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.
Typically, white people start going gray in their mid-30s, Asians in their late 30s, and African-Americans in their mid-40s. Half of all people have a significant amount of gray hair by the time they turn 50.
The vast majority of people with gray hair have age-related graying. However, sometimes graying hair indicates an illness, especially if it occurs at a particularly young age. Health problems that may be heralded by gray hair include: vitamin B12 deficiency.
Previous studies have not shown a relationship between life span and gray hair, including whether late onset of gray hair predicts longevity. Some research, however, indicates that gray or white hair can be a sign of early heart disease, regardless of age.
Silvery strands are one of the more conspicuous signs of aging. That said, getting gray hair doesn't necessarily mean that you're closer to the end of your life span than anyone else your 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.
Grey hair and genetics
The average age for grey hair varies greatly, and one of the main causes of grey hair in your 20s is genetics. The age at which a person's hair turns grey is influenced by the IRF4 gene, and one specific variant (rs12203592) is a marker for premature greying.
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.
Is gray hair paternal or maternal? 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. The color of our hair is determined by the form of hair pigment that we have.
In this group, an average of 26 percent of their hair was grey. In 56 to 60 year olds, 86 percent of those studied had some grey and in the final category, from 61 to 65 year olds, 91 percent had grey hair, covering an average of 40 percent of their hair. ...
Despite the claims made online and by product marketers, it's not possible to reverse white hair if the cause is genetic. Once your hair follicles lose melanin, they can't produce it on their own. As melanin production slows, your hair turns gray, and then white when melanin production has completely stopped.
Many men and women experience hair loss and early graying when their hormones are no longer balanced. Hormone changes can occur for many reasons such as stress, significant weight loss or weight gain, an illness you've had, or pregnancy.
Pollutants and toxins can cause you to grey faster, according to the Library of Congress. These chemicals generate free radicals-or oxidative stress-that damage melanin production and speed hair aging, studies suggest. But once hair grows out of the follicle, it's dead, adds Dr. Day.
“Plucking a gray hair will only get you a new gray hair in its place because there is only one hair that is able to grow per follicle. Your surrounding hairs will not turn white until their own follicles' pigment cells die.”
There are no treatments that are proven to treat (or reverse) gray hair. As researchers learn more about how the graying process happens, they may develop effective medications and treatments for gray hair.
One popular myth is that hair loss in men is passed down from the mother's side of the family while hair loss in women is passed down from the father's side; however, the truth is that the genes for hair loss and hair loss itself are actually passed down from both sides of the family.
The pigment in our hair is caused by melanin— the same pigment that is also responsible for our skin color. Gray hair is caused by a loss in melanin, whereas white hair does not have any melanin at all. As you age, your hair produces less and less melanin that leads your hair to appear gray, and then eventually white.
When we casually observe via our eyes, we may feel that we have inherited most of our hair features from either our mom or dad. However, the reality is that we inherit equal volume of genetic information from both mom and dad.
Going gray is natural, and it's a normal part of aging. While you may not be able to reverse gray hair entirely, there are some ways you may be able to prevent it. We've answered some of your common questions so you can learn more about going gray.
Stress can cause hair to gray prematurely by affecting the stem cells that are responsible for regenerating hair pigment.
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.
While the study concluded that the average age for a woman to go grey is 33, it found redheads lose their colour at 30, brunettes at 32 and blondes at 35. For one in 10 women, those first grey hairs appear by the time they reach 21-years-old, while one in four women find their first grey by the age of 25.
It also found that one in 10 people over 60 had no grey hairs at all. Your race can play a part in when you start to notice the first signs of greying. In general, Caucasians start to go grey in their mid-30s, Asians in their late-30s, and Africans in their 40s.