Wake Up and Smell Coffee, The Cranberries Credit: cranberriesworld.com
Nostalgic Alert: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee by The Cranberries, is playing in the background… Don’t we have those days, when we do not have enough sleep or have some bad dreams, wake up all messed up and tired? For some, it is like that 5 days a week, because we have to get up, get dressed and get to work. Coffee is called Morning Saviour for good reasons.
However, for a lot of us, having some caffeine in our hair and skin care products is unheard of. Read on and you may love that dark and aromatic liquid even more.
Even though the studies on the effect of coffee on our hair and skin is still limited, the science is still telling us that the chemical compound of caffeine may turn around our testosterone (hormone) level and aide the hair follicle condition which cause hair loss. According to the the article in International Journal of Dermatology, Effect of caffeine and testosterone on the proliferation of human hair follicles in vitro, the study concluded that “Caffeine was identified as a stimulator of human hair growth in vitro; a fact which may have important clinical impact in the management of AGA.” The finding on the human bodies is that AGA (Androgenetic alopecia) affects 50% of males aged over 50, causing the sex hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) damages hair follicles. Though baldness occurs knowingly on males but females may experience the same changes in their bodies.
Chemical Compound of Coffee Credit: Researchgate.net
Experts suggest to have coffee as a topical therapy, either applying coffee grounds as a mask in a paste form or simply using the liquid as a rince during shampooing process. Since we are talking about topical application, how can we not look at the benefits of coffee to our skin? Do you know that coffee makes our hair shinier, our skin brighter, and even helps with dark circles and puffy eyes?
Prevention magazine published 6 Surprising Ways Coffee Make You Prettier, a dermatologist based in California Julia Hunter claimed that putting coffee on our skin can help brighten skin, prevent clogged pores, and soften lines. On the subject of the chemical compound of coffee on Wikipedia, it is cited “coffee contains an exceptionally substantial amount of antioxidants such as chlorogenic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, caffeine and Maillard reaction products.
There have been various cosmetic products on the market using coffee liquid, coffee grounds, coffee oil, coffee extract. For example, this UpCircle Beauty based in United Kingdom promotes ‘upcycling’ all kinds of plant based waste from food and drink industry. Lush has been the pioneer of coffee mask for face and body for years.
Coffee Extract
Our handmade soaps made with real coffee, coffee grounds, and coffee butter give the skin that exfoliation and the sweet scent. Imagine the morning glory when you are in shower with these babies. Now I got my coffee extract and my espresso brewing, I think I am going to make myself some eye mask with coffee and honey. Cheers to you all with a mug!