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. 

Brown Sugar Straighten

"To straighten hair without heat, just mix a cup of water with 2 tablespoons of BROWN sugar, pour it into a spray bottle, then spray into damp hair and let air dry."

First off, I can't honestly believe anyone believes this one. The sheer amount of pins that seem to be about taking things from your kitchen and smearing them on yourself is just mind boggling. The link almost always goes to some random site that has nothing to do with the sugar solution. A quick search later I found the origins of the image - a stylist's page in Russia. The caption reads: 

"Highlights + toning, coloring, brondirovanie from 1800 to 2500, the hair below the shoulder blades 3000 rubles. Staining, toning from 700 to 1200, the hair below the shoulder blades 1500 rubles. Lamination from 600 to 900 rubles."

So there you go. Nothing to do with sugar at all.

But for fun I decided to give it a try. I have naturally very thick wavy hair. The only downside is my hair is kept short, but I figured if it would work on that long of hair surely it should work on my mere 3" of hair I have right? 

I took before photos.. and afterwards felt it would be silly to take an after since my hair looked exactly the same. The only difference is that my neck was sticky from where it dripped, and as I had a hair appointment to get to I wanted to show my stylist friend so I didn't bother to wash it out. We had a good laugh over it all, and the texture it left in my hair was that of cheap gel - my hair was brittle feeling and sticky. He had to shampoo me twice to get it all out.