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.
Prevention and reversing premature white 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.
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.
The type and amount of melanin determines each person's hair colour. Melanin is produced by melanocyte cells. These cells are located in the (deepest) basal layer of the skin, just above the hair papilla (the bottom part of the hair follicle).
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.
Dr. Kraleti doesn't recommend plucking or pulling the hairs out. “If there is a gray hair you must get rid of, very carefully cut it off. Plucking can traumatize the hair follicle, and repeated trauma to any follicle can cause infection, scar formation or possibly lead to bald patches.”
They found that the timing and extent of grayness depend on genetics and ethnic heritage — and that your chances of going half gray at 50 are less than 24 percent.
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.
Aside from the time investment of a salon session, there's how long it takes to fully transition to gray hair, which is anywhere from six months to a year, Ferrara says.
Just like the hair on the head, the hair on the rest of the body, including the pubic area, is subject to graying. As people age, their skin produces less melanin. Melanin is the pigment responsible for giving skin and hair its color.
Your amount and rate of graying age are related to your ethnicity (Caucasians tend to go gray earlier than Asians and African-Americans), as well as your family history.
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.
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.
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.
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. Opinions about gray hair vary, but understanding why it happens can help change the narrative around gray hair. After all, it's a natural aging process.
Normal aging is the biggest culprit.
Dermatologists call this the 50-50-50 rule. "Fifty percent of the population has about 50% gray hair at age 50," says Dr. Anthony Oro, professor of dermatology at Stanford University. And like skin, hair changes its texture with age, says Dr.
"Ensure you have an adequate level of Vitamin D3 and Vitamin B12, since deficiencies in either of these may accelerate graying," explains Lain. Other important micronutrients for healthy hair include vitamin E, vitamin A, zinc, iron, copper, selenium and magnesium.
"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.
And only a small percentage found their first grays over age 40: 5.87% – 41-45 years old. 2.85% – 51-55 years old. 0.95% – 56 – 65 years old.
Seventy-four percent of people between the ages of 45 and 65 have grey hair, with an average intensity of 27%. Within this age group, men have more grey hairs than women. The age at which hair begins to turn grey and the increase in grey hair with age appear to be clearly linked to ethnic and geographical origin.
Stress can cause hair to gray prematurely by affecting the stem cells that are responsible for regenerating hair pigment. The findings give insights for future research into how stress affects stem cells and tissue regeneration.
There's a commonly held belief that if you pluck it, many more grays will follow in its wake. This is actually a myth—what you do to a single strand can't spread like contagion.
Substantially More Grey Hair
om weak or dead hair follicles, lack of a proper sleep cycle can also cause your hair to grey faster than it would normally. That's because the hormonal imbalance that follows when you're not sleeping properly, makes your body produce less eumelanin, the pigment that makes your hair black.