Study claims caffeine slows baldness

German hair care specialist Alpecin Cosmetic has been selling hair and scalp treatment on the German market since 1930. However, it wasn't until 2000 that the company started marketing its After Shampoo Liquid hair loss remedy with a caffeine derived active complex contained in the ingredients.

"The caffeine complex was added to the product following extensive testing in our own laboratories,"​ said Dr. Adolf Klaenk, director of research and development at the Dr. Kurt Wolff research laboratories, part of Aplecin Cosmetic. "Since the product was launched we have been conducting more comprehensive studies with university of Jena, of which the full results are about to be published in dermatological specialist publications."​

The study results have found that the active caffeine ingredient helps to regulate the effects of testosterone levels. Male pattern baldness is known to occur on individuals with a sensitivity to testosterone, causing damage to hair follicles that eventually leads to baldness.

The independent study at the University of Jena used hair samples from the scalps of young men entering into the first stages of hormone-related hair loss. The study relied on a hair organ culture that used four different types of testing samples. The first was a nutrient-based sample, the second a testosterone only sample, the third was a caffeine only sample and the fourth a mixture of caffeine and testosterone.

According to the research, the results showed that the samples containing the caffeine nutrient helped to stave off hair loss and encouraged new hair growth hair re-growth, while the sample that relied on testosterone only led to increased hair loss. But perhaps the most impressive was the testosterone and caffeine sample, which helped to prevent further hair loss.

The results showed that using the caffeine treatment average growth was increased by around 46 per cent and the life cycle of the hair was extended by 37 per cent, when compared to the control study.

A company spokesperson said that the treatment is believed to be the only one of its kind to use caffeine as an active ingredient to prevent the loss of hair in men.

One of the ironies of the study results is that many medical experts and trichologists recommend that excessive oral intake of caffeine substances can increase levels of DHT in the body, which have been proven to stimulate testosterone levels, which in turn leads to hair loss.

Dr. Klaenk points out that other active ingredient include zin and niacin that, when combined with caffeine extract, help to produce the overall results.

Alpecin Cosmetic​ is a household name in its native Germany with its range of products have been traditionally used to treat a host of scalp ailments ranging from dandruff to itchy or irritated scalps. However, in more recent years it has gained an increasing reputation for its hair loss treatment.

Currently the company is expanding the roll out of the product in Europe and the Middle East. In the mainstay European market existing markets other than Germany include Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Poland, however bigger markets such as the UK and France have proved difficult to penetrate due to the company's size.