The truth about graying hair
There is a great point about the social perception of graying hair (canities or acromotrichia) versus balding. Graying hair can often be managed with dyes or embraced as a natural sign of aging, whereas hair loss can be more challenging to conceal and difficult to accept.
The fear of a wig shifting, especially in situations like swimming or on a windy day, can add to the anxiety of hair loss. While balding is not always due to aging, canities is often an aging sign which usually interferes with one’s socio-cultural adjustment. Sometimes, premature canities correlates with diseases such as osteopenia and cardiovascular disease. Risk factors associated with canities are not only genetic but influenced by a lot of external causes as well.
Race and ethnicity play a role, as well. Premature graying in white people can start as early as 20 years old, while a person can be as young as 25 years old among Asians and 30 years old in African-American populations.
Gray or white hair is not caused by a true gray or white pigment, but is due to a lack of pigmentation and melanin. The clear hair strands appear as gray or white because of the way light is reflected from the hair.
The change in hair color occurs when melanin ceases to be produced in the hair root and new hairs grow in without pigment. The stem cells at the base of hair follicles produce melanocytes, the cells that produce and store pigment in hair and skin. The death of the melanocyte stem cells causes the onset of graying. It remains unclear why the stem cells of one hair follicle may fail to activate well over a decade before those in adjacent follicles less than a millimeter apart.
In non-balding individuals, hair may grow faster once it turns gray. Unlike in the skin, where pigment production is continuous, melanogenesis in the hair is closely associated with stages of the hair cycle. Hair is actively pigmented in the anagen (growing phase) and is “turned off” during the catagen (destructive phase), and absent during telogen (resting phase). Thus, a single hair cannot be white on the root side and colored on the terminal side.
Causes of graying hair
- Nutritional deficiencies of vitamins B9, B12, D, biotin, copper, zinc and calcium, folic acid, and iron.
- Low serum ferritin (which stores iron in the body) and raised anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (a protein produced by the immune system that mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland, leading to premature hair graying.
- Genetics plus race and ethnicity, as mentioned earlier here.
- Oxidative stress is a common cause of premature graying. This causes imbalance when antioxidants are not enough to counteract the damaging effects of free radicals. Too much oxidative stress promotes diseases such as vitiligo. Free radicals are unstable molecules that damage cells, contributing to aging and disease.
- Certain medical conditions such as autoimmune diseases, thyroid dysfunction, alopecia areata, vitiligo, etc..
- Stress in one study induces the release of noradrenaline from sympathetic nerves, which depletes the stem cells that give hair its color. More conclusive studies are needed on this.
- Smoking, alcohol consumption, and unhealthy lifestyle can accelerate the depletion of melanin and lead to premature graying.
- Chemical hair dyes (hydrogen peroxide, a harmful chemical), hair products, and even shampoos (containing harmful chemicals that decrease melanin).
- Melatonin production: Melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wake cycles, may also play a role in hair color. Disrupted sleep patterns can disturb melatonin production, affecting the balance of melanin in the hair follicles. Sleep deprivation has been associated with increased DNA damage. Hair cells are not exempt from this damage, and when they lose their ability to repair themselves, gray hairs can appear.
- Medical conditions: albinism (a genetic abnormality), autoimmune disease (like vitiligo and malnutrition), Werner Syndrome, and Pernicious anemia.
Tips for healthy hair
- Prioritize sleep, at least 7-9 hours of quality sleep (for the body to have enough time to repair and regenerate).
- Manage stress.
- Eat a balanced diet.
- Stay hydrated.
- Exercise regularly.
- Take note of these eight superfoods that can help slow down premature graying: green leafy vegetables such as spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale which are rich in iron, folate, vitamins, calcium; dark chocolate which is rich in antioxidants which help clear out toxins from the body; dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt etc. that are rich in vitamin B12, calcium, protein to aid in the production of melanin); eggs (rich in protein and vitamin B12); soybeans (protein substitute for plant-based dieters); lentils (great source vitamin B9); mushrooms (rich source of copper which aids in the production of melanin); fermented food (like kombucha, kimchi, pickles that ensure better digestion).
Better digestion improves biotin levels in the body, and this can directly influence the health of our hair, skin, and nails. Eating these superfoods can ensure your body is provided with the nutrients it needs. Along with these superfoods, we can also improve our lifestyle by maintaining our weight, reducing our exposure to pollution, protecting hair from the sun.
The ability to reverse or prevent white hair depends on the cause. If the cause is genetics, there isn’t anything you can do to prevent or permanently reverse the color change. If you suspect a health problem, consult a doctor to see if an underlying condition is responsible for your white hair. If you treat the underlying health problem, pigmentation may return; there are no guarantees.
According to one study, if a thyroid problem causes white hair, repigmentation may occur after hormone therapy treatment, but more studies are needed to verify this. Taking vitamin B12 shots or pills to correct a deficiency may also improve the health of hair follicles and restore your natural color. If white hair occurs as a result of stress or smoking, there’s no evidence to support the return of pigmentation after quitting smoking or reducing stress.
An anticancer drug has recently been shown to reverse the graying process. However, it is expensive and has potentially severe and deadly side effects. If the mechanism of action of this drug on melanocyte stem cells can be discovered, then a safer and less expensive substitute drug might someday be developed.
