Effect of Caffeine and Testosterone on the Proliferation of Human Hair Follicles In Vitro

January 2007 in “ International Journal of Dermatology ”

Tobias W. Fischer, U.‐C. Hipler, Peter Elsner

caffeine testosterone human hair follicles androgenetic alopecia Ki-67 staining AGA

TLDR Caffeine can stimulate hair growth and counteract testosterone's suppressive effects on hair follicles.

The study investigated the effects of testosterone and caffeine on human hair follicles in vitro, using samples from 14 male patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA). It was found that testosterone at a concentration of 5 µg/ml significantly suppressed hair follicle growth. However, this suppression was counteracted by caffeine at concentrations of 0.001% and 0.005%, which also independently stimulated hair follicle growth. These findings, confirmed by Ki-67 staining, suggested that caffeine could be a potential stimulator of hair growth and might have clinical implications for managing AGA.

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