anyone had an association between hair loss and excessive coffee intake? my hair loss has been pretty stable for a few years now since i started taking propecia. it seems like i have just begun to experience a bit of shedding and this correlates with the exact time i started to drink a daily afternoon starbucks (in addition to my morning coffee). are they associated?

tanman,

I've actually read a few posts here and there about some people thinking caffeine may be associated in one way or another with hair loss, but there is no scientific evidence of such that I'm aware of. Basically, there are many coffee and other various caffeine-aholics out there that have a full head of hair, so I think you are safe.

Falc

Falc, I think Michaellovesny started a thread about research on coffee having a positive effect on growing more hair. Tanman, I wouldn't think the coffee has any adverse effect on your hair.

nobuzz,

That's right...I remember that thread now...goes way back...I think.

Thanks for the reminder.

Falc

From the research I've seen, both could be right or wrong.

Basically, topical application of caffeine could have a positive effect on hair growth - blocking DHT in the shaft and causing hair to grow longer and faster.

However, too much caffeine ingested could increase androgen production and therefore DHT production.

If you wanted to try out the effects of topical caffeine, you might want to either try a caffeine powder to add to your shampoo or you can buy a shampoo like Alpecin. A lot of people seem to like it. I add the powder to my shampoo and I do seem to have peach fuzz on my hairline that is growing darker every day. I'm not saying that the caffeine is why, but I'm going to continue it to see what happens.