Coffee Oil for Hair Growth? Two DIY Recipes

Coffee is one of those products where those who love it think it’s a miracle cure all for all of life’s ailments but those who are bit more skeptical think that it causes many ailments too. I’ve heard that it can help you lose weight (bullet proof coffee) or make you gain weight (caffeine making you want to eat more).

Whatever the truth is about it’s internal health benefits, when it comes to hair and beauty, the benefits of coffee are a lot clearer. Coffee is full of antioxidants and the caffeine is an excellent stimulator which increases blood flow to the hair and scalp thereby boosting hair growth. There are in fact many hair loss or hair thickening shampoos and treatments that use caffeine as their main stimulant.

Home made tea rinses are popular in the hair care community as they help combat and drastically reduce shedding but what I would like to share with you today is two recipes that focus more on coffee. Coffee has roughly double the amount of caffeine that tea does so if you are dealing with a lot of shedding then coffee should be your first point of call to stop it in its tracks.

I love a good hair product recipe, and when I already have the ingredients required to make it already in my home, I’m even happier. The recipe is for a simple coffee oil. Why oil? Well we use oil extensively in our hair regimens for it’s moisture and shine boosting properties so it tends to be the natural place that we gravitate to. Plus coffee oil can be used a number of ways in your hair regimen.

Some people use it a light scalp oil/hair growth aid used though the week. I would not necessarily recommend this as I have seen some information that seems to suggest that caffeine while a great follicle stimulat over the short term will actually hamper hair growth if left in too long. Not to mention that you will have to go around with the slight whiff of coffee following you…..

Personally I much prefer to use it as a prepoo oil instead as I feel I can enjoy the usual benefits of a prepoo while getting in some caffeine scalp stimulation for just the right amount of time. Just apply the oil over your hair and massage into your scalp about 10-20 minutes before you wash your hair.

There are two main ways to infuse oil with coffee. The hot fusion method or the cold fusion method but it is really a lot less complicated than it sounds. Essentially, just like with brewing coffee with hot brewing or cold brewing, you are just trying to extract the goodness from the coffee grounds with either heat or time. Check out the recipes:

Coffee Oil Hot fusion Method

➤ Combine 1/2 cup of ground organic coffee beans with 1 cup of your favorite oil in a pan. I like extra virgin olive oil*, sunflower oil* or coconut oil*.

➤ Heat up on very low heat stirring every now and again for 20-30 minutes. You want the oil to begin to look dark and glossy.

➤ Strain the oil. I suggest a coffee filter or cheesecloth because a regular kitchen strainer will still let a lot of grounds through.

➤ Store in a suitable bottle.

Cold Fusion Method

This is where time and patience comes in:

➤ Combine 3/4 cup of organic ground coffee with 1 cup of your favorite oil in a jar. For the cold fusion method I would suggest a liquid oil like olive* rather than a solid fat like coconut oil*.

➤ Cover and shake the jar to combine the ingredients.

➤ Store in a cool dry place for a minimum of 2 weeks or even up to 4 weeks. Shake the jar every few days to ensure maximum extraction.

I am not a patient soul so I have only ever done the hot fusion method but I would imagine that the cold fusion method left long enough is probably likely to extract more of the caffeine from the coffee.

Still like I mentioned before, the amount of caffeine isn’t nearly as important as how long it is actually left in your scalp for.

BONUS RECIPE

For those of you who would like to see if your hair benefits from the coffee experience without wasting oil to find out, a simple coffee rinse/spray should be right up your street.

Just brew 1 cup of strong coffee and allow it to cool. To apply you can either use it as a rinse in which case you would pour the coffee into a jug, dilute with some warm water and while standing in the shower, stream the mixture through your hair while massaging your scalp with your other hand. Let it sit for a couple of minutes while you attend to other shower duties then rinse and move on with the rest of your wash routine.

Another option is to pour the brewed cup of coffee into a spray bottle and spritz the mixture directly on your scalp before rinsing. You might find this method more to your liking if you have light colored hair because coffee will stain light hair!

You can use any of these recipes once or twice a week during your wash days with no adverse effects.

Happy hair growing!