According to the International Journal of Cosmetic Science (2006, 28. 343-347) men have another unfair advantage over women: coffee can make a man’s skin healthier. Ok, that statement may be a Beauty Brains’ exaggeration, but let us explain:
The article says that the same biochemical process that result in male patterned baldness can also cause an increase in moisture loss through the skin. There’s not much men can do to stop the hair loss part, but researchers found that the moisture loss can be lessened by topical application of a certain class of chemicals known as phosphodiesterase inhibitors.
And it so happens that caffeine belongs to this class of chemicals. So, these researchers did a study that showed that applying caffeine solutions to men’s skin improves their ability to retain moisture. How did they test this theory? Why, by using the “Severed Arm Submersion Tank” of course (see picture).
The bad news is that apparently women’s skin doesn’t respond to this kind of caffeine therapy. So that’s why The Beauty Brains, think it’s just another unfair advantage men have over women. But just imagine: if this really worked, every spa would have a Starbucks attached to it. Come to think of it, that sounds like a good idea anyway!
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Thats funny because my husband actually breaksout when he drinks coffee. Maybe it isn’t the actual coffee, but the cream that is causing him to break out! I don’t know, but I was writing a blog at http://www.medsocial.com where I was exploring this.
Whats funny about this article is that it advocates APPLYING the coffee to the skin. This actually reminds me of the old coffee colonic trick that is very popular in Asia.
My father is 40-something–no wrinkles, at ALL!, and a coffee a day!
although my aunts, his sisters, have wrinkle-free skin too, so maybe it’s got more to do with genetics in this case…
Yeah…it’s probably genetics.