Coffee to Stop Hair Growth

"get rid of unwanted hair ANYWHERE! For 1 week, rub 2 tbsp coffee grounds mixed with 1 tsp baking soda. The baking soda intensifies the compounds of the coffee breaking down the hair follicles at the root!" 

This was submitted by a couple of fans on our facebook page last week and I knew I just HAD to do a write up on it. 

So let's a take a look - does a simple scrub of coffee grounds and baking soda break down hair so you have to shave less? No. Again, with the idea that the cure to any beauty mishap is in your kitchen. This is along the same lines as the brown sugar straightener and other kitchen turn beauty product ideas. But why won't this work?

Well because studies have actually been done on the effects of caffeine and hair growth. In fact, studies have found that caffeine is a great way to get hair to grow more thicker and stronger, and was used in a study of men suffering from alopecia (aka: male pattern baldness) The details of the study can be read here (PubMed) and seem rather strong in the findings. 

Besides, a quick search later, I found the source of the image. And guess what?  It's not about a miracle coffee hair thing at all, but a face scrub how to (also great DIY for a fake beard come halloween time) Now as a exfoliant I have some concerns - you skin is highly delicate despite what some people think, and harsh scrubs can actually damage the skin, causing micro tears and clogged pores. However caffeine has been shown as a great skin treatment, so just make sure the coffee is ground finely and you should be fine, but don't expect any hair loss from this scrub. 

Painted Coffee Beans

"Spray paint coffee beans and use them as vase filler...much cheaper than those marbles!" 

Sadly, that's not what this is a photo of. This is an actual product, but it's not designed as a vase filler. They are called Coffee Joulies, and are designed to maintain the perfect temperature of coffee. I know this because I am a total coffee addict, and have been dying to get a set myself  (but sadly I don't own any yet, so I can't report how well they work). They are made from recycled stainless steel and are, in fact, quite a good size - not tiny like real coffee beans. 

Coffee Joulies

But as the pin suggests: can you spray paint regular coffee beans to get a cool metallic vase filler? Eh, maybe. As I've reported before on our lace light bulb post, metallic spray paint never comes out looking like real metal, so if you're after slick metallic stainless steel looking coffee beans, keep looking. Spray paint won't get you that finish. Another issue that I can imagine coming up is what makes coffee so delightful in the first place: oil. Most whole beans will have a wonderful sheen on them from the oils in the bean, making your paint unwilling to stick well to it. Not to mention that it would be quite hard to get beans--tiny little coffee beans--coated evenly enough that they would look nice. All in all, if what you're going for is something like the original image from pinterest, this is just something I don't see working out as you might want it to.