Gray hair is thinner than hair with natural color because its cuticle is thinner. Your hair needs that natural protection from water, ultraviolet rays from the sun, humidity, chemicals, and heat styling. Without that barrier, your hair loses water. So your gray will feel dry, fragile, and coarse.
Gray hairs are thicker and wirier, so your hair gets coarser as they multiply. You can't do anything to stop graying -- it's something you inherit. But you can tame gray hair with a good hairstyle and special care.
Premature graying hair and hair loss can be linked. However, one is not a sign that the other will occur. And, if both are happening, there may not be a link. In other words, it is important to look at other factors and determine what cause may be impacting your hair the most.
Gray hair isn't more coarse than colored hair.
Gray hair is actually finer than colored hair, but it may seem drier because our scalps produce less oil as we get older.
Gray hairs are indeed unusual, and not only because of their color. Gray hair is stiffer and more wiry than hair rich in pigment. Exactly why this is the case is not fully understood. Gray hair has reduced levels of melanin, which is the pigment that gives hair and skin its color.
Gray hair has a different texture because your hair loses the pigment or melanin and the hair follicle doesn't produce as much sebum. 3 The sebum is the oil your body naturally produces to hydrate your hair. As a result, gray hair often feels more coarse, dry, and wiry, but using the right hair products can help.
Morris elaborates: “Gray and grey are both correct. The only difference between these two spellings is regional. Gray (with an 'a') is more common in American English. Grey is more typical of British English.
Gray hair is thinner than hair with natural color because its cuticle is thinner. Your hair needs that natural protection from water, ultraviolet rays from the sun, humidity, chemicals, and heat styling. Without that barrier, your hair loses water. So your gray will feel dry, fragile, and coarse.
Melanin and Sebum
There's a reason for this sudden texture change. "When your body stops generating melanin, hair goes gray, silver, or white and follicles produce less sebum (which is the natural oil that hydrates hair)," explains colorist and R+Co Collective member, Richy Kandasamy.
Generally, the rule of thumb is the darker the hair the thicker it is. Individuals with black and brown hair typically have thicker hair strands but an overall lower density of hair. While blonde hair individuals usually have finer hair strands but a high density of those hairs.
More Breakage
It's simple fact of life that gray hair is more fragile and finer. This is due to the cuticle being thinner, which provided a protective layer, than when your hair had pigment. So using a delicate hand when styling and avoiding hot tools is important.
A lot of women find that gray hair makes them look younger because of the flattering glow that silver hair gives to the complexion.
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.
Gray or white hair is generally longer and thicker than black hair: Just think about that one long white eyebrow hair of yours that sticks out annoyingly past all the others and keeps growing back, hydra-like, when you pluck it out.
Along with pigmentation changes, gray hair loses moisture due to less sebum production. This causes the cuticles to weather and becomes porous, causing dryness and frizz (1). This is a natural process, and that is why you have to be extra careful with aging hair.
“Have a diet which is rich in iron and iodine as their deficiency can lead to thinning and greying hair problems. Foods such as beetroot, spinach, jaggery, and dates can help you a great deal,” says Shah.
Gray hair comes down to melanin, or rather the lack of melanin. Melanin is the pigment that gives hair its color. Gray hair has reduced melanin, while white hair completely lacks it.
It's normal for grays to grow in with a different curl texture. It happens because the slowed oil and melanin production in the hair affects its chemical structure.
The age you go gray is determined primarily by genetics, so if one or both parents went gray at an early age, you would be more likely to go gray at a younger age as well. Smoking can also accelerate color change, and early graying could be a sign of autoimmune, thyroid or heart disease.
Don't assume that grey hair makes you look older
Hair naturally loses pigment as we age, but stylist Paul Falltrick points out that the notion that grey hair makes you look older is increasingly becoming a misnomer: "Grey shades can be stereotyped as ageing, but a clean-looking grey is stunning" he says.
Your scalp health will improve.
"Letting your hair go gray is an effective way to avoid exposing your scalp to toxic ingredients of hair dyes," says Monica Davis, a professional hairstylist and founder of Hair Scream. Instead, your scalp will be calm and free of any rouge dye stains.
Genetic factors, stress, hair dyes, and other factors may contribute. The human body has millions of hair follicles or small sacs lining the skin. The follicles generate hair and color or pigment cells that contain melanin. Over time, hair follicles lose pigment cells, resulting in white hair color.
Adding some colour will give the illusion of bulk. But again, it has to be cared for and it is best to seek professional advice. If hair is frizzy and flyaway then grey hair will be harder to control; colour will add weight and make hair sleeker and easier to manage.