Have you seen the shampoo called Thicker Fuller Hair? It’s by Dr Hoting Thickening Solutions and contains caffeine which, the label eludes, will “energize” your hair. Dr Hoting Thickening Solutions appears to be a division of the German company, Schwarzkopf (schwarzkopf.de) which is owned by the Henkel company (Henkel.com).
Caffeine does wake people up but does caffeine wake up hair? In other words, does caffeine make hair stand up or add fullness, thickness or body to hair? I was curious so I wanted to take a close look at Thicker Fuller Hair to see if there is anything to this.
If you go to ThickerFullerHair.com you see there there are several products. I want to focus only on the shampoo since that’s what I see the most in stores. Specifically I’m only interested in the “Caffeine Energizer” that is displayed prominently on the front of the bottle.
The ingredient Cell-U-Plex is said to be the secret sauce in the shampoo that’s supposed to make hair thicker and fuller. The caffeine has been added to Cell-U-Plex to make it work better – at least that’s what I get from reading the Thicker Fuller Hair website.
The website says that Dr Hotings Caffeine Energizer is supposed to invigorate and energize the scalp. Well, I bought a bottle to try it out. I didn’t feel any tingling in my scalp and I don’t think my hair (what I have left) seems anymore energized or invigorated than when I use other shampoos. It’s not a bad shampoo. It cleans your hair like it’s supposed to. But I can’t notice any effect from the caffeine.
But my feelings dont matter. The important thing is can we find any science that caffeine helps hair? Specifically:
- Does caffeine make hair thicker or fuller?
- Does caffeine stop hair loss?
Well, the Thicker Fuller Hair website doesn’t list any proof that caffeine helps hair. So I did some digging and to my suprise I did find some reserach on caffeine and hair.
Current thinking about baldness is that men lose their hair becuase DHT or dihydrotestosterone (a form of testosterone) shrivels up hair follicles, causing hair to get thinner and eventually fall out.
One study published in 2007 noticed that caffeine not only reduced the suppression of hair growth by testosterone treatment, but also that caffeine seemed to stimulate hair follicle growth.
This study did not use shampoo. Rather the researchers treated the hair follicles of 14 men with testosterone (which reduced hair growth) and again with caffeine which not only counteracted the effect of testosterone but also seemed to cause some hair follicle growth. The hair growth was seen in a test tube -not on the head. 
In another caffeine hair growth study published in 2007, it was found that a shampoo containing caffeine does indeed penetrate hair follicles. The shampoo was left on for 2 minutes. This study does not seem to have tested if the shampoo stopped hair from falling out.
Thicker Fuller Hair does not tell us how much caffeine is in the shampoo and I could not find any instructions about how long to leave the shampoo on the head.
Who is Dr Hoting?
I was curious who Dr Hoting was since his name is displayed on the shampoo bottle. According to the Schwarzkopf website his name is Dr Edo Hoting. According to Schwarzkopf, he is a dermatologist. I did turn up scientific studies that had his name so he is a scientist and researcher.
So what can we make of all of this? Well, there are a couple of studies (I could only find 2) hinting that caffeine may play a role in slowing hair loss, and maybe that caffeine may help hair regrow. This is interesting but no study so far shows that any caffeine shampoo stops or slows hair loss in people who use the shampoo regularly.
The company that makes Thicker Fuller Hair shampoo doesn’t specifically claim its caffeine helps hair loss, but the statement that caffeine invigorates and energizes the scalp, makes me think they want people to believe caffeine has some stimulatory effect. As I said, my scalp feels no different when I use Thicker Fuller Hair. It’s a fine shampoo but does it help hair loss any better than pouring diet Coke on your head?
What do you think?
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
This is pretty interesting. I wonder if a simple mix of caffeine powder and regular shampoo would work just as well.
I wonder if having a cup of coffee would be a cheaper and more effective way of getting caffeine to the hair follicles…
Dave, its an interesting idea. I wonder if pouring coffee on the head might work as well?
Joe
Have you heard of any supplements or treatments that help beard growth for an otherwise normal male?
AJ, I’m not sure of any supplements that will help beard growth. In theory Minoxidil might help some if you rubbed it on your face. A dermatologist would probably know the answer on this better than me though.
AJ-
There is a supplement called “Hair, Skin, and Nails” by Nature’s Bounty that can be found in any drugstore. They come in regular and extra strength (the extra strength contains more biotin, which is something the body makes naturally for hair, skin, and nail health, but an increased dosage increases the speed that hair and nails grow and makes skin “glow”) I’ve been taking these supplements for about 3 weeks and have noticed a slight increase in the rate that my fingernails grow, but that’s about it.
It usually takes months before any noticeable difference occurs when taking supplements anyway. Other reviewers, though, claim that it works wonders for growing thicker, longer hair, and the female reviewers say that they notice the difference most with leg hair and eyebrows, because the hair grows back faster than it did before taking supplements. Some even claim it lengthens and thickens eyelashes. So if that’s true, it would probably work for facial hair too.
Hope that helped a bit.
My wife uses the Shielo Volume Shampoo to give her volume, and when I started using it and it has really thickened my hair and made it stronger. It has biotin in it which makes each follicle stronger so the hairs have really stopped falling out. It works much nicer than regular shampoo and doubles as a great face wash.
I was devastated when the only shampoo that gave me volume and body no longer sold it. I was looking for a decent substitute with no success, until I tried Cell-U-Plex. Since using my first bottle, my hair has been more manageable, without having fly-away straggles around my ears, as all other shampoos did.
I couldn’t find it any longer in the store where I bought it, so looked online to see if I could find out where it was sold. Apparently Walgreens has it. If so, I am delighted to have found it!
how can i buy this shampoo no stores have them were i live i live in lake in the hills can u help me
Joey, you can always try Ebay or Amazon
Im only 24 yrs old and i have really really thin hair on the side of my head where my temples are. It looks like i have a bald spot. Are there any ideas of what to use to fill in any hair thats missing?
April, have you told your doctor about your thinning hair? just want to rule out any possible medical issues. If you are “healthy” I’m not aware of anything but there are hair thickening gels and creams that might help. A hair stylist may have a better idea. Do talk to your doctor first though, just to cover all your bases.
I’m a 23 year old female with extremely THICK hair. (My mama compares it to horse hair.) I never dye it. I seldom cut it. When it gets to… about… the top of my ass crack, I chop it off – up to my shoulders for Locks of Love. My hair donation usually makes at least one more wig then the average hair donation. I would love to find something to make my hair a little thicker, so I didn’t have to cut off so much length. I bought the Shampoo and Serum, haven’t tried it. But this forum poured down rain on my parade. (Only because of the reviews about the product.)
Bad product. Made my hair thin and stringy. Leaving shampoo on your head is bad news, has the same ingredients as paint stripper. Sodium Laurel Sulphate.
mets, good observation. sodium laurel sulfate is in a lot of shampoos and other products.
I am so devastated !!!!!!!! After reading several entries about this shampoo , I too suffer from really fine, limp hair . I noticed my hair was thinning with age. I went into wal greens looking to find a solution and came across dr. Hotings shampoo and decided to give it a try , as I surely did NOT want to lose any more hair…….Well…….. forget that idea!
This shampoo completely dried my hair out so bad that it started breaking ….. all while I was using 2 conditioners….. not even a hotoil treatment seemed to help….. I am so devastated ! I would NOT , NOT, NOT, recommend this product to ANY living creature!!!
I do need to add that it is STILL breaking off and my shoulder length hair is now 4-5 inches on top of my head!
C dixon, try some biotin. It doesn’t grow hair but it may help it grow a little faster. Also look at what you are eating. sometimes a very low fat diet can have an effect on hair. Thyroid problems can also play a role.
Joe is right C Dixon. Diet can have a lot to do with hair and also the thyroid. I’ve had three friends that went with Weight Watchers and all three lost a LOT of hair along with weight. It stopped when they started adding some fat to their diet. I’m pushing 70 so mine is most likely old age.
I started using Thicker Fuller Hair about six months ago. I have not grown more hair but the falling out has stopped. I purchased the moisture shampoo and the cream rinse plus the root lifter and the hair spray all from Thicker Fuller Hair. My hair has actually come back to life and has so much more body even though it is much more thinner than it has ever been.
I have very thin hair on the top and sides of my head I am trying thicker Fuller hair along with vitamin b supplements I already see some improvement I only hope it continues
Although in laboratory circumstances caffeine may have an effect, in real life this is quite different. Caffeine in a shampoo can not penetrate the skin during a washing cycle. It will have no effect on hair growth whatsoever.
Do not get fooled. Products like this are fraudulent and companies that market them should be seized and their assets sold and their management should be put behind bars.
Join the Long Hair community boards. They have a lot of members talking about caffeine on the scalp. Most of us just brew and pour it on as a final rinse. Trouble is it can stain the hair. Some girls found it worked (a lot of maintenance) and others found no change. I personally wouldn’t buy it.
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