Do you know an average hair grows 0.3 mm a day to 1 cm per month? Why our grandparent’s hair is white and gray when in their younger days, it was dark and different. As we get to the age of 50, we can see a lot of people have gray or silver hair on their heads. Gray hair or graying of hair is the process of turning your black hair into gray or silver color.
Table of contents
What determines the color of our hair?
Our hair is divided into two parts. The shaft is the outer colored part that we see and the root is the bottom part that keeps the hair anchored under the scalp. This root is surrounded by a tube of tissue under the skin called a follicle. These follicles contain pigment cells which make a chemical called melanin. This melanin is the one that gives the hair its color of brown, blonde, black, red, and anything in between. This pigment also determines the color of our skin. The shade of someone’s hair depends on the amount of melanin each hair has. The more the melanin, the darker the hair.
How does gray hair form?
Now we know, higher the production of melanin, the darker the color. So, as we grow old, the production of melanin decreases, and we start to lose the color in our hair from dark to gray to white. And finally, when there is no melanin in production, it starts to push out our white hair. This is a natural process.
How do we have blonde, red, and other color hairs?
There are two types of melanin. Eumelanin and Pheomelanin. Eumelanin is divided into brown eumelanin and black eumelanin is what we see in brunettes and darker-haired people. Pheomelanin is what we see in blonds and redheads (yellowish to reddish colors).
Factors responsible for the formation of gray hair
We can see that people can grow gray hair at any point in their life. Aging might be the topmost factor, but growing old is not the only factor. Some get it when they are young, some get it when they are in school, some don’t get it even if they hit their 40’s. Let’s explore other factors responsible for our gray hair.
Stress
Stress is one of the main factors contributing to our gray hair especially prematurely. Stress causes activation of the sympathetic nervous system and this leads to the release of hormones like cortisol and noradrenaline. The overproduction of noradrenaline depletes the stem cells of melanocytes that are present in the hair follicle. When melanocytes decrease, the pigmentation of hair decrease, and this leads to graying of hair. This is the reason why people experience grey hair after a stressful event like the death of their loved ones, relationship issues, work pressure, etc.
Vitamin deficiency
The most common reason is low levels of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3 which can cause loss of hair pigments and premature graying of hair. Other vitamins such as Vitamin B6, Vitamin D, Vitamin E contribute to the loss of hair pigments.
Folic acid and biotin deficiency
Biotin produces keratin which is a major component of hair and nails. Folic acid helps metabolize amino acids which is an important component in metabolism and DNA functions.
Mineral Deficiency
Many mineral deficiencies such as zinc, calcium, copper, and iron cause graying of hair. Zinc protects your cells and DNA from invaders which helps the body to make protein. The mineral can be found in beans, whole grains, red meat, and oysters.
Serum Calcium and Serum ferritin
The levels of Serum Calcium and Serum ferritin are significantly low in patients with premature hair graying. Studies observed this in Indian patients aged less than 25 years. Lower levels of serum iron, zinc, and copper concentration also add up to the graying process.
Genetic factors
This means, most of us start to have our gray hair at the same age as that our parents or grandparents first had. To be specific, researchers have found a gene k/a IRF4 on chromosome no 6 that is associated with premature greying of hair.
Smoking
Smoking has been consistently linked to premature graying of hair. A study of more than 200 people published concluded that smokers were 2.5 times more likely to experience premature graying than non-smokers. This is because the free radicals (hydrogen peroxide) produced by smoking damages the melanocytes that produce melanin.
Thyroid Disorders
Thyroid disorders especially hypothyroidism is a very common reason for greying of hair in females. This can cause dry, brittle, and dull hair shafts.
Chemical Hair Dyes
The chemicals and hair dye we use can accelerate the effect of premature greying of hair. These chemicals decrease the production of melanin which leads to graying of hair.
Sun exposure
Too much sun exposure can turn your hair brittle, dry and can lead to premature graying. The sun produces UVA and UVB rays which negatively affect your scalp. The sun tends to lighten your hair color. The active melanin cannot defend the hair shaft exposed to the sun.
Pollution
Pollution causes oxidative stress to our bodies. This means hydrogen peroxide gets accumulated in the hair follicles damaging the melanin production turning our hair gray.
The psychological effect of gray hair on people
Whatever the color of hair you have, it’s important to embrace and accept the way you are. But in some people, it can have negative effects on appearance, confidence, self-esteem, and social acceptance.
This can lead to depression in some people and bring shyness among us when we go to public places. They tend to hide their gray hair at times leading to embarrassment among people.
Things to do to avoid gray hair
If we find a way to prolong the life of melanin production in our hair follicles, or if we can increase the melanocyte stem cell reservoir in the upper region of the hair follicle, we can replace the lost pigment cells in our follicles thereby keeping our hair color the same.
Dyeing
This might not be a suitable option, but it is the widely used option in the world. Some of us use artificial colors to dye our hair while some of us use henna, indigo, or herbal dyes to color our hair.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 which is essential for your metabolism, DNA production, and overall energy levels is also much essential for the growth of your hair. Supplements with vitamins and minerals mentioned in factors can restore and reverse the graying of hair.
Managing Stress
Try to manage your stress by practicing meditation, yoga, and exercise in your daily schedule. Calm yourself down in stressful situations by taking a deep breath and think accordingly. This reduces the formation of gray hair in the longer run.
Plucking of hair?
There is a myth that surrounds us that if we pluck our white hair, the number of white hairs in our scalp increases. There is no scientific evidence that supports this. But keep in mind, our hair follicles get damaged by plucking our hair.
Treatment
There has been a lot of research in terms of medicinal treatment for graying hair. PABA or Para-aminobenzoic acid is one of the treatments which showed a significant improvement in bringing back the pigments responsible for melanin.
Calcium Pantothenate, Melitane, latanoprost, PVAsol are medicine helping to bring back melanin. But it has been observed that after the patient stops using this medicine, gray hair starts to form again.
Antioxidants
Eating a diet with lots of antioxidant-rich foods, including vegetables and fruits, may help to prevent hair from graying. A person’s diet plays a part in preventing white hair. A diet rich in antioxidants may reduce oxidative stress.
Kommentare