In our last post about how to grow hair, we pointed out the dangers of Minoxidil and Rogaine. There are others, of course, that promise thick, shining, luxurious hair with no side effects, but none of them seem any safer than Rogaine. So here’s an idea worth trying: a DIY coconut oil treatment for thinning hair. It’s a safe combination of coconut oil and coffee. In this formula, coffee is the active ingredient instead of minoxidil.
Safety Of Coffee and Coconut
This chart makes it easy to compare the safety of the two ways to thicken your hair.
How To Make Your Coffee Oil Hair Thickener
1. Mix 2 cups of coconut oil with 2 ounces of coffee beans
2. Simmer on the stove or in a crockpot for 8 hours, stirring every half hour or so
3. Strain out the beans and store your coffee oil out of the sun, preferably in dark glass – NOT plastic
What could be simpler?
Is There Any Proof That This Coffee Oil Works?
First, according to the International Journal of Dermatology, [Volume 46, Issue 1, pages 27-35], “… caffeine alone lead to a significant stimulation of hair follicle growth”.
Second, one of the world’s leading experts on hair growth, Dr. Adolf Klenk, completed a study in 2004 that caffeine “protects hair roots against hereditary and menopausal hair loss in men and women respectively and facilitates growth”.
The evidence was so persuasive that there are multiple caffeine-based shampoos and serums for men and women. Check out these expensive products on Amazon!
$43.99 for a bottle of shampoo? Ouch! Why pay these prices when you can make your own for pennies?
And FYI, I looked for the ingredients in the first one, the serum. It took a while to find them, which is always suspicious in itself, but finally I did. Here they are:
Alcohol,water,d-panthenol,niacinamide,caffeine,acrylates,alkyl acrylate,crosspolymer,peg-12 dimethicone,peppermint oil,menthol,hydrolyzed keratin,biotin,triethanolamine,parfum,methylisothiazolinone [http://www.amazon.com/forum/-/Tx5XQUNGP5ZCR0/ref=ask_dp_dpmw_al_hza?asin=B00HG1JFXY]
So, this expensive stuff has the usual suspects of dangerous chemicals.
The Most Important Question: Will This Coffee Oil Actually Work For Your Hair?
I don’t know. But Rogaine doesn’t show any results for 4 months or so and there is enough evidence for the efficiency of caffeine to try the coffee oil for 4 months and see what happens.
Reasons To Try Coffee Oil
1. It’s much cheaper than commercial products, obviously.
2. It’s also obviously a lot safer for your body.
3. Coconut oil is great for your hair anyway, so it certainly will only help, not destroy it the way chemicals so often do.
One Caution
Over time, coffee and tea will affect the color of your hair. So if your hair is very light – like mine – then you shouldn’t use it, unless you’re willing for the color to change. That’s why I’m not trying it. However, my son-in-law began using it about two weeks ago and I’ll give you an update in 3-4 months.
I bought some “white tea”, thinking the tea was white and therefore I could use it in my own concoction. It isn’t. It’s just as dark as regular tea so that was a flop. I’m wondering what is loaded with caffeine yet is light in color. Any ideas?
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