A quick search online, and you will find lots of articles suggesting that beer used as a shampoo, hair mask, or rinse at home, can result in healthy, shiny locks and even promote hair growth. There are recipe suggestions for adding natural ingredients to flat beer – like honey, apple cider vinegar, or egg (as well as oils like jojoba) – to supposedly enhance its conditioning abilities. And in recent years, several new hair products have come to market containing beer, claiming to leave you with luscious, silky locks.
The alcoholic brew has long been popular among celebrities and stylists, as a part of a holistic hair care routine. In 2009 Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones revealed that she uses beer and honey to condition her beautiful, black mane, which fuelled enthusiasm for it.
Why would anyone think of putting beer on their hair in the first place?
It’s thought that two proteins in beer, malt and hops, may help nourish and strengthen your hair follicles. These beer proteins can bind with hair cuticles during washing, making them appear smoother and leaving your hair shinier after a wash.
Some claim that the protein binds to hair dehydrated from blow drying, straightening and harsh weather, and restores strength and body to it. Anecdotally, people have also claimed that beer can reduce dandruff, cure an oily scalp, minimise hair loss and restore scalp health. Beer is also rich in vitamin B, which can apparently make your hair look shiny when applied directly.
But there are a few things worth noting. Firstly, none of this has ever been proven in any kind of trial to my knowledge, so there is no scientific evidence for it. It appears the only research that has been done is by the companies making the products.
Online sources expound the nutritional benefits of beer such as its vitamin and mineral content, but it’s hard to see how that would make much difference when applied directly to hair. Even when beer is drunk, these nutritional benefits are minimal. A true vitamin B deficiency will turn out hair that is dry and brittle, and if that was the case, you’d probably need a multivitamin to take by mouth instead of a topical treatment.
Furthermore, the alcohol it contains is likely to be dehydrating, so how can it outweigh the benefits of the proteins as described above? And frankly, do you really want to carry around the smell of beer with you all day?
So in short, I personally won’t be tossing a can of stout over my hair anytime soon. Admittedly, I’ve never tried it, and I doubt it would do a lot of damage. But it seems like a wasteful use of a good brew… and perhaps drinking it would stop you worrying too much about your hair in the first place!
Read more:
- How fast does hair grow?
- How do you get healthy hair?
- My boyfriend is like a human Wookiee. Why are some guys so hairy?
- Here’s why nasal and ear hair become more prominent as you get older
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