Gray hair is one of the universal signs of advanced age. More likely than not, at some point in your life, your hair will start to go gray. Some individuals can maintain hair color well into their older age, but most do not.
But yes, it is uncommon for women in their 70s to not have any grey hair.
If genetics or aging is the cause, nothing can prevent or reverse the process. However, treating graying hair could allow color pigmentation to return if the loss is due to a medical condition.
Scientists still don't know why some people turn gray early, late, or not at all, although they suspect genes, nutrients and possibly the immune system play a role in depleting melanocyte stem cells.
The 80-year-old man who still has a full head of hair... and not one grey one. When strangers mistake him for a man 30 years younger, Ron Williamson doesn't turn a hair. He explains that he is in fact 80 - but his luxuriant dark-brown mane refuses to show any sign of age.
In those aged 56 to 60, 86 percent had some grey hair, with almost a third of their head having been covered. But not everyone in their 60s had grey hair. Researchers found that 91 percent of 61 to 65-year-olds have, on average, 40 percent of their hair going grey.
Typically, white people start going gray in their mid-30s, Asians in their late 30s, and Blacks in their mid-40s. Half of all people have a significant amount of gray hair by the time they turn 50.
"This is a predestined thing—it's genetic and can happen at any age." With that said, she cites the late thirties as the time at which pubic hair typically begins to gray. Some health factors, however, may accelerate the graying process, says dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD.
Your hair follicles produce less color as they age, so when hair goes through its natural cycle of dying and being regenerated, it's more likely to grow in as gray beginning after age 35. Genetics can play a role in when this starts.
The gene, IRF4, was known to affect color, but a new study is the first to pinpoint its unique role in the inexorable transition to shades of grey.
Grey hair has very little melanin, while white hair has no melanin at all. As you go through the aging process, your hair might turn grey before going completely white. For some, this process is so drastic that the hair simply turns silver and then white.
Dr. Jennifer Chwalek: The process of hair changing from darker color to white or gray with age is mainly due to genetics. It can be inherited from either parent.
In time, everyone's hair turns gray. Your chance of going gray increases 10-20% every decade after 30 years. Initially, hair is white. It gets its natural color from a type of pigment called melanin.
In the end, it's about the way you feel about yourself inside and out! Some women choose to put down the dye bottle at 30 and others continue well into their nineties. It's a matter of preference and a choice only you can make.
And it turns out that body hair can go gray just like the hair on your head. “Melanin pigments the hair, and with time, there is less melanin production, which turns hair gray,” says Kazin, who notes that the hair on your head goes gray faster, though.
However, the rate of hair colour loss is largely determined by your genes. The chances are that you will experience premature greying if your parents do. However, certain nutritional deficiencies and underlying medical conditions may play a role. In these cases, yes, white hair can turn black again.
But gray or white pubic hair? It can feel like a major surprise, though it's completely natural and normal, affecting "just about everyone who lives long enough," Donnica Moore, MD, a Chester, New Jersey-based gynecologist and president of Sapphire Women's Health Group, told Health.
Common causes of genital itching include contact dermatitis, jock itch, scabies, yeast infection, and folliculitis. Your healthcare provider can help you determine the cause and point you to the best treatment and prevention strategies.
"While it's a natural part of aging for most of us, not everyone automatically turns gray when they hit the age of 50," she says. "Some people in their 80s don't have gray hair yet, while others get white hair in their late teens," she adds.
A new study shows that stress really can give you gray hair. Researchers found that the body's fight-or-flight response plays a key role in turning hair gray. Your hair color is determined by pigment-producing cells called melanocytes.