh, I'm curious about the infused oil, too. I *think* it would work, but I don't know for sure.

[hanne jensen]

I just found this thread. I have been spraying my scalp with a mixture of nettle and green tea about 5 times a week. I started doing this to clean my scalp so I could stretch hairwashes. It does a great job of keeping my scalp clean and a side effect has been increased hair growth. I've grown from shoulder length to BSL in only 13 months with a 5 cm. trim in June of this year. I am normal height at 167 cm.

[LauraLongLocks]

Ooh, I'm curious about the infused oil, too. I *think* it would work, but I don't know for sure.

I was reading some of the old archived posts and ktani said that oils and conditioners weren't a good way to get it delivered to the scalp because they can clog the pores. The caffeine needs to have access to open pores.

[lapushka]

Just found this video on it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16KmN-OBr0s

[ghost]

I do coffee rinses pretty often and I think I am shedding less but it's hard to tell. Still, it smells good, I swear it helps wake me up, and it also helps me to stretch washes :)
I've been using pumpkin-spice flavored coffee lately :)

[Luminaria]

I just found this thread. I have been spraying my scalp with a mixture of nettle and green tea about 5 times a week. I started doing this to clean my scalp so I could stretch hairwashes. It does a great job of keeping my scalp clean and a side effect has been increased hair growth. I've grown from shoulder length to BSL in only 13 months with a 5 cm. trim in June of this year. I am normal height at 167 cm.
That sounds interesting... How do you make your spray?

[JustPam]

I got some cheap caffeine tablets at the chemist and used 2 of them in a rinse between shampooing and conditioning at the weekend. Going to try and do this on a weekly basis and see if I get any sort of growth boost.

Also, out of interest, since these tablets also contain glucose, does anyone know if this has an effect on the hair too?

[bna_rapunzel]

I love this thread!

[kelseyxface]

I'm so excited to try this! I'm gonna start doing this after I finish up the tea rinse I bought. Two questions though:
1. Can I add peppermint EO to the coffee mix or would that be too stimulating for my scalp? Or could I alternate between them without negative results?
2. When I do rinses I like to leave them on my hair, does coffee rinse weigh down the hair or leave it greasy looking?

I'm actually excited to try this for health reasons as well. I suffer from migraine headaches and caffeine always does the trick for them. It'll be interesting to see if caffeine straight to my head does anything to help my headaches. ;)

[alishaxmarie]

I'm so excited to try this! I'm gonna start doing this after I finish up the tea rinse I bought. Two questions though:
1. Can I add peppermint EO to the coffee mix or would that be too stimulating for my scalp? Or could I alternate between them without negative results?
2. When I do rinses I like to leave them on my hair, does coffee rinse weigh down the hair or leave it greasy looking?

I'm actually excited to try this for health reasons as well. I suffer from migraine headaches and caffeine always does the trick for them. It'll be interesting to see if caffeine straight to my head does anything to help my headaches. ;)

1.) It's really an individual thing: you may dislike the combined scent but I don't think it will cause you any discomfort. If it tingles too much then you can simply wash/rinse it off once the tingling sensation bothers or begins to overwhelm you. I've combined the two with no ill effects, just my mother's complaint over the minty smell :lol:
2.) I've never left a coffee or tea rinse in my hair so I couldn't really say but I think some people may have mentioned a sticky feeling during the drying process from teas :shrug: (on another thread though)

[kelseyxface]

@alishaxmarie well I've never had a stick feeling with leaving the tea rinse in, so I guess I'll be okay to leave the coffee in. (: thank you for the response!

[TrapperCreekD]

I notice a sort of... not quite gunky, but sort of coated feeling when I do the coffee rinse. Granted, I do it on hair that really needs a wash, but it could also be the grind of the coffee. I can't wait to hear the results, I have some peppermint sitting around so I might try this.

[Rebecka]

Tried to spray some coffee on my scalp yesterday, my scalp got really warm, which i guess is blood circulation? It got much warmer that with castor oil, which also is supposed to make the hair grow through circulation. But i don't think i will do this too often, caffeine is addictive. On the other hand the addiction more or less stops within a week (if you drink it, don't know about scalp rinsing haha). Since i can't even stick with a routine i guess i'll do this now for a while and then get bored and stop :P

Oh, and forgot to say that i shedded like 1/4 or what i normally do when i brushed my hair out afterwards. :D

[LauraLongLocks]

I woke up with a slight headache this morning and have learned that taking a bit of caffeine helps when I have a headache. So I decided to dissolve a two caffeine tablets in some warm water and spray it on my scalp, in lieu of ingesting one of them. I gunked up my sprayer with it and had to switch to an applicator bottle instead. I think I'll try this anytime I have a wash day and a headache day coincide through the rest of my pregnancy. I won't know for sure if it is making any difference, but I can *imagine* it is.

[sarahmargera]

I did a caffeine rinse a few days ago, and I loved what it did to my hair!

[chelsea89ms]

Im so glad I found this thread! I did my first coffee rinse on monday. I just love the smell of coffee, so having coffee smelling hair is the best :crush: I measured my hair on sunday for the first time in eight months and was really bummed that my hair has only grew 2 inches in that time. I haven't trimmed my hair in over a year because doing monthly s&d plus keeping my hair in a bun has kept my ends really healthy. Im giving up begin neglect to do a coffee rinse every monday and a scalp massage daily. Good luck to everyone :)

[alishaxmarie]

I've only done 2 or 3 caffeine rinses since June so I'm going to go brew up a batch for tomorrow :) Or maybe I'll do it tonight, who knows... I want to reach JTL by the end of this year darn it! I blame it on the microtrims but they're totally worth it!

[alishaxmarie]

Typing with a green tea rinse and deep conditioning treatment currently marinading in my hair! :) I'm glad I followed through with this!

[LauraLongLocks]

Well, now that I am no longer pregnant :( I am going to start weekly caffeine rinses. I hope to see some great growth this month, and hopefully prevent any postpartum shed my hormones might have in store for me.

[AlexDig]

This coffee stuff is exciting! I'm definitely going to add some ground coffee into my next henna paste to see if it adds any shine or decreases shedding. I'm hoping it'll give me some extra growth as well...that'd be nice! I'm also going to add in a coffee rinse in between my egg wash and my ACV wash. But I think I'll add at least a splash of coconut milk to it because I don't want to dry out my hair. I thought about adding it to a spray bottle but I don't want to stretch my washes any further and my hair is so fine that I'm a little worried how it would work as a leave in.

Basically, I'll be having a ton of fun experimenting and I'll report back! Thanks, ladies, for putting it all together!

[LauraLongLocks]

I did a caffeine rinse this morning. Dropped two caffeine pills into a little warm water and waited for them to dissolve and used an applicator bottle to get it on my scalp. Then on my length I wet it down with a spray bottle and applied an SMT. Marinaded that way for 30 minutes then rinsed it all out and co-washed my scalp. Hope the caffeine gives me a growth boost.

[alishaxmarie]

I did a nice green tea rinse today though I left it in for 30-45 minutes as I did an SMT with EVOO and no aloe, just honey.

[jacqueline101]

I might try this. I'm going to try it as caffeine pills.

[alishaxmarie]

I might try this. I'm going to try it as caffeine pills.

Good luck! Let us know what your results are! :)

[LeonineMane]

Started using caffeine pills in a spray bottle today and will be doing this every 5-7 days.

Has anyone got more growth rate updates? If anyone has been using it consistantly for a few months has your scalp gotten used to it and stopped growing as fast again or has it been continuous?

[LauraLongLocks]

The caffeine pills didn't dissolve fully and my spray bottle got clogged up. I switched to an applicator bottle. I did this two or three times and didn't stick with it, so I have no idea if it works.

[jacqueline101]

Good luck! Let us know what your results are! :)

My store finally got caffeine pills in I'm getting some tomorrow. I hope to try this in a month or so.

[bna_rapunzel]

I tried it once during the summer.... going to try again tomorrow and keep up with it

[hanne jensen]

After reading this entire thread I'm going to give caffeine rinses a try. I will use a coffee rinse as a pre-wash once a week. Why do some people cover all the hair in coffee? Does it have any benefits for the length? After reading the OP's post, caffeine works on the hair follicles. Have I missed something?

[Agnieszka]

I'm off to the shop for caffeine pills and mini spray bottle ;-)

[LeonineMane]

The pills clogged up my mini spray bottle too so I put the liquid in an old Aphogee leave in spray bottle, which is a bit wider, and it's been fine so far

[alishaxmarie]

After reading this entire thread I'm going to give caffeine rinses a try. I will use a coffee rinse as a pre-wash once a week. Why do some people cover all the hair in coffee? Does it have any benefits for the length? After reading the OP's post, caffeine works on the hair follicles. Have I missed something?

The coffee brings out the high- and low-lights in brunette hair as well as imparting some of its scent which some users really like, hth! :)

[thefreakingmoon]

I'm definitely going to be trying this at least once... lots of extra coffee about that needs using.

[Swan Maiden]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe light roasts have more caffeine. I am trying this out. My starting measurements are 38.5 inches and i will be doing a coffee rinse 1-2x a week

[jacqueline101]

I have 200 mg caffeine pills are these too strong.

[JustPam]

I have 200 mg caffeine pills are these too strong.

Compared to mine they are, I have 50mg ones, I dissolve 2 in a bit of water and mix it with my shampoo once a week. Maybe you could just use half for now and see how it goes? Although I guess if that's a safe dosage to take orally then it would be OK to apply externally.

[jacqueline101]

Compared to mine they are, I have 50mg ones, I dissolve 2 in a bit of water and mix it with my shampoo once a week. Maybe you could just use half for now and see how it goes? Although I guess if that's a safe dosage to take orally then it would be OK to apply externally.

I'm going to get a pill cutter tomorrow use half or less with 8 ounce of water.

[Beborani]

Lady Celestina, thanks for posting that study. What I gather from that study and some others

1. It has only been tested in vitro, cell cultures but some shampoo manufacturers are already adding caffeine and promoting it as growth shampoos. Cosmetics dont really have to pass any test other than toxicity.

2. In vivo there are other factors obviously but there is a study which showed caffeine stays inside follicles for upto 24 hours. It is unclear if they looked for it beyond that time frame.

3. There is a newer paper in Nov of last year where it seems to have been shown to be effective for women too, in fact more so--only seen the abstract.

4. Most important--use low concentrations folks if you are experimenting. .005-.0005 percent seem to have been more effective. 100 mg in 100 ml (half a cup) is .1 percent which is too high. You want to dilute that 100 times. So disslove 100 mg in one litre and then take one ounce of that and add it to a cup of water (shifting units here approx). How it translates from cell culture to topical application is unknown but you want to be on safe side as studies have shown that caffeine penetrates through follicles within 2 min of exposure and stays there--which is different from penetrating through skin barrier.

5. Finally, the 9 days in the study is 9 days of continuous exposure to caffeine in the culture.

Please experiment safely folks.



I am unable to post links, sorry.

[Agnieszka]

Thanks for this info Beborani. I have changed my recipe and diluted it even more. I worked it out that 100mg caffeine pill needs to be diluted in 2litres of water to give me 0.005%. Am I right? I have no idea about science but found some online calculator. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[chen bao jun]

Whoops, going to rinse out now. I don't know how much caffeine was in the green coffee pills I put on my head because the bottle didn't say but I definitely didn't dilute like that.

[chen bao jun]

Washed and it still stings and I shed incredibly. Nervous that it still stings. Will I go bald? Thinking this was a BAD idea.

[Beborani]

Your calculator is right Agneizka.
Chen, dont worry, I doubt one application will cause irreparable damage or shedding. It does get evacuated by blood over a period of 24-72 hours.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

So do you apply it to your scalp, leave it for half an hour or so, then rinse it off? Or can you just leave it on there?

How often should you apply it? Every day? Once a week?

[Beborani]

Sara I am not doing this and nor am I endorsing it (not that my endorsement matters:)--I posted that just so people would be more cautious with this stuff especially with pills as you can easily overdo things. If I were to do it I suppose I would apply it as leave in on scalp every three days at that dilution to start with and see how it goes. It is a low risk proposition at that level.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Thank you - yes I would use a low dilution to be on the safe side, particularly as I don't really use caffeine at all apart from an occasional cup of green tea.

[chen bao jun]

Thanks for the reassurance. I hope it's 24 hours. Yes, I think a low dilution is definitely best to start with and I think my dilution was not low. I used green coffee capsules and hardly any water. Don't do it like this. My scalp stings and burns hours later. I'm awake and can't sleep. I shed a lot usually, but not like I did at this wash. My hair does feel incredibly soft though.

[mamaherrera]

Now I'm scared to try. Is using coffee safer??? And if so, how much (I'm not a coffee drinker) so I have to learn how to brew even. But obviously coffee is less intense than pills diluted, or no??? also, if 'I'm sensitive to oils, should I maybe avoid this??? The people above have scared me, but it's good to hear these things. I just had a major shed the last few days, so I don't want anything to make it worse and I was hoping this would help, but not so sure now!shudder:

[mamaherrera]

and totally off subject, but just curious: henna does not penetrate into follicle, correct?? what is the difference between penetrating into hair follicle versus skin barrier???::)

[chen bao jun]

I don't know, didn't mean to scare anybody. Probably I did it wrong, using the pills and using too much, but would not do it again. My hair isn't falling out or anything now but my scalp still burns in places. I do have sensitive allergic skin. And I can't drink coffee without an upset stomach so I was probably the wrong person to try this. I would just say to follow instructions carefully if you do. I wish I had seen that about the low concentration before the stuff was on my scalp.

[mamaherrera]

it's always good to post your experience though, thanks and Hopefully your scalp calms down soon!! I would love some more people's directions/measurements for those of you who have done the coffee rinse, is there another link for that?

[luvlonghair75]

This caffeine thing is new to me. I came across some Thicker & Fuller shampoo I saw in Walmart and it was labeled that it had caffeine that stimulates hair growth and covers up bald spots! News to me! lol I guess it makes sense since caffeine is a huge stimulator. Maybe I'll try that shampoo sometime in the future and maybe I'll try rinsing with my green tea. I drink it every day anyway...

[chen bao jun]

My scalp is not burning anymore now.
I hope my experience was unique. I guess no harm is done (one time with a lot of shedding won't make me bald, sorry for being silly last night).
I would say though, I don't understand how people can use it as a leave in. I can understand that leaving it on for 30 minutes and then rinsing a low concentration out.
I did actually not only rinse out but shampooed after leaving it on for just a bit and I had all that burning for 18 hours or so afterwards. But again I have no idea what concentration was in the green coffee bean capsules and what else was in there besides caffeine.

[Beborani]

Glad you are better chen. Coffee analogy--you would need to dilute one tablespoon of normal coffee in about a cup of water. The color and smell will be faint and barely noticeable. Also note that in that paper .001 percent has better growith rate that .005. That is equivalent of dissolving one 100 mg pill in 10 litres of water. So it is super dilute.

[mamaherrera]

Thanks Beborani--glad you are better to the OP who had the burning. so 1 TBSP per cup will be that .001 percent?? thanks for doing the math as I want to try tomorrow, just for five minutes, as I'm not patient!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Glad you are better chen. Coffee analogy--you would need to dilute one tablespoon of normal coffee in about a cup of water. The color and smell will be faint and barely noticeable. Also note that in that paper .001 percent has better growith rate that .005. That is equivalent of dissolving one 100 mg pill in 10 litres of water. So it is super dilute.

I'm also glad you are feeling better, chen.

So I could just steal a tablespoon of my SO's morning coffee and dilute in a coffee mug full of water. Sounds good and easy to follow and at that dilution I doubt that it would affect blonde hair or need rinsing out.... Will try this tomorrow.

[Beborani]

Not coffee powder mamaherrera. A normal cup of coffee contains about 100 mg--maybe more--I was just approxmating. A tablespoon of that coffee in a cup of water would be in the range of desired dilution.

[Rebecka]

I have coffee on my scalp right now, made "fast coffee" or however its called, so i made it really strong. But i feel it dries so quickly. When i've applied all over its already dry where i started. Anyone who thinks the same? Does dry coffee give as much effect as when it still is wet?

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I have coffee on my scalp right now, made "fast coffee" or however its called, so i made it really strong. But i feel it dries so quickly. When i've applied all over its already dry where i started. Anyone who thinks the same? Does dry coffee give as much effect as when it still is wet?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean. I did a coffee rinse this morning, made a cup of instant coffee, took a tablespoon of that coffee and diluted it in a cup of water, then poured it over my scalp and massaged it a little. My scalp and scalp hair are still fairly damp at the moment.

[Peggy E.]

I'm now using Rogaine and I'm not sure I would want to try caffeine on my hair, as well. Rogaine instructions say not to use anything else to help your hair grow or thicken while using Rogaine.

Not to mention I have silver hair and can't imagine what coffee you might do to that color!

My hair is still growing pretty fast, so what I need help with is how my scalp seems to be showinmgis starting to show. Has me rather scared.

[Peggy E.]

I'm now using Rogaine and I'm not sure I would want to try caffeine on my hair, as well. Rogaine instructions say not to use anything else to help your hair grow or thicken while using Rogaine.

Not to mention I have silver hair and can't imagine what coffee you might do to that color!

My hair is still growing pretty fast, so what I need help with is how my scalp seems to be starting to show. Has me rather scared.

[Ambrielle]

i think some coffees can be very acidic (depending on where they were grown, mineral rich soil, type of roasting etc) so it's good to keep an eye on the dosage. I have never tried a coffee rinse but i used to add brewed coffee to my conditioner. From time to time i wash my hair with a soap bar that contains coffee and walnut, my scalp really loves it, i may give this a go again :)

[Rebecka]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean. I did a coffee rinse this morning, made a cup of instant coffee, took a tablespoon of that coffee and diluted it in a cup of water, then poured it over my scalp and massaged it a little. My scalp and scalp hair are still fairly damp at the moment.

I applied over my scalp and let it in for a while, and it dried. Didnt you rinse out with water afterwards? :confused:

[Carolyn]

What about using some of my leftover morning coffee and diluting my shampoo? I could see doing something similar with conditioner too.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I applied over my scalp and let it in for a while, and it dried. Didnt you rinse out with water afterwards? :confused:

No, I didn't rinse it out, just left it in.

[mamaherrera]

I did mine and just left it in for five minutes, but I mixed it with nettle powder. So I can't say which one, but one of them made my hair more stiff, so I needed more conditioner to get my fingers through it, I kind of think it was the nettle, it felt like it had gel in it. I felt a little tingly, after I was out and about (after shower) as it was drying, but no mega stinging,so I am assuming it was a "good" tingling" not bad. I will continue to try once a week. Shedding was pretty normal

[Sarahlabyrinth]

My scalp didn't feel at all tingly after my caffeine rinse.

[jacqueline101]

I did my normal wash routine dried half dry then misted my caffeine water on. I left it on then I added my leave ins. My scalp felt the same no changes to report. I left my caffeine water in.

[TrapperCreekD]

I can't wait to see everyone's results! :popcorn:

[Ambrielle]

I can't wait to see everyone's results! :popcorn:

i second that, i am lurker on this thread :popcorn: :)

[mamaherrera]

One thing I noticed already, (no less shedding, the same) but that my areas above my ears didn't get as greasy as usual, no itchies either and I didn't wash for four days . this is looking good!

[Beborani]

After reading a bit more on this I suggest doing it on alternate days ( 48 hr gap) with occasional gap of 72 hours to deplete all residual caffeine. I think the key is to keep follicles exposed to low concentrations of caffeine so it can activate a certain growth factor.

I cant stress enough that high concentration will cause inhibition of growth.

Having said all this I may try it ( going for .002-.003%)--a tiny pinch of instant (1/16th of teaspoon) coffee in 200 or so ml of water. if I do and if it works I will report it.

Eta: I am already using minoxidil which has taken me from near baldness to normal thickness but there are areas that needs filling in a bit more and it will happen eventually as I know exactly how minoxidil works on my head (4 years) but wish to accelerate it a bit so I am done with filling in bald spots and be able to part my hair in the center. I am lazy about measuring length so I will only be observing this area (qualitative rather than quantitative) for growth.

[swearnsue]

On Jan 13th I did my first coffee rinse on hair measuring 26 inches.
Method: Used leftover brewed coffee. Diluted shampoo with coffee and water. About half and half coffee/water. Shampooed as usual for about 1 minute, rinsed.
Applied conditioner to hair, ears down, leaving my scalp clean and wet. Waited a couple of minutes and poured coffee mixed with water on my scalp and worked in a bit with my fingers. Waited a few seconds and poured on more of the diluted coffee and let sit for another 2 minutes. Rinsed scalp and hair. Applied conditioner to the ends only for a second conditioner and rinsed out.

Shedding seems the same, normal to light shedding. Hair felt a bit weird while wet, hard to describe but my guess is it is the oil in coffee. Once my hair dried, it felt fine and my scalp felt a tiny bit of tingle for about 3 hours. Very nice feeling. I didn't feel jittery. I THINK it MAY have slightly colored my gray roots. Not sure, it's hard to tell. I don't mind if it does stain my gray though.

I've been saving the last bit of leftover coffee each morning in a bottle in the fridge. It's a dark roast that DH makes strong.

[Daylilly]

Alisaxmarie, I just tried this the other day, my hair felt great afterwards and it's so easy. I will be watching for growth and less shedding. I sure noticed a lot of extra shine.

[swearnsue]

Shampooed and rinsed with coffee today for the second time. This time I noticed much less shedding. Per usual I used a Tangle Teaser before getting in the shower and the TT had about 1/3 of the usual hair in it. Then during the shower I shed about 10 hairs total instead of 30 to 50. I didn't really expect this result so it was a nice surprise.

The weird tacky feeling my wet hair had the first time I solved by rinsing with very warm water. Then after the coffee was rinsed out completely I turned down the temp and rinsed with warm/cool water as usual.

Also, when using coffee rinse I skip the vinegar rinse since coffee is acid I think it replaces the need for vinegar.

It's only been 5 days, so too soon to measure to see if growth rate has increased or not. But it certainly seems to help with shedding.

[mamaherrera]

I 've done it twice as well. Just wondering, if caffeine raises cortisol . .. and cortisol is bad, is that going to have any negative effect on hair follicles?. . . .

[swearnsue]

I haven't heard anything about coffee and cortisol, but I'm not always well informed.

I've been using coffee rinses but I dilute it first and only leave on my scalp about 2 to 3 minutes. This way I can see for myself if there are any negative effects. Isn't cortisol a hormone that makes us gain weight?

[mamaherrera]

How diluted do you do it?? Have you seen positive effects? I've just been doing like 2 cups of coffee per 1 TBSP

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I use a small pinch of coffee powder in a coffee cup of water.

[swearnsue]

I dilute it about half and half with warm water. So far it has reduced shedding a lot, but it's too soon to tell if it has increased growth rate. I only started this Jan 13.

[jacqueline101]

I haven't heard anything about coffee and cortisol, but I'm not always well informed.

I've been using coffee rinses but I dilute it first and only leave on my scalp about 2 to 3 minutes. This way I can see for myself if there are any negative effects. Isn't cortisol a hormone that makes us gain weight?

Yes on the cortisol and weight gain. I'm on prednisone it's got cortisol in it. They gave it to me for my lymph nodes.

[mamaherrera]

but cortisol supposedly also increases inflammation. but i'm gonna keep at it. it sounds likee i'm using more than most. but how often do you all do it?

[jacqueline101]

but cortisol supposedly also increases inflammation. but i'm gonna keep at it. it sounds likee i'm using more than most. but how often do you all do it?

I do mine once a week. I mist mine on as leave in. I don't think if it's done sparingly you will have to worry about it. I use fourth of a 200mg tablet with 8 ounces of hot water hot water melts the tablet then I let it cool to room temp.

[mamaherrera]

maybe I should drop it down to once a week, less of a hassle it would be and less drying (not that I've noticed) I just do, like I said, 1TBSP coffee per 2 cups of coffee, so I think it's diluted enough and I only leave mine on for five minutes.

[sunflowersmiles]

I did mine today. Misted with coffee leftover from the pot before shower. I measured my hair at 34 inches at the beginning of the week. I am going to do this once a week for a month and remeasure. I have noticed a nice shine and softness, so no complaints.

[jacqueline101]

I did mine today. Week two and I feel great.

[turtlelover]

I definitely want to try this starting right after the next time I touch up my roots (so I can see any change in growth rate more easily!).

[sunflowersmiles]

I have been really focusing on the sides of my temples. I lost so much hair postpartum and now it is growing back in so funny. I look like I have devil horns when my hair is dirty. GROW HAIR GROW so I won't look like a devil anymore!!! LOL

[mamaherrera]

I'm liking it so far, although I like it better when the coffee is still warm and not cold, yikes! But . . . I wonder, in the far future, after we see improvement, do you have to always keep this up??? anyone have any plans on if this will become a regular part of your routine and is once a week the common census?? I have no prob doing it twice, but then I wonder if it will be drying and if there are added benefits or nO?

[Fericera]

Where did you all find the caffeine tablets? I looked at Target and Walmart in the vitamin, weight loss, and coffee sections the other day, but couldn't find anything. I considered getting actual coffee, but since my hair is on the lighter side I'm not sure if I want to risk the stain, and have to rinse coffee grounds down the tub. How much caffeine does green tea have in comparison to coffee? I almost picked up a box of that, but figured I'd ask first since I don't drink tea and would hate to buy something and waste it.

[Swan Maiden]

I have done about 4 coffee rinses since the beginning of January. My starting measurement was 38.5, I measured today and got 40 inches. For some reason, although I measured more than once, I am still skeptical my hair grew this much. I have never measured before so I dont know my average growth rate. I also have been doing castor oil treatments more than coffee.

[Nimia]

Where did you all find the caffeine tablets?

Try asking someone at the store where the NoDoz, Vivarin, Jet Alert, or Stay Awake tablets are. Depending on the store, they might not have "caffeine" as the obvious name on the box, although it will be listed as the primary ingredient. Where I got mine, they only had Vivarin or Stay Awake, and no plain "caffeine."

[Fericera]

Try asking someone at the store where the NoDoz, Vivarin, Jet Alert, or Stay Awake tablets are. Depending on the store, they might not have "caffeine" as the obvious name on the box, although it will be listed as the primary ingredient. Where I got mine, they only had Vivarin or Stay Awake, and no plain "caffeine."

:doh: They probably did have them then, and I just didn't know what to look for. Thanks for the info! I'll probably be able to find them now.

[Daylilly]

Has anyone had any negative effect from caffeine rinses? I was just reading more information on the web and one article said that using too much caffeine could actually stunt growth. I have been doing it now for three weeks and haven't noticed any difference in growth but I haven't measured yet either. The only thing I do notice is a tingly sensation on my scalp for an hour.

[jacqueline101]

I did my third caffeine mist. I feel great and sometime this weekend I need to trim my bangs. My bangs have grown a lot. I will keep you post in a few days will be my February measure.

[Echileruwen]

I'm interested in trying this, but would like to ask those of you who have done it if you've noticed an weakness in the hair where it's grown faster than normal due to the caffeine rinse.

[mamaherrera]

I've been doing coffee rinses twice a week now. A few times I had way less shedding, other times I have normal amount, is it helping, I don't know. BUt I do wonder this: How acidic is coffee??? Is it more so than tea or lemon juice, because apart from my twice weekly coffee, I also henna roots once a week, so I don't want to dry out my hair, or make my scalp get thrown off balance in it's pH level. Plus I felt my scalp a bit itchy tonight after doing it. Just curious, before I keep on and on, if it could be too much of acid.

[Rebecka]

Has anyone had any negative effect from caffeine rinses? I was just reading more information on the web and one article said that using too much caffeine could actually stunt growth. I have been doing it now for three weeks and haven't noticed any difference in growth but I haven't measured yet either. The only thing I do notice is a tingly sensation on my scalp for an hour.



I've been doing coffee rinses twice a week now. A few times I had way less shedding, other times I have normal amount, is it helping, I don't know. BUt I do wonder this: How acidic is coffee??? Is it more so than tea or lemon juice, because apart from my twice weekly coffee, I also henna roots once a week, so I don't want to dry out my hair, or make my scalp get thrown off balance in it's pH level. Plus I felt my scalp a bit itchy tonight after doing it. Just curious, before I keep on and on, if it could be too much of acid.

When drinking coffee, the last caffeine leaves the body around 19 hours after you drank it, and it takes around a week/8 days for the body to forget. Which means it takes a week to stop the addiction. So doing it so often makes you addicted, yes. If i dont drink coffee in the morning i get a head ache in the afternoon. This is why ive decided to do this scalp rinse rarely. I dont know what happens if your scalp gets addicted and then you just stop, maybe head ache. But because I fear it would fall off i think (for me) less is more here.

[hanne jensen]

1 Feb. Hubby measured my hair and nothing. No Growth whatsoever. So, I've quit using coffee rinses as Jan and Feb are my grow months.

[jacqueline101]

Last night was my fourth week and measure day. I done my hair at Charlie's and forgot my tape measure. I will try to measure today.

[jacqueline101]

I measured today and gained an inch.

[swearnsue]

I measured today and gained an inch.
Hi Jacqueline. Did you grow an inch in one month????? If so, that is great!

[jacqueline101]

Hi Jacqueline. Did you grow an inch in one month????? If so, that is great!

In one month. I measure monthly. I do that in my hair journal. I have been growing an inch each month.

[jacqueline101]

Try asking someone at the store where the NoDoz, Vivarin, Jet Alert, or Stay Awake tablets are. Depending on the store, they might not have "caffeine" as the obvious name on the box, although it will be listed as the primary ingredient. Where I got mine, they only had Vivarin or Stay Awake, and no plain "caffeine."

Stores get stuff in all the time if it's not a top seller they lose track of their inventory.
I use vivarian brand 1/4 of a tablet mixed with hot water pill dissolves fully I pour the water into my 8 ounce spray bottle and every week I shake it before I must my scalp.

[lilelf]

Talk of caffeine rinses has been floating around the forums for a bit now so I've been asked to compile some basic information for those curious enough to give caffeine rinses or pastes a try! :)

Benefits/Purpose

To temporarily decrease shedding..
To temorarily increase rate of growth
To invigorate oneself and one's scalp -- DO NOT USE CAFFEINE RINSES AT NIGHT!
Ground coffee is often added to henna to thicken the mixture and give the user a more auburn tone rather than an orangey-red one.
Coffee, black teas, and pu-erh teas can be used to temporarily stain tresses or enhance natural highlights and lowlights in dark-haired individuals.
White, green, or oolong teas will not stain and thus are especially suggested for light hair.
Caffeine pills will not stain either and only need to be crushed and added to water for a rinse.
Alternatively, you can do a coffee rinse over conditioner to prevent any staining that may occur.
**Staining is not guaranteed and is only temporary!** It generally involves either several repeated rinses or a rinse or paste left on for at least 30 mins or longer.


How Does This Work?

Caffeine is absorbed by your hair follicles when used topically. The main study found that caffeine works by blocking the effects of a chemical known as DHT, which is known for its role in hair loss. It takes at least 2 minutes for caffeine to begin penetrating the scalp. (Source 1 (http://www.hairboutique.com/blogs_p/index.php/2012/09/10/coffee-hair-growth-secrets/), Source 2 (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/68082.php))
"The average growth of the follicles treated with caffeine increased by around 46 per cent compared to the control group. In addition, the life cycle of the hair treated with caffeine was extended by 37 percent. Caffeine boosted the length of the hairs by between 33 and 40 per cent. Hair follicles treated with caffeine showed a highly significant growth rate at 24 hours and still showed further significant growth at eight days." (Source (http://www.hairboutique.com/blogs_p/index.php/2012/09/10/coffee-hair-growth-secrets/))
These studies were performed on males with androgenetic alopecia. So, no scientific studies have been done to test the effects of caffeine on a woman’s scalp, let alone a scalp that does not have a hair loss disorder. Nevertheless, the current evidence does show that caffeine definitely penetrates hair follicles which may stimulate hair growth and discourage hair loss temporarily.


Rinse Method
1.) Brew coffee or tea as you normally would (1 to 2 tbsp of ground coffee per cup of water or 1 to 2 tsp of tea leaves)

This can be done in a coffee maker, using a French Press, or by steeping the coffee or tea leaves in a metal tea ball (https://www.google.com/search?q=tea+ball&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dnVIU96zMKnj0gHF_IDACw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1366&bih=643), tea bags, or even stapled coffee filters. Instant coffees or teas will have additives that you do not want to pour on your hair and scalp so avoid these.
Some rinsers choose to double brew their coffee in order to get the most caffeine content possible. However, "the diffusion rate for caffeine through human skin is 2.2 x 10^6 grams per centimeter squared of skin, per hour." This means that your scalp is only capable of absorbing so much caffeine in a given time span and therefore it may be pointless to make an extra-strong rinse. (Source (http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/02/can-i-put-caffeine-on-my-skin-instead-of-drinking-coffee/))
You can add herbs or other ingredients (such as EO's and oils like coconut and olive) to the brew to modify the scent or to make it more conditioning, bring out shine or color, etc.

2.) MAKE SURE TO LET THE TEA/COFFEE COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE YOU USE IT AS A RINSE!

It is up to you whether you use this prior to washing your hair or in-between your cleansing and conditioning steps on wash day.
Some users even like to use coffee or tea as a leave-in instead of a rinse, feel free to experiment to see what works for you!

3.) Pour over your head in the shower and leave in for 10-15 minutes, more if you'd like.

I like to dip my length in my coffee pot or cup of tea and then pour the rest back over my head so that I know my hair is evenly coated.
Some rinsers dump the brew over their head, catch the run-off in another container, and repeat the process of pouring and catching until their hair is thoroughly saturated and there is no more liquid to repeat the process with.
Another method is to pour your tea or coffee (or caffeine tablet water) into a spray bottle (with a wide nozzle that won't be easily clogged) or applicator bottle so that you can spray your caffeine rinse directly onto your scalp. This can be done regardless of if you leave it in or rinse it out.

4.) Rinse out.

After your caffeine rinse, you may resume your chosen washing method as usual.
It may be a good idea to do this before/after a CO-wash, before the second conditioner application of a CWC, or after using shampoo bars or regular shampoo. You want to make sure the caffeine has access to open, clean hair follicles so that it may do its job. However, I personally still see results when using the tea/coffee as the liquid in my deep-conditioning CO-wash (as in I pour on the rinse then add conditioner and leave on for 20-30 mins before rinsing).
**Coffee and tea rinses can be drying for some so you will want to follow up with some kind of conditioner or moisturizer.**


Paste Method
1.) Mix 2 tbsp of ground coffee with 1 tbsp of boiling water.
Instead of ground coffee, one may also use caffeine powder or ground up caffeine tablets to make a paste. Amount depends on the caffeine content of your pills/powder.
2.) Add 2 tbsp of some kind of conditioner to make a thick paste.
3.) Leave on for the length of time you would leave on a deep conditioning treatment.

This combats any drying effects the coffee may cause.
Leaving coffee on the hair for 30 mins to an hour will increase the chances of staining. Any staining can be removed by washing your hair. If you don't use shampoo, this may take 2 or more washes depending on the intensity of the stain. (ie: Did you do several consecutive coffee rinses/pastes or one excessively long treatment?) Like henna, the stain would deepen with multiple applications over a short period of time.
I found this recipe here (http://www.longhairloom.com/haircarerecipes.html#C).
Alternatively, you can simply add ground coffee or a caffeine pill into an SMT mix (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) or apply an SMT on top of a caffeine rinse.


***Please keep in mind that your body will be absorbing the caffeine you apply to your head. Caffeine is a stimulant. It therefore is very likely to interfere with your ability to sleep if you use it late at night. As a drug, it can cause minimal physical dependence. DO NOT FEAR, withdrawal effects are very very mild and may include headaches, drowsiness, lethargy, irritability, trembling, restlessness, and reduced concentration. As with any drug, sensitivity to caffeine reduces with use – so you may progressively need more of it to achieve the same results when using these rinses over a long period of time. However, if you only use a caffeine rinse once or twice a week at relatively low doses, I highly doubt you will suffer any diminishing of results or withdrawal symptoms. After all, your follicles are only capable of absorbing so much caffeine at a time.***



:toast: Here's to me trying not to over-do things... :D. Thanks! :flower


Hmm, interesting. I would definitely like to try this but I too rinse with acv / water mixture (and "wash" with baking soda / water mixture) so I dunno how that would go down. Although I don't do this often anyway, maybe once every two weeks. I wonder how it would fair since someone else had issues with that mixture?

Has anyone tried this without using any conditioner or shampoo afterwards? I think tea would be less of an issue for my method than coffee.
Perhaps you could try using the coffee INSTEAD of your ACV rinse, as it is already a mild acid and would not need much dilution. Just a thought...

[Mearwynna]

I definately noticed a drying effect when I used green tea on my head this last time.

[TrapperCreekD]

Did you leave it in or wash it out? I could definitely see leaving it in possibly causing some dryness.


Popping in to say I think January's rinses were successful. I was very unscientific about it this time and trimmed off an inch without measuring first; based on my photos my hair doesn't look any shorter than it did at the beginning of the month, presumably I didn't trim off too much.

[Rebecka]

I used coffee weekly three times before, but skipped last Friday. And now i shed really much! :doh: :boohoo:

[SunlightShines]

I gave it a try last Sunday. I put about 1/4 cup coffee in a 16 oz water bottle and the filled it the rest of the way with water then poured it over my hair after shampoo/before conditioner. I barely shed any hair all week. The down side was that my hair did feel a lot dryer, on the ends especially. I did 2 deep conditioners this week and put my hair up so I wouldn't be tempted to trim. I'll give it another try this week to see if it does the same thing.

[luvlonghair75]

I've only done a regular coffee rinse a couple times in the past few weeks but have definitely noticed less shedding! I can handle that! :)

[Bindi]

I've just started caffeine rinses this week and am very excited! I have been using regular brewed coffee with a bit of coconut oil stirred in :) I am planning on doing it twice weekly.

[-Fern]

I just did my first coffee paste.... I thought the rinse would be messy with the volume of my hair, but whew, the paste was even messier. Not in an entirely bad way, either, though, as both my hair and my bathroom now smell beautifully of hazelnut coffee, and the coffee grounds were easy to sweep up. :o Hair felt very soft and smooth as I was rinsing it.

[chen bao jun]

I ended up making the oil, since I wasn't successful with the caffeine rinse (to say the least).

I don't know if I've grown more than usual since its pretty impossible to measure my hair. I have rinsed with green tea, also, I don't want to rinse with coffee or black tea and get rid of my grey, which I like.

As I said, i can't really measure my hair so can only tell if its grown after longer amounts of time, at least 3 months. I don't know if the oil is effective like rinsing in actual coffee, but its not bothering me, and hey, my scalp is dry and getting massages, which is good.

I refuse to try monistat, not becasue of any ick factor, but because I heard you have a chance of getting headaches, which kill me already.

I have to say though, Jacqueline 101 started just about when I did and does monistat and boy is her growth impressive. We weren't that different in length when we started and she is way longer now, even counting that I am a curly with shrinkage, so I tend to believe from her case that monistat must do something.

[Adiro]

I have tried Monistat and coffee twice already, one time per week. This week I skipped, because now I am trying the catnip spray....
I think the coffee worked fairly well, for sure I enjoyed the smell of my hair throughout the day, until I washed it... The Monsitat, I am not even sure how to use it, I take a wee bit on my fingertip and let of place it in dots here and there on my scalp and rub a little... Really most of the cream gets wasted on the hair and does not really reach,the scalp.... What am I doing wrong?

[Mearwynna]

If you don't like the smell of coffee try using green tea before you shampoo and condition.

[LauraLongLocks]

I am going to crush a caffeine pill in the morning and mix it with water to apply to my scalp before washing. I need to start doing this on a regular basis so I can test whether it works to grow my hair faster.

[3 Cat Night]

I just tried this with coffee. It stained my shower! Fortunately, it came off with bleach. But I won't be doing that again. Also, I like the smell of coffee in the pot, but I found that I hate it in my hair. Next time, I'm going to try crushed caffeine pills.

[MsVenus]

I bought AI SPORTS NUTRITION Caffeine Powder 200 grams. It is a very finely milled powder and I added it to my leave in conditioner with some castor oil and generic monistat added. Last week I applied it to my scalp a few times during the week and did a scalp massage. I did not rinse it out. I did it again today. Hopefully it will increase my growth a little

[chen bao jun]

I will post about the coffee oil after three months are up.
It's not my favorite smell, but essential oils in it helped a little and as I said, I have to oil my scalp anyway.
I don't think I'm shedding any less through.

[MagicalMystery]

Anyone ever try matcha powder for this? It's loaded with antioxidants. I'd be curious to know if it's beneficial.

[MsVenus]

@ Chen Bao Jun How did you make your Caffeine oil? I simply added the finely milled ai sports caffeine powder to my castor oil and also seperately to water and then to my leave in conditioner and added all of the above together.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I tried the caffeine rinses three times a week for a month and had no added growth from them.

[chen bao jun]

I did it the way they suggested in the link that was put up over on the thread where the person got 1 1/2 inch last month with the caffeine and monistat/

I put whole coffee beans in a crock pot in a bottle of grapeseed oil and left it on for hours and hours. then I cooled it and strained it 4 or 5 times in a strainer with a coffee filter in it. It has to be kept in the fridge. But I take out a little at a time, add essential oils and put it on my scalp every other day and massage.

And when I wash once every two weeks or so. I rinse my SMT out with green tea adn then leave the tea on my scalp for 10 minutes before washing my scalp.

I first tried by crushing caffeine pills in water to rinse with. but I just aobut died. It stung and stung for a good 14 hours and I mean really stung. I still don't know if it was caffeine pills in general or because the ones I got were green coffee extract caffeine pills, the ones Dr. Phil advertized to make you lose weight with. Walmart didn't have no-doz or other caffeine pills when I went shopping.

I like the oil and figure massages can't hurt --the grapeseed oil must be good anyway, mustn't it. and they won't change my hair color. I am dead set against doing anything that will rid me of the tiny bit of grey hair I have managed to achieve in 57 years-- I earned it and I want to keep it!!!

[chen bao jun]

If I am remembering correctly, it was two oz of coffee beans per however much is in the bottle of oil

[MsVenus]

@Chen WOW 1 1/2 " last month! I think I will get some coffee beans and try that way! Interesting that the caffeine rinse stung you... I don't recall feeling anything. Maybe my head isn't as sensitive? I am going to stick with this!

[MsVenus]

@ Chen, I know you say it has not darkened your gray yet... but does the oil get dark like coffee? I REALLY do not want to make my blonde hair stained brown at all!... not even a little bit. If it might darken the hair, I will have to stick with caffeine powder.

[MsVenus]

Gosh I hate that I don't see an edit button, because I have to make a whole new post instead of adding to my last post. @ Chen about what weight/ amount of coffee beans to how many ounces of oil please?

Now back to the edit button. Where is it? I'd hate to have to make 4 posts to say everything that comes to my mind.

[JustPam]

I've been forgetting to do my caffeine treatments, been so focused on moisture ones lately, my ends are like an old chewed up broom!

MsVenus you will be able to edit your posts once you have 25 I think :)

[MsVenus]

Thanks, that's good to know. I made my oil today. I used baobab oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil and a tiny bit of castor oil with a few spoons of coffee in the crock pot. That coffee and coconut scent was heavenly today! I will filter it tomorrow and test it out.

[hanne jensen]

Does this have a delayed reaction? 10 Jan. I started putting coffee on my scalp 2Xweekly. After 2 weeks I measured no progress so I stopped. Now, after 2 weeks of no coffee I hardly shed at all and my hair is growing. I don't know how much, but my hair is longer down my arm and for once my braid is longer than the tassle.

[chen bao jun]

Msvenus, there is a thread some where where the person got 1 1/2 inches in a ,onth, maybe someone can link? I'm on my tablet.
it was 2 Oz coffee beans and about 16 Oz oil and my colour hasn't changed but my hair is mostly very black, so I really don't know what it would do to a blonde. it goes on my scslp, not hair, but I'd hate to say it was fine and then see you have problems.

The thread is hair growth experiments worked by mad pirate bippy

[Arctic]

I am giving this a try.

I never thought I'd be interested of another LHC experiment, I'm an oldtimer who has found a working routine long ago and has been very happy about the results. But if this would make my hairline a little less sparse, I would be a happy camper! Faster growth would be nice too, I guess, but I'm not really that impatient anymore with my length, and now that I haven't been obsessing with it, my hair seems to grow very fast even to me, if it still grows the same about 1 cm per month. Anyway, because for once this experiments doesn't require any expensive and difficult to get ingredients, not much monetary loss, and in general seems very easy, I though I might as well try :) I'm a coffee drinker too, so I am not worrying any possible effects.

I haven't measured my length or growth in years and am not about to start again, so my experiment will be based on visual comparison. I took a length photo yesterday for that purpose. I am not going to be approaching this in any "scientific" way, just as a fun experiment.

I might try both (instant) coffee beverage and caffeine pills, but I started with the pills. Why? I don't know. I have them at hand and I almost never use them.
There seems to be contradictory information about this all, but I put 2 pills in couple of deciliters of water the night before, and by morning they were partially dissolved (is that the right word?) but there was quite a bit of white "fluff" in the water. I feared it might not get rinsed from my hair and would look like dandruff, but was too impatient to pour it through a sieve. Next time however I will do that step.

Then I went to shower (morning), shampooed my hair, rinsed, poured the caffeine pill liquid all over my scalp, put on conditioner, finished the rest of showering duties, and rinsed the conditioner and liquid. I didn't time myself, but it was probably on for at least 5 minutes, I love my long, hot showers.

Hair nor scalp didn't feel different than normal when wet, but after my hair dried it was amazing: it felt so soft and silky and looked great. It was one of the best hair days I've had in a while! I can't pinpoint this effect to anything other than the caffeine pills, as I did everything else as normal. But I can't really understand what it is in those pills that would have this effect on hair. What ever it was, I hope the same thing happens the next time too, and after every time :D

I got a mild headache in the late evening, but I get headaches a lot, several times a week is not unusual, so I am not even assuming it was from the caffeine.
Scalp feels good and maybe a bit tingly in positive way, but I know I tend to have that kind of placebo feeling every time I experimented with something in the past, when I was a new and enthusiastic LHC member. :) (Now I'm old and tired, lol!)

I have to read more untill I decide how often to do this. I wash my hair almost daily, so I might try it few times a week, maybe? I have to calculate the caffeine percentage in my liquid too, as I have no idea what it was. I also might try using instant coffee. The brand I drink is freezer dried and has no other ingredients than coffee in it, no additives. I bet the caffeine pills have way more additives, and I can't see why people worry about instant coffee vs. ground coffee, while being ok with caffeine pills, but that's just me. :)

I have read through this thread and subscribed to it, and will post my updates later on.


Have fun experimenting, everyone!



ETA: My caffeine pills contain 100 mg caffeine per pill, 2 kinds of cellulose and magnesium salts of fatty acids.

[MsVenus]

I filtered my oil today and have it bottled. It is a bit dark but I decided since it is only going on the roots of the hair, not the ends, I don't really care about the darkening effect at the roots if any.I will start the oil tomorrow. I did the spray with water day before yesterday. So I will alternate between the water spray and the oil and try to do one or the other each day. I do think there is a delay before noticing any effects with any treatment. One reason is that whatever you use will work on the hair that is now under the scalp and it takes at the very least a few weeks for it to surface. So I think long term consistency will be key with this. I plan to give this treatment an entire year of consistent use before I make an evaluation.

I don't know why, but this oil feels like liquid gold to me. It is so rich, dark, and smells absolutely delicious. I do believe it will be light enough for regular use without being way too heavy for me. So I am looking forward to it!

[SunlightShines]

I did the coffee rinse twice. Once a week for two weeks. I love the smell, my shedding stopped almost completely and I've grown 1/2 inch in 2 weeks. But...now my hair is extremely dry and tangling horribly, no matter how much I deep condition, oil, etc. Do the caffeine pills have the same drying effect? I'm thinking of switching to them to see if that is better for my hair. I do want to mention that I did get a headache, but I'm not sure if it was from the caffeine or not.

[Arctic]

SunlightShines I've only done the caffeine pill thing once, but I had my best hair day that day in ages; it made my hair really soft, silky feeling and shiny. Give it a try!



Today I tried real coffee rinse, not caffeine pills. I tend to drink my (instant) coffee from huge mugs and it often gets too cold before I manage drink it all. So I gathered the eleftovers from few mugs in the morning, and used them as a rinse. Frugal, huh? :D

Hair felt good, maybe not as nice as after the caffeine pill rinse. I do like the smell of coffee in general, but was a bit worried if the smell of it in my hair would become unpleasant after few hours, like many have written. My sense of smell is not the greatest, and I worry other people would find me smelling offensive, etc. So I rinsed it well and added a bit of lavender essential oil after my normal leave in. I think I can smell a faint coffee smell in my hair even now, in the evening. Or it's not really yummy coffee smell, I can't describe it. a little bit stuffy or something.

Otherwise I did excatly as the last time with pills. Shampoo hair, rinse with coffee and slather on conditioner, let sit while showering, and as a final step rinse them both.

It didn't stain shower nor me, and I can't notice any effect on my hair colour either, which is medium brown naturally.

All and all I think I like the caffeine pills more, it felt less weird and messy and made my hair feel better :D


PS. No headache today

[Arctic]

OK, no coffee rinses anymore for me, my whole torso is covered in red --- I don't know, rash or something? It's not itchy or raised, just red blotches all over. Niiiiceeee

[SunlightShines]

Arctic - I never even gave it a moments thought, because I'm a coffee drinker and am always having allergic reactions to stuff. But I did have some small hives around my neck and chest for the beginning of the week. Hmmm? I wonder if that's what caused it.

I did pick up some caffeine tablets at the store, but forgot to get a spray bottle. I'll run out to the Dollar store tomorrow and pick one up. How much water to tablet ratio did you use?

[Arctic]

SunlightShines, I didn't get any skin reactions from caffeine pills, only real coffee.

Interesting that you had some hives too! I wonder if there are others also?

My skin is not super sensitive, but I have gotten a similar reaction sometime previously. I have never been able to pin point it really. Sometimes I have thought it's from stress, sometimes from sweating more than normal. Today I had nothing like that, the only different thing was dumbing the coffee on my head (and on my body while at it). I'm pretty sure it is the reason.

I am going to use the caffeine tablets only from now on, I liked them better anyway, hopefully they will not start to irritate my skin. I have been doing this only 2 times, so I don't even know if this method is working for me, but it would be shame if my skin would prevent me from finding out!


ETA: I put 2 x 100 mg caffeine tablets in maybe approx 2-3 dl of water, and let the tablets dissolve over night. I poured that liquid on my head too, but am now considering a spray bottle just in case. I have no idea, by the way, if my solution is too strong, it might well be.

The coffee was just the same coffee I drink, without watering down. Not trying that one again.

[jacqueline101]

I'm still doing my caffeine mist. It won't be long ill measure my hair again and give the results.

[SunlightShines]

SunlightShines, I didn't get any skin reactions from caffeine pills, only real coffee.

Interesting that you had some hives too! I wonder if there are others also?

My skin is not super sensitive, but I have gotten a similar reaction sometime previously. I have never been able to pin point it really. Sometimes I have thought it's from stress, sometimes from sweating more than normal. Today I had nothing like that, the only different thing was dumbing the coffee on my head (and on my body while at it). I'm pretty sure it is the reason.

I am going to use the caffeine tablets only from now on, I liked them better anyway, hopefully they will not start to irritate my skin. I have been doing this only 2 times, so I don't even know if this method is working for me, but it would be shame if my skin would prevent me from finding out!


ETA: I put 2 x 100 mg caffeine tablets in maybe approx 2-3 dl of water, and let the tablets dissolve over night. I poured that liquid on my head too, but am now considering a spray bottle just in case. I have no idea, by the way, if my solution is too strong, it might well be.

The coffee was just the same coffee I drink, without watering down. Not trying that one again.

I'm going to try just dumping it over my head too! I read back thru the thread and noticed that the sprayers tend to clog up when they were used for the dissolved the pills. If my hair doesn't do well this time, I'll go get a spray bottle and try that. So far, this has been the only thing that controls my shedding! and if I can grow faster....it's gonna be aaaawesome! :)

[MsVenus]

I didn't do it yesterday, but I just got my delicious smelling liquid gold coffee oil and oiled my scalp.I then applied some to the ends of my hair along with some Keracare Humecto on the ends too. I did a little scalp massage, then combed it smoothly into a ponytail and applied a scrunchy to air dry. Later I will re braid my paranda braid and leave it for another day or 2. Happy Dance

ETA After my leave in conditioner air dries, I put on a shower cap for a while to allow the caffeine infused oil to steam up in there to better penetrate my hair follicles.

[SunlightShines]

Yesterday I did a rinse using the caffeine pill. My hair felt great afterwards. No dryness, headache, or skin irritation. My shedding was controlled by the pill too. Even if I don't get any growth from it, I would be happy with just these results! I'll check my growth at the end of next week to see what happens. :)

[-Fern]

OK, no coffee rinses anymore for me, my whole torso is covered in red --- I don't know, rash or something? It's not itchy or raised, just red blotches all over. Niiiiceeee

I didn't get a rash or hives, but my neck and upper back felt dry and itchy and irritated. I was going crazy, because it didn't happen immediately after the rinses or anything, so I couldn't figure out what else I had been doing differently. Never occurred to me that it could have been the coffee, haha!

I'm not feeling industrious enough to buy the caffeine pills just yet, so I'm going to shelve this experiment for the time being. I did notice a big reduction in hair shed while I was doing the rinses, but ugh, if that caused the itchiness on my back and neck, it just wasn't worth it.

[Arctic]

Hmmm, maybe there is a correlation as so many of us have notices some skin reaction. Ofcourse I can't say for sure if mine was from the coffee beverage, but that was the only thing I did differently than usual. I am not going to try it again, but will stick with the caffeine tablets. Let's hope the won't start giving me skin reactions!

Oh, and my skin was back to normal after a good night's sleep.


I trimmed today, so this might have an effect on whether I'll notice any results from the rinses or not. I am mostly hoping the caffeine to encourage new growth to make my hairline more dense, so the length is not as important factor anyway.

Tonight I'll put caffeine pills to soak in water and tomorrow will do a rinse with the solution.

[Arctic]

Yesterday I did a rinse using the caffeine pill. My hair felt great afterwards. No dryness, headache, or skin irritation. My shedding was controlled by the pill too. Even if I don't get any growth from it, I would be happy with just these results! I'll check my growth at the end of next week to see what happens. :)

Great to hear the pills worked for you!

[MagicalMystery]

Just thought I'd bring this up for anyone who might want to try it... I started applying very strong orange pekoe tea to my brows to see what it would do, and they're actually thickening and darkening!

[SunlightShines]

Great to hear the pills worked for you!

Thanks for encouraging me to give it a try! I've had 2 great hair days so far. Hardly any shedding & it feels fantastic....so soft! I had to put it up so I wouldn't keep playing with it! :D

[Hopeful65]

Well, I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be spraying coffee on my scalp. But I have. ;)

So far I've done it around 4 or 5 times. Just on random days when it's convenient. I can't say that it's made my hair grow faster, nor shed less. But the one thing I do notice is that it makes my hair incredibly soft. Like limp soft, and not in a wanted way for my fine hair.
I only put it on the scalp, but it feels limp all the way to the ends each time I've done this. Like over conditioned hair. (This is the result after having washed it out.)
Some other hair types may like this. For me though, it's just too flat. I may not do this anymore. I'm one of those finey's who is always striving for volume.

[mamaherrera]

Maybe my coffee rinses are the reason I'm not getting "as poofy" hair as I was a month ago.

[Arctic]

I have only done one rinse with caffeine pills and one with coffee, and the pill solution really did make my hair softer, smoother and silkier. All qualities that I like. There was no similar effect, at least not as noticeable, from actual coffee rinse.

[Arctic]

Third rinse done, and this was my second caffeine pill solution rinse.

No skin reaction at least yet, I'll be keeping an eye of it.


Hair feels and looks great (solf, silky, shiny), but this wasn't an ordinary wash day and the good hair day might be from numerous reasons (clarifying, dip dyeing with veggie colour, deep treatment, silicone serum - all of which are not part of my everyday routine).


Otherwise I did the rinse the same way as before: first shampoo, rinse it off, pour caffeine water on my head, add conditioner, let sit while doing the rest of the showering stuff [5+ mins?], rinse conditioner and caffeine, add leave-in conditioner).

[Arctic]

Just an update, that I did not get skin reactions from the caffeine pill dilution rinse.


How often are your guys doing the rinses? I wash my hair almost daily, at most every other day, and the pace I am doing them now is something like every other wash, so maybe 3 times a week. I wonder if that's too much. I also wonder if useing 2 x 100mg caffeine pills is an overkill?

I'm thinking that maybe 2 times per week would be better...