caffeine shampoos?

[Pick-a-Lily]

Does anyone have an opinion on whether these work for post menopausal thinning hair? Alpecin and Plantur 39 are the ones I've seen on offer.
My hair has always been baby fine and not very abundant - it was never my crowning glory, even at it's best, but since the menopause it has gone very thin, especially on top and I have to be quite artful at styling to make it look anywhere decent.
I keep it short, trimmed regularly, and use volumising products, but I've read a bit lately about these caffeine shampoos and wondered if anyone here might have tried them out or have any recs?

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

Nobody? ...

 

[dollydimple]

I've only tried the Hairfix Follicle Plus shampoo and conditioner which I've only recently (about 2-3 weeks) bought from QVC. It's too soon to see if it's working at the moment ie promoting growth. It does make my hair feel a bit thicker ( not much, though) but at the expense of the shine, IMO. Jury is still out to be honest.

I have wondered about the other brands you mentioned and if they are better, or if they are all much the same. Sorry, not much help.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

Thanks for the response dd. I went to Boots earlier and bought some Alpecin on the 3 for 2 haircare offer. It was the cheaper of the two options - Plantur 39 was considerably more expensive. I bought 2 bottles of the shampoo and one bottle of the caffeine lotion (because they only had two bottles of shampoo left and I wanted my freebie!).
I shall now trial it myself and will report back.
I'm not expecting miracles, but anything to make things look a bit fuller, paticularly on the top, will be very welcome!

 

[dollydimple]

Ooh, that would be good to know how you find it.

There are conflicting reports on all the products, aren't there? I always live in hope that 'the next one' I buy will be the wonder product....

I tried the trial size Taya Copaiba resin shampoo, conditioner and elixir this morning. Loved the fragrance and it left my hair really soft and shiny but not much more body. Perhaps I need to use a bit more of the elixir before I dry it. I was a bit cautious as I thought it may be too gloopy. However, not at all sticky so I'll try that again when I next wash my hair. Might alternate with the Hairfix stuff.

 

[dollydimple]

Ps. The Taya doesn't have caffeine in it, I just tried it because it was supposed to be volumising.

 

[donna255]

The Hairfix serum is the one they bang on about on QVC, the shampoo and conditioner are just accompaniments to it.

To be honest if something really worked then all the other brands would go out of business.

 

[dollydimple]

The Hairfix serum is the one they bang on about on QVC, the shampoo and conditioner are just accompaniments to it.

To be honest if something really worked then all the other brands would go out of business.

Yep, I've got that as well, been using it for a few weeks before I tried the shampoo etc :blush:

You are right, there is nothing that works 100%. There may be some improvement for some users but I think it's usually - well in my case - buying hope in a bottle.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

I used the Alpecin shampoo this morning. It's very strongly fragranced - a smell like a man's cheap aftershave, and really quite unpleasant. I left it on as long as I could stand the stink - a couple of minutes is recommended - to allow it to sink in. It's packed with menthol & limonene, and stings like Billy if it gets on your face or, God forbid, in your eyes. I also used the caffeine lotion afterwards, (which also stings!) before drying and styling. My hair looks and feels ok afterwards, but I don't think I could bear the smell of the stuff long term.
I'll report back in a week or two.
Like I said, I'm not expecting miracles, but there is some eveidence to say the follicle absorbs topical caffeine, and that it encourages the hair to stay in the growing phase for longer than usual, thus slowing down the process of loss.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

Ok, so I have been using the Alpecin for a week so far.
My hair looks and feels no different.
However, I do believe that less hairs are falling out. I can tell because there is usually a great number of hairs on my towel after blot drying my hair, and for the past few days there have been hardly any.
I hate the smell of the stuff, it's vile (think the Lynx effect!).
I've also come to the conclusion that it'll have to be either the shampoo or the lotion, not both together, as I have found I am sleeping very badly since I started using it, and I can only think it's down to the caffeine, even though I only use it in the morning.
I will carry on for a while longer and will report back in a week or two.

 

[merryone]

I bought some for my husband some years back, I don't know how much they charge for it now, but it was really expensive might have been as much as £6, but when he read the instructions he noticed that you had to use it on a daily basis and that you'd also need to use it for a few weeks before you possibly noticed any sort of result and he pretty much decided that he didn't want to start washing his hair every day or spending that sort of money on shampoo - So I took it back unopened and got my money back. Look forward to your verdict though!

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

I already washed my hair daily, so that wasn't an issue for me. I think the Alpecin is marketed more towards men, and the Plantur 39 towards women (and is significantly more expensive!). The packaging and 'fragrance' of the Alpecin is distinctly masculine. And yes, it is expensive, even on 3 for 2 at Boots. If it helps though, I will consider it money well spent. I think it will be a couple of months or more before I can expect to draw a proper conclusion.
I think if you didn't need to wash your hair daily, you could get away with using the lotion only on days when you weren't washing it.

 

[dollydimple]

Thanks for the update.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

Time for a little update on the Alpecin shampoo. Of course, I realise that this experiment of mine is totally unscientific, but I will say that there are definitely less hairs on my towel and hairbrush since I started using this stuff daily. I generally count half a dozen or so hairs on my towel each morning these days, whereas previously there would be too many to count. I cleaned my hairbrush at the start of the experiment, so I can see exactly how much hair has come out on the brush since I began, and it is not very much at all.
I have been using it regularly for about 4 weeks now, I think my hair looks pretty good although not spectacularly so - no-one has passed comment yet, so perhaps the change is not noticeable to others. (I've not mentioned my trial to anyone I know in 'real life'). I'm due a visit to the hairdressers soon, so it will be interesting to see if she can see any difference.
I still hate the smell of it, and I think I might try the Plantur 39 to see if it's any more acceptable, and whether it's worth the extra cash, but if it isn't I guess I can live with the Alpecin.
I tried the lotion, but I now only use the lotion if I'm not washing my hair that day - which is an unusual event. I found if I used both shampoo & lotion on the same day I would have trouble sleeping at night, so I think this is further evidence that the caffiene is absorbed through the scalp.
Now, off on a bit of a tangent, although still relative to the topic. A few years ago I heard of a clinic in London which did specialist extensions and weaves for ladies with hair loss. I emailed them at the time to enquire about their services, but unfortunately they were only available in London, which would have made the regular maintenance costly and awkward. However, I recently saw them mentioned in the press and looked them up again. I'm pleased to say that, apparently due to huge demand, they now have clinics in different regions of the country, including one in Manchester which would definitely be accessible for me, so if things deteriorate further I will be visiting them for a consultation.
http://www.lucindaellery-hairloss.co.uk/

 

[dollydimple]

I was thinking of you the other day and how you were getting on, thanks for the update :mysmilie_59:

I might give this a try.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

I have been to the hairdressers. I purposely didn't mention my experiment because I wanted to see if she noticed anything. I have been using the same hairdresser for around 20 years, so she is very familiar with my hair. She's pretty pricey by local standards (£35 for a trim & blowdry) but the reason I stick with her is that she is a really good cutter and can make my rather weedy hair look pretty decent.
Before shampooing, she always sits me in front of the mirror to talk about how it has been behaving since the last appointment. She ran her fingers through it and said 'It's grown a bit weighty on the top, which is pulling it down, it needs a good re-shaping'. Sweet music to my ears!
Now I have to say, what we are talking about here is very subtle change. You would not walk past me in the street and think 'Oooh, what lovely hair!', but I am convinced it's looking better than it did a couple of months ago. So if anyone is thinking about it, I would say it's definitely worth a punt. I am still working through my first bottle of Alpecin, and I reckon there's another week left in it, so it has not been a costly exercise.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

So, almost two weeks gone by since my last post, and I am still working on my first bottle of Alpecin. In terms of value for money, it seems pretty good.
Hair is looking pretty good actually, certainly seems a bit fuller and falls easily into place after washing and a blast with the dryer. (I don't use conditioner, ever, because my hair's soooo fine it looks like a pound of candles within hours if I put any extra weight on it).
However, the past couple of days I have felt a familiar 'tingle' on the scalp, and found myself scratching my head. I think I'm becoming sensitive to something in the shampoo. It's no surprise, this has happened to me before with other shampoos, and this Alpecin is very heavily 'fragranced' - and I use that term in the loosest possible association, cos it absolutely stinks, as I've said many times.
Sadly, I think I'm going to have to look for an alternative, as I know from experience that if I ignore these early signs I will end up with a full scale eczema flare up. The old formulation of Ojon shampoo (dry hair) was the only one I was able to use long term with no problems, and I've never dared try it since they changed the formula.
I might be tempted by the upcoming Hairfix TSV if it is reasonably priced. Dollydimple, how are you getting on with it?

 

[dollydimple]

Thanks for the update P-A-L, so annoying when things seem to be going ok then there's a setback.

To be honest, I haven't used the Hairfix set for about 3 weeks. I just didn't like the way my hair felt or looked - it didn't feel or look clean it did not give me much incentive to continue using it. When I was using it, I thought I had less hair loss in the sink and in my brush but I was still obviously loosing as my GTech could prove. I use the vac several times a day and was shocked how much of my hair it had picked up from the carpet and wrapped round the vac beater bar, which I clean regularly

The Hairfix serum, well, I keep forgetting to use it - I think I should keep it at the side of the bathroom sink to remind me last thing at night. I didn't find it sticky or anything when I did use it.

Perhaps I need to persevere with all the items more.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

Thanks DD. I'll wait and see how the price looks on TSV day.
Not sure what I am going to use in the meanwhile - I'm down to the last dregs of my pre-Estée Ojon stash, but looking in the mirror this morning, I can see my scalp is red and inflamed. :sad:

 

[dollydimple]

I've just realised I put serum - it's not, it's a gel, the follicle plus.