Father and son make hair grow with magic beans

For years they were on the fringe of science. But now a Scottish father and son's obsession with the health-giving properties of green coffee beans is set to help women suffering the misery of hair loss - and earn them a multi-million-pound fortune.

Scientists Bill and Iain Forbes have been carrying out experiments on raw coffee beans after discovering they had properties which could stop women's hair from thinning, a problem which affects 50% of women by the time they are 50.

Now, after signing a "six-figure" contract with the major high street chemist Boots, the duo's product is expected to become a major seller when it hits the shelves next month.

Last week, Boots unveiled its Expert Hair Loss Treatment Spray for Women, which is said to improve the thickness of each individual hair and has been shown in trials to significantly increase hair growth.

But Scotland on Sunday can reveal the product was originally developed by the Edinburgh family.

Iain Forbes, a 45-year-old scientist with degrees in genetics and pharmacy, has worked in partnership with his father, a former heart surgeon, since 1995, helped occasionally by his mother Mima, who makes the tea and does the books.

Despite the fact neither of them suffers from baldness, their firm, Calscience International, has carried out countless experiments on green coffee beans, breaking several coffee grinders in the process, investigating its hair restoring properties.

While green tea is a renowned antioxidant, green coffee, the beans in their raw form, is twice as powerful, and over the years the Forbes realised it could stop hair thinning.

Although hair loss in men is common, around 50% of women also suffer some form of thinning as they age, often caused by hormones, stress or illness.

When colleagues in the scientific community mentioned their findings to senior researchers at Boots, they were invited to show the company their results.

After seven years of trials, the product will go on sale next month, and Calscience, which last year had assets worth just £16,000 has netted a lucrative contract from Boots plus royalties from every £20 pack that is sold.

Iain Forbes said: "This will change our company's position tremendously. We had been working on a shoestring budget because clearly research is expensive. Now hopefully this will change. It's a tremendous boost and it will raise our profile."

He added that he enjoyed working with his father: "We come from quite different aspects of science and we have different thought processes, which means we are able to spark ideas off each other. It has taken a long time to develop this product but we have to get these things right."

Applied to the roots of damp hair twice daily, Boots claims the results of applying the treatment should be seen after three months. Trials of the product at Glasgow University found 80% of women reported a significant improvement.

Although it is not yet clear exactly how the green coffee prevents baldness, it is known that hair loss in women is usually down to stress and hormonal change and properties in the beans soothe and calm inflammation. The spray also contains antioxidants and centella asiatica, a medicinal plant also known as Indian pennywort, which is also used in scar reduction.

Bill Forbes left a career as a cardiac surgeon in the 1980s in order to carry out his scientific research and his son decided to join him after spending 15 years studying science at university.

Although father and son and oldest brother Euan are scientists, Iain's younger brother David is a DJ on Saga radio.

Their laboratory, is based at King's Buildings close to Edinburgh University. The company is so small it cannot carry out trials itself and must contract out much of its work to bioscience companies and universities.

Although they have been concentrating on products for the hair care market they are also interested in developing new skincare products using natural ingredients, although they refused to disclose details.

Until now they have relied on small government grants to sustain their work.