A common reason your hair might be turning white or grey is due to a pigment imbalance. Eyebrow pigment comes from the melanin your body produces. Sometimes your melanin levels can get low, which causes your hair to fade in color.
Treatment to restore pigments in your eyebrow highly depends on its cause of the problem. For example, people with vitamin deficiency in the body can show visible signs of premature graying of hair, including grey eyebrows. The cure for such a case is to include more and more vitamin B12-rich food in their diet.
Just like one finds grey hairs on the head upon ageing, appearance of grey hair on the eyebrows is also a sign of ageing/premature ageing. While for some, these signs start showing up in the 40's or 50's, some folks encounter the problem of grey hair on eyebrows in their 30's.
Head hair doesn't change colour all at once, but many men have grey hair when their eyebrows are still dark. All kinds of body hairs change colour when ageing hair follicles stop producing the pigment melanin that makes hair dark. Eyebrow hairs also change texture, grow bushier and longer with age.
If your brows are mostly gray, dyeing them is the best fix. Ask your stylist if your salon offers the service (it's often free when you get your hair colored), or have it done at a spa. "Even if the hair on your head is silver or gray hair, I suggest dyeing brows light brown," says Petrescu.
Ariane points out that the “grey” hairs are actually white. When they start to appear in your eyebrows, her first piece of advice is not to pluck them. If you have already started to do this, don't worry!
Increase Vitamin A
Vitamin A is great for your hair and skin, and some studies suggest it can help increase your melanin levels. To consume more vitamin A, you want to make sure you have tons of beta carotene in your diet. Foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and peas all have high levels of beta carotene.
Mix two teaspoons of coffee in two tablespoons of cold water. Now boil water and add that coffee solution. Mix well and let it cool. Use the mixture to rinse your eyebrows.
As you age, the amount of melanin in your hair naturally declines, which causes your hair to appear gray and eventually white. Along with the hair on your head, your eyebrows and eyelashes can turn gray or white with age. The graying process often starts with a few hairs before spreading.
If you notice sudden thinning of your eyebrows, however, it could indicate an underlying medical condition that may require treatment. Consider seeing a doctor if you notice sudden hair loss or rashes around your eyebrows.
“While it depends on many factors, including the tweezers you use, how often you pluck and how traumatic it is for your hair, you won't be stuck with thin eyebrows forever,” says dermatologist Shilpi Khetarpal, MD. “Most of the time, they grow back.”
Normal aging processes
As people get older, they may notice hair thinning or loss affecting the head, eyebrows, eyelashes, and elsewhere. Over time, some hair follicles stop producing hair, and the hair shafts become finer. The hair also begins to lose its color, becoming white or gray.
In a study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, darker brows were found to make a person look younger, since we seem to (subconsciously) associate defined contrasts in facial features with youth. That makes sense, considering eyebrows do tend to lighten with age.
Some people have also discovered that olive oil keeps their eyebrows looking dark. Dr. Chacon, who serves on the advisory board for Smart Style Today, says this color effect can indeed occur, enhancing the appearance of brows.
Your brows will stand out and look fuller right away. However, we advise avoiding getting your brows wet for 12 hours after getting the treatment done and to clean around the area with gel or cream-based cleansers. The tint can last 3-5 weeks and we suggest coming in every 4-6 weeks for a touch-up.
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.
Your environment is polluted
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.
Vitamin B-6 and B-12 are two of the Complex-B vitamins that aid in healthy skin and hair. B-6 may help restore hair to its original color following an illness or deficiency. Para-Amino benzoic Acid (PABA) and Pantothenic Acid are part of the family of B-complex vitamins.
If you're not partial to growth serums, Dr. Engelman recommends applying castor oil or olive oil on the brows to stimulate hair growth and the growth of strong hair follicles. She says castor oil is known to not only help thicken eyebrows but eyelashes as well. "[Meanwhile], olive oil can help strengthen the hairs.
“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.”
Most of the time, eyebrows do grow back, but how fast they grow will depend on your age and overall health. A little patience, avoiding plucking and waxing, and changing your diet may be all you need. An underlying medical condition can cause your eyebrows to fall out or prevent them from growing in properly.
Aging – Prostaglandin is the hormone that signals your eyebrows to grow. As we get older, our natural prostaglandin production declines. That's why it's common around menopause for our eyebrows to thin, grow a little longer, become coarse and even change color.