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.
Even teenagers and people in their 20s may notice strands of white hair. 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.
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.
Genetics — Genetics plays a big role in how and when you go gray. So if your parents and grandparents went gray early, it's likely that you will too. This is why some people go gray in their 20s, while others don't see their first gray hair well into their 50s.
Stress can cause hair to gray prematurely by affecting the stem cells that are responsible for regenerating hair pigment. The findings give insights for future research into how stress affects stem cells and tissue regeneration.
Premature graying may be reversed with vitamin B12 supplementation only if vitamin B12 deficiency is the cause. If you are graying due to other factors, such as genetics, zinc deficiency, medications, your gray hair cannot be reversed.
“What was most remarkable was the fact that they were able to show convincingly that, at the individual hair level, graying is actually reversible,“ says Matt Kaeberlein, a biogerontologist at the University of Washington, who was one of the editors of the new paper but was not involved in the work.
Kraleti doesn't recommend plucking or pulling the hairs out. “If there is a gray hair you must get rid of, very carefully cut it off. Plucking can traumatize the hair follicle, and repeated trauma to any follicle can cause infection, scar formation or possibly lead to bald patches.”
Can White Hair Turn Black Again? Genetic or age related greying of hair cannot be reversed. However, greying related to diet, pollution, bleaching and stress can be slowed down with a balanced diet and a good hair care regimen.
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.
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.
Genetics
Your makeup plays a big role in when (or if) you develop white hair. If you notice white hair at an early age, it's likely that your parents or grandparents also had graying or white hair at an early age. You can't change genetics.
There's a lot of misinformation about gaining back your natural hair color once it's started turning gray or white. While certain nutrient deficits and health conditions may spawn premature gray hairs, it's impossible to restore your natural hair color if your grays are genetic or due to natural aging.
You have a medical condition
In rare cases, premature graying may be triggered by health issues like thyroid disease or problems with the pituitary glands. Autoimmune diseases that attack the skin and hair, such as alopecia or vitiligo, can also cause grays.
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.
Vitamin A, C and B12 are the most needed vitamins to increase the melanin production in your hair. Add citrus fruits like oranges, grapes, pineapple, and melon to your diet. Also eat vegetables like potatoes, carrots, beans, etc. Non vegetarians can try adding red meat, chicken liver, fish, and eggs to their diet.
It can be due to a dirty scalp, dandruff, infections like fungal infection of the scalp, e.t.c. It can be due to chemicals like hydrogen peroxide present in hair colors, which have a bleaching effect. Deficiency of nutrients like vitamin B. complex, copper, iron and iodine is known to cause premature graying.
Gray hair grows when hydrogen peroxide builds up in your hair follicle. "This causes hair to bleach itself from the inside out," says Debra Jaliman, MD, a dermatologist in New York and spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology. Gray hairs are thicker and wirier, so your hair gets coarser as they multiply.
Alopecia and grey hair are associated with COVID-19 Severity.
In general, we found no correlation between the extent of graying of the hair, baldness, facial wrinkles, and longevity in a large random sample of men and women 30-79 years of age living in Copenhagen. Thus, persons who look older than their contemporaries seem to have the same life span.
Biotin has many benefits. It triggers hair growth, it treats hair loss related disorders, and it thickens and strengthens the hair. One of our favorite beneficial effects of Biotin is that is can reverse premature greying of hair.
Deficiency in diet
For example, studies reveal that a lack of iron, copper, vitamin B, iodine, and omega 3 causes grey hair, which is why they must be included in the diet. On the other hand, packaged, junk, refined, or processed foods, might contribute to even more greying.
Coconut oil helps retain the protein in the hair and prevent greying. Also, the oil has nourishing properties which is good for your hair. To use this oil for keeping whitening of hair at bay, you directly need to apply 2 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil to your scalp and hair.