Boost your hair growth with this one item from your kitchen cupboard
Have you noticed your hair thinning or receding as you've gotten older? If so, you're not alone. Around half of adult men worldwide experience some degree of hair loss as they get older, with 40 per cent of Brits losing some of their locks as they age.
Spanish men top the world league table in terms of hair loss, with 45 per cent noticing a change in their hair over time. And Spanish doctor Ignacio Sevilla has come up with a remedy for the international problem, reports Surrey Live.
And, luckily, his solution turns out to be a chemical that most of us will already have in our kitchen cupboards. The doctor and hair specialist from Madrid said: “Caffeine combined with other ingredients can promote hair growth.”
READ MORE: 'I'm a doctor - stop wasting your money on this beauty product that simply doesn't work'
READ MORE: Experts share the six common diet mistakes that are holding you back from weight loss
But drinking a cuppa each morning won't make a difference. Rather, the solution lies in rubbing coffee directly into your scalp.
Dr Sevilla, who claims several studies have proven the hypothesis, said: “Topically applied caffeine can counteract the negative effects of dihydrotestosterone, prolonging the anagen phase and stimulating hair growth.”
And his colleague Dr. Virginia Velasco, a dermatologist and trichologist at the Dr. Morales Raya Clinic in Madrid, agrees with these findings. Dr Velasco said: "Caffeine has a vasodilatory, antioxidant effect and has been shown to reverse the miniaturisation of hair that occurs in androgenic alopecia."
She added: "Studies that have concluded that the application of 0.2 per cent caffeine is not inferior to applying one of the most effective treatments that exist for alopecia, 5 per cent minoxidil for topical use."
But caffeine isn't the only known preventer of hair loss. Dr Sevilla also points out there are several other active ingredients that can work together with the chemical to protect your luscious locks.
Retinol, he explains, can help improve the penetration of other hair loss treatments such as minoxidil. It also promotes cell renewal of the scalp and improves follicular health. However, over-using retinol can cause irritation, so it's important to be careful when using it on your hair and scalp.
Other effective partners to caffeine for protecting your hair are Saw Palmetto, Copper peptides and Niacinamide, the doctor explains. An extensive range of other chemicals could help preserve mens’ hairlines, he says, including Quinine, a scalp stimulant that can promote microcirculation by improving the arrival of nutrients to the follicle.
He also lists Maca, an adaptogen that improves the body's response to stress, which is a significant trigger for hair loss. Pumpkin seed oil is another magic ingredient that can fight hair loss. However its inclusion in hair products is still in an early stage, and the doctor explains that it currently lacks the solid scientific support that other ingredients have.
So, if you're worried about losing your hair, you may not need to look any further than your own kitchen for the solution.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our newsletter here.
