Caffeine

[ka-feen, kaf-een, kaf-ee-in]

Categories: Antioxidants, Plant Extracts

Benefits:
Antioxidants
Under Eye Bags
Dark Circles

Caffeine is most typically known as a central nervous system stimulant reducing physical fatigue and preventing drowsiness, however, it has many different holistic values and uses when it comes to treating and preventing ailments.

Caffeine is extracted from plants. It is an alkaloid derived from coffee, kola, guarana beans, tea or maté leaves (tree from South America). Chemically, the molecule of Caffeine is a puric base, derived from xanthine. It is also called guaranine, methyl bromide or trimethyl-1,3,7 xanthine.

Caffeine has been observed in medical research studies where it is used as a major ingredient for slimming creams due to its effectiveness in penetrating the skin barrier to be able to reach wherever fat protrusions occur.1 Because of this, it is widely used in many commercial skin products targeted towards treating cellulitis; however the direct impact of caffeine on cellulite when in skincare cosmetics still remains controversial.

Caffeine’s ability to penetrate the skin barrier, in addition to promoting the body’s antioxidants makes it an ideal ingredient to seek for any topical treatments. Antioxidants are molecules that help prevent the chain reaction that causes cell damage.2 In addition it is a widely used ingredient such as in eye creams, as it reduces the appearance of under eye bags and dark circles.

  1. Byun, Sang-Young, Soon-Hyo Kwon, Su-Hak Heo, Jae-Seong Shim, Mi-Hee Du, and Jung-Im Na. "Efficacy of Slimming Cream Containing 3.5% Water-Soluble Caffeine and Xanthenes for the Treatment of Cellulite: Clinical Study and Literature Review." Annals of Dermatology Ann Dermatol 27.3 (2015): 243. PubMed. Web. 12 Jan. 2016
  2. Agudelo-Ochoa, G. M., I. C. Pulgarin-Zapata, C. M. Velasquez-Rodriguez, M. Duque-Ramirez, M. Naranjo-Cano, M. M. Quintero-Ortiz, O. J. Lara-Guzman, and K. Munoz-Durango. "Coffee Consumption Increases the Antioxidant Capacity of Plasma and Has No Effect on the Lipid Profile or Vascular Function in Healthy Adults in a Randomized Controlled Trial."Journal of Nutrition (2016): n. pag. PubMed. Web. 11 Feb. 2016