The Long Hair Community - Coffee drinkers and ex-addicts!!!

Joliebaby · April 27th, 2006, 11:24 PM

I am totally addicted to caffeine, I get tired very easily and need a lot of sleep and school has been demanding, so I have turned to drinking more caffeinated drinks for that extra energy or perking up...

I'm wondering,as it is said that caffeine is bad for hair growth, if you have noticed this also, and if you used to drink coffee, have you noticed improvement in your growth rate etc. after you quit or cut down significantly?

Thanks!!
(Drinking coffee right now.. errr..)

TabbyKat · April 27th, 2006, 11:29 PM

I was about to go make a pot when the page loaded and I saw this thread! You know, I actually have noticed my hair slowed since I started working at a coffee house. When I worked there, I drank coffee all day. Then went home and drank some more. Now, even though I don't work there anymore, I am hooked on the stuff. Nectar of the gods...

I actually have a regular 12-cup pot, an insulated 8-cup Gevalia pot, a French Press, and an espresso machine. Oh...and my apartment is fully decorated with a coffee theme....*shakes head* It needs to stop. For the sake of my hair! LOL.

Great thread!

Steve<3 · April 28th, 2006, 12:17 AM

I wondered the same thing recently!

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ad.php?t=42968

lisadebow · April 28th, 2006, 01:32 AM

In my own experience, I have been drinking coffee too long to notice any difference. As for the tired, run down feeling, it could very easily be dehydration. Caffeine is a diuretic, which causes moisture loss, so my suggestion is to drink a glass of water with every cuppa joe. Not only does this keep you from losing the water, but it actually seems to boost the effects of the coffee!

Joliebaby · April 28th, 2006, 01:37 AM

Thanks.. I guess i don't need to completele cut it out. i will try to reduce the amount though for my health's sake. maybe just one mug in the morning, and possibly another in the afternoon.. I need to cut down on the sodas because of the nasty artificial sweeteners.. (Can't eat any sugar)

Sage · April 28th, 2006, 03:19 AM

My name is Sage and I am a caffeine addict

.

I never noticed a problem with hair growth *but* if it stimulated hair growth I would be floor length by now

.

Here is a good article on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

ringuhair · April 28th, 2006, 03:42 AM

Also a coffee addict, although now I'm down to one cup a day, I still *need* it. It took me ages to figure it out, but I'm much more likely to get a migraine later during the day if I skip the morning coffee or take it at a later hour than usual. It's not a .99 correlation, since I can get these on well-caffeinated days, but it makes sense. Now that I make sure I always have my coffee, I've been migraine-free for months. I don't know if it slows down my hair growth since I've been on the stuff for almost 10 years. My monthly growth rate is about .5", judging by my roots.
I guess I'm really a caffeine junkie, since I enjoy coffee rinses just for the smell, I wish it would linger longer in my hair!

**Lady Godiva** · April 28th, 2006, 04:42 AM

I don't drink caffeine except in coffee, as I don't like softdrinks/pop/soda (call it what you will). I am not convinced that caffeine is that bad for you, unless you have some other medical problem that would predicate limiting caffeine in your diet. See the following recent articles from the Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cof...health/AN01354
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/NU00600
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-pressure/AN00792

MariaAZ · April 28th, 2006, 08:10 AM

I started drinking coffee about 10 or so years ago, and I don't think my hair's rate of growth has changed. My hair may have gotten thinner (*I* think it has, others don't) but that could also be age-related.

Regardless, the only way I'm giving up my coffee is when someone pries it from my hands!

zule · April 28th, 2006, 08:22 AM

No, I never heard of this. However, when I was going to cut down on coffee, my doctor told me to withdraw slowly since that might trigger migraines. In fact, some migraine meds (Fiorinal, Fioricet, Esgic) have caffeine in them. So I did withdraw slowly to two cups a day from ten or so. Ten's a lot of coffee!

VSkye · April 28th, 2006, 09:02 AM

I don't care for coffee at all, but sure do love my pop. I know caffeine dehydrates, so I *try* to drink even more water....or on a bad day...lol...sometimes another pop...

Ama · April 28th, 2006, 09:23 AM

10 is a lot of coffee, I could do it though. I try to limit myself to 2 cups, granted my 2 cups are those big starbucks travel mugs which are more than 2 cups each so I'm really drinking 4-5 cups if we want to get technical but we don't, so I drink 2 cups a day *smile*. As someone said earlier DRINK WATER. In between cups I guzzle the stuff, seriously. Me and my husband use cleaned-out 1.5 liter soda bottles and we fill them with water. I try to drink at least one of those bottles a day. Having just caffine, soda and sugar in your system is no good for you. I realized that drinking more water makes my skin look a lot better as well, less break outs and blackheads.

roxydarnit · April 28th, 2006, 09:56 AM

Well, no scientific clues here... but

I've been a coffee drinker all my adult life (OK - since my early teen years) and routinely have about 5 cups a day, plus an occasional espresso.

To be honest - I'd be in toruble if my hair got any thicker. (I know - terrible problem to have, yeah.)

As for slowed growth - one reason I stopped cutting & dying was that I was sick of having to have trims and recolor every four weeks because of fast growth.

So - I'm sure, like otehr things, it affects everyone differently - luckily, I'm not one of those who seems to have ill affects from caffeine.

(and also being a migraine sufferer - caffeine can be a trigger for some, a cure for others!)

Interesting though - made me think.

mugglemomof3 · April 28th, 2006, 10:07 AM

Dr. Pepper addiction here. Whenever I try to quit cold turkey - it's horrible. But even when I weaned myself a couple of years ago - I didn't notice any improvement in my health - but I did lose weight. Now it's diet all the way. I know, I know, the pop/chemicals is bad, I think it's my only vice though (no cigarettes, no alcohol, no sugar, no sex, no big-screen TV, no Tivo, no cats (my son's allergic) . . .)

so I'm not gonna give it up!

I have headaches that can only be remedied with Excedrin (which has caffeine as a main ingredient). Also my pms is controlled with Midol (caffeine also). Whether I've been drinking pop or not - I have to have caffeine/aceteminophin/aspirin mixed together to do any pain control.

So, hair or not, Yippee! for caffeine!

Rain · April 28th, 2006, 12:11 PM

I drink a minimum of three cups a day and it hasn't done anything to my hair growth.