Legend has it that Marie Antoinette’s hair turned gray overnight before she was executed in 1791. However, this myth is inaccurate, as hair that has already grown from the follicle cannot change color. In this report, we’ll discover the facts about graying hair.
The term “follicle” refers to the hair follicle, which consists of a group of cells growing in the scalp and producing the hair. A hair is made up of both a shaft and a root. The shaft is the visible part of the hair that emerges from the skin. The hair root lies within the skin and extends to the deeper layers, surrounded by the hair follicle—a sheath made of skin and connective tissue—connected to a sebaceous gland.
Causes of Gray Hair
1. Genetics
If you’re noticing white hairs at a young age, it’s likely that your parents or grandparents also had gray or white hair at an early age.
2. Stress
Everyone deals with stress occasionally. Chronic stress can result in sleep problems, anxiety, changes in appetite, high blood pressure, and gray hair.
Stress can impact your hair. A 2013 study found a link between stress and the depletion of cells in mouse hair follicles. Therefore, if you notice an increase in white strands, stress might be the culprit.
Researchers in a 2021 study found that people with gray hair were more likely to report stressful events than others.
3. Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune disease can cause early appearance of white hair when the immune system attacks the body’s cells. In cases of alopecia areata and vitiligo, the immune system can attack the hair and lead to pigment loss.
4. Thyroid Disorder
Hormonal changes caused by a thyroid problem—such as hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism—may be responsible for gray hair.
The thyroid gland, shaped like a butterfly and located at the base of the neck, helps control many bodily functions, such as metabolism. Thyroid health can also affect hair color. An overactive or underactive thyroid might produce less melanin in the body.
5. Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Early white hair can also signal a Vitamin B12 deficiency. This vitamin plays an integral role in your body, giving you energy and contributing to healthy hair growth and color.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with a condition called pernicious anemia, when the body cannot absorb enough of this vitamin. Your body needs Vitamin B12 for healthy red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the cells in your body, including hair cells. A deficiency can weaken hair cells and affect melanin production.
6. Smoking
There’s also a link between gray hair and smoking. A study conducted on 107 individuals found a link between “the emergence of gray hair before the age of 30 and cigarette smoking.”
Smoking cigarettes is known to increase the risk of lung cancer and heart disease. However, its long-term effects can extend beyond the heart and lungs to affect hair. Smoking leads to narrowed blood vessels, possibly reducing blood flow to hair follicles and causing hair loss. Moreover, toxins in cigarettes can damage parts of your body, including hair follicles, resulting in early white hair.
How Does Graying Occur?
The skin contains hair follicles, tiny sacs lining skin cells. Hair follicles have pigment cells producing a pigment called melanin. These cells give your hair its color. But over time, hair follicles can lose pigmentation, leading to white hair.
The Normal Age for Graying Hair
Dermatologist Jeffrey Benabio, based in San Diego, states to WebMD that hair turns gray when the color-producing cells stop producing pigment. Hydrogen peroxide, which naturally occurs in hair, can also build up and bleach the color.
Typically, graying begins in the mid-30s for Caucasians, late 30s for Asians, and mid-40s for people of African descent.
By the time they reach their 50s, half of all people are expected to have a considerable amount of gray hair.
When Is Graying Considered Early?
Caucasians with gray hair in their 20s are considered to have early graying. Turning gray before the age of 30 is deemed early for individuals of African descent.
Causes of Graying in Your 20s
- Genetics
- Stress
- Alopecia Areata
- Vitiligo
- Deficiencies in vitamins or minerals, such as calcium, copper, zinc, vitamin B12, iron, folic acid, and selenium
- Protein deficiency
Reducing the Risk of Graying in Your 20s
- Relieve stress through regular exercise, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, engaging in hobbies like reading or listening to music, deep breathing, or meditation, eating a healthy diet composed of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy products, and lean protein.
- Ensure you get enough protein, vitamins, and minerals.
Factors That Increase the Risk of Graying
1. Exposure to Ultraviolet Rays
Ultraviolet sun rays are a common source of oxidative stress, an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants. Free radicals are harmful substances that can destroy your cells.
Exposure to ultraviolet rays can damage the melanin in your hair follicles. Melanin absorbs free radicals, reducing hair pigmentation.
2. Chemicals and Heat
Damage from chemicals and heat can increase the risk of early gray hair. For example, chemicals in hair dyes can harm the structure of your hair. Additionally, heat from hair styling tools like hair dryers and straighteners cause damage.
Is There a Cure for Graying?
No proven treatments exist for graying hair. As researchers learn more about how graying occurs, they may develop effective medications and treatments for gray hair.
Currently, the best option for those wanting to cover gray hair is using hair dyes, which can be temporary or permanent depending on the type.
Can Graying Be Prevented?
The ability to reverse or prevent graying depends on the cause. If the cause is genetics, there’s nothing you can do to permanently prevent the color change or reverse it.
If you suspect a health issue, consulting a doctor to see if the condition is responsible for white hair is advisable. If the underlying health problem is treated, the color might return, but there are no guarantees.
According to one study, if thyroid issues cause graying, repigmentation may occur after hormone treatment. Taking doses or pills of vitamin B12 to correct a deficiency may also improve the health of hair follicles and restore natural hair color.
If gray hair appears due to stress or smoking, no evidence supports hair returning to its color after quitting smoking or relieving stress.
However, a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2021 showed that hair color, turned gray due to stress, can be restored upon eliminating stress.
Can Gray Hair Revert to Its Original Color?
Many people resort to dyeing suddenly appearing white hair. Yet, scientists in 2021 provide hope to many. It seems all some need to do is wait a bit for the graying to recede and the hair to return to its natural color.
Researchers at Columbia University in the US conducted the study and found a relation between graying hair and the individual’s exposure to stress and psychological pressures.
After defining 323 proteins responsible for determining hair color and tracking the psychological state of study volunteers, the researchers concluded that reducing stress leads to hair returning to its original color.
Using a high-precision scanning device, researchers discovered that gray hair returns to its original color in sync with experiencing lower levels of nervous stress.
The Psychological Condition and White Hair Color
Scientists have previously established a link between graying and psychological state, but this is the first time that evidence has been found for the potential of gray or white hair returning to its previous color in certain individuals. Prior to this study, cases had been recorded where this occurred but were considered rare, isolated studies, according to Scientific American.
Co-author of the study, dermatologist Ralph Paus of the University of Miami, suggests that these findings indicate a potential period when graying is likely more reversible than previously thought.
Study supervisor Ayelet Rosenberg finds the results unsurprising. The surprise lies in “the effect of vacation on the reverse process; one participant went on vacation, leading to 5 gray hairs reverting to color immediately afterward.”
Yet, further study is necessary to understand the mechanism by which white or gray color withdraws from hair. It is also unclear whether the reversal process, the return of original hair color, happens only in younger individuals or if it is inclusive of everyone, with other factors limiting it.
