Previous studies have not shown a relationship between life span and gray hair, including whether late onset of gray hair predicts longevity.
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.
On occasion, gray hairs can be a sign of illness, such as thyroid disease or alopecia areata (a common autoimmune disorder). If you have other tell-tale signs, such as balding patches, let your healthcare provider know. However, don't panic — these are rare and little cause for concern.
Hair graying is the most apparent sign of biological aging in humans, yet its mechanism is largely unknown. Today, it is known that cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), especially in combination, cause premature atherosclerosis.
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.
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.
False. This isn't necessarily true for everyone, says Sobel. By the time people are in their thirties, most have a few strands of gray hair naturally. While some may continue to gray with each passing year, others may just stall at those few strands of gray for years—or even decades—to come.
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.
Grey hair and 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. The IFR4 gene controls that activity of another gene called TYR, which encodes an enzyme that is needed for melanin production.
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.
Gray is Completely Natural and Often Genetic
It's a sign of the aging process, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. According to Harvard Medical School, there are many reasons why hair turns gray, but overall gray hair is mainly genetic and it's not an indicator of poor health.
It can be a shock to find your first gray hairs on your head, especially if you're only in your 20s. But women's expert Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones says a few gray hairs is perfectly normal, even for women in their late 20s and early 30s. However, stress, genetics and other factors can play a role.
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.
When should I go gray? That's a question a lot of us ask ourselves as we start getting older. Cosmetologists and colorists, as a general rule of thumb, advise going gray when 80% of your hair is white or gray, or when your hair starts feeling increasingly dry and brittle.
By the time you're 60, pretty much everyone has gray hairs. If you have gray hairs popping up before your 30s, you could loosely call this premature graying, although it really just depends on your genetics when you start to get gray hairs. “People just gray when they gray,” Moorefield explains.
“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.”
So, he says, "Follow healthy hair habits. Try to avoid repetitive use of heat and chemical treatments which can damage the hair and the pigment cells. Limit exposure to, or protect hair from, toxins and pollutants, and when possible, protect your hair from the sun by covering it up with a hat or scarf."
It can be inherited from either parent. The color of our hair is determined by the form of hair pigment that we have. The pigment is actually produced along the hair shaft, and there are two main forms of hair pigment. There's eumelanin and pheomelanin.
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.
Lack of proper sleep and stress are main reason of premature greying of hairs. Such lifestyle increases the ageing process which in turn may affect the hair growth, volume and overall health.
Does gray hair from stress go away? Research from 2020 suggests that graying hair is a permanent effect of stress. Once the melanocyte stem cells are lost, you can't regenerate pigments anymore.
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.
Redheads probably won't go grey. That's because the pigment just fades over time. So they will probably go blonde and even white, but not grey.
Stress can cause hair to gray prematurely by affecting the stem cells that are responsible for regenerating hair pigment.
As we get older, the pigment cells in our hair follicles gradually die. When there are fewer pigment cells in a hair follicle, that strand of hair will no longer contain as much melanin and will become a more transparent color — like gray, silver, or white — as it grows.