Awake Organics Caffeine Shampoo (for hair growth)
Awake Organics Caffeine Shampoo is a water-activated powder containing ingredients to stop hair loss. Many customers are those using it to restore hair growth, after chemo treatment. Sold in a zero waste metal bottle.
Avoid caffeine shampoos if pregnant/nursing (caffeine can be absorbed into the bloodstream). Also avoid essential oils for pregnancy/nursing and allergies. Check medication as contains guarana seed. For adults only.
Infused with ingredients to promote healthy blood circulation at the scalp, it’s enriched with natural DHT blockers to prevent hormonal-related hair loss. Contains rosemary oil.
To use, just shake the bottle to loosen the contents over a folded tea towel. Shake a small amount into your wet palm, and rub hands together to form a paste. Lather into the roots of wet hair for 1 to 2 minutes, rinse and condition as usual.
You should see results within 12 weeks (one bottle is the same as 3 bottles of liquid shampoo).
Awake Organics offers other products for thinning hair. These include conditioners and a rosemary and black seed hair growth oil (this is massaged into the scalp and left for at least 45 minutes) before shampooing out. Or just add a few drops to your condition for extra hydration.
Due to essential oils, don’t leave this on hair overnight, if pets sleep on your bed (cats especially can’t break down aromatherapy oils in their liver).
Natural Remedies for Hair Loss
We all lose 50 to 100 hairs each day (at any one time, different hairs are dormant, growing or shedding). Over 15 million people in the UK have some kind of hair loss, whether that’s due to male pattern baldness, stress, nutritional deficiencies, pregnancy or drugs (like chemotherapy).
Male pattern baldness has affected around 80% of men by age 70, due to DHT (a chemical produced by testosterone). It nearly always affects the temple and crown of the head. There is no cure, so don’t worry – we love you as you are!
Female pattern baldness affects around 30% of women by age 70, and usually hormone-related (after menopause or due to stress). It tends to affect the top of the head.
Alopecia is a rare auto-immune condition where people lose all their hair (including eyebrows, eyelashes and body hair). Thankfully some well-known people affected (Gail Porter and Louis Theroux) have made it ‘okay to talk about’, if you don’t want to spend your life in wigs.
It can be genetics, but sometimes to do with thyroid conditions or lupus. Again it’s nearly always incurable.
Post-partum hair loss is common (nutrients needed for your baby are directed there, rather than for your hair). It’s nothing to worry about, and hair grows back soon after.
Tips to Help Prevent Common Hair Loss
If your hair loss is not due to male pattern baldness or alopecia, there are a few things you can do:
Don’t scrape hair into tight ponytails (this causes tension alopecia, common in ballet and ballroom dancers, as too much stress is placed at the hair line (people with African-African hair can also suffer, due to trends for tight braids and dreadlocks).
Leave your hair loose when possible, or make loose ponytails with plastic-free hair ties.
Relax! Stress can ‘push hair follicles’ into the resting phase, where they stay before falling out. If ‘growing hairs’ slow down, you could lose up to 300 hairs a day (compared to the average 100).
Common in people who have had Covid (and people who worry!) do what makes you feel good – sleep, walks, pray, yoga etc.
Give up fags and booze. Smoking cigarettes can double chances of early-onset alopecia (as can alcohol) due to increasing free radicals, and depriving hair follicles of vitamins and minerals. Read our posts on how to give up smoking and help for alcohol addiction.
There’s no point taking supplements to grow your hair, if you are smoking and drinking vitamins and minerals away, it’s a waste of your time and money.
Plastic-free brushes and combs circulate oils, rather than tearing the hair shaft. You don’t need oils, just massage your scalp for 5 minutes a day, to stimulate hair follicles.
Choose natural shampoos and conditioners. There is some evidence that modern foaming agents (like sodium lauryl sulphate found in most shampoos – used as engine degreaser for industry) is too harsh, and could cause hair loss or slow hair growth). Also choose natural hair dyes for the same reason.
Cut your hair off! If your hair is very damaged from over-processing or too many hair dyes, often the damage travels up to the roots. In some cases, your best bet is to just bite the bullet, and chop your hair off short, and start again. Your hair will likely grow quicker!
