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What Causes Gray Hair?


By - 2006-09-03
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At some stage in our lives, both men and women will experience the on set of gray Hair. Contrary to popular belief gray hair is not always related to ones age. Gray hair can occur as young as in our teens and range into our late 50’s and even older.

Everybody is different but the pigment of our hair is generated in the same way.

Initially, hair is white. The cells in our hair follicles called “Melanocytes” generate pigments the main one being Melanin. This gives our hair its “Color”.

In general, the more melanin present, the darker the hair color; the less melanin, the lighter the hair color.

When these Melanocytes stop producing the pigment the result is a transparent hair. The transparent hair against your healthier darker hair gives the appearance of Gray hair. In reality the hair is not Gray but transparent.

Harvard scientists propose that a failure of melanocyte stem cells (MSC) to maintain the production of melanocytes could cause the graying of hair.

 

The main reason for our hair turning grey is heredity.

If your mom or dad started going Gray at a young age then the chances are you may also suffer from premature gray hair. This is not always the case. Age does play a large part in the graying process. The pigment in the hair shaft is generated from cells at the base of the root of the hair and as we get older these cells start producing less pigment until there is no pigment at all in the hair and we end up with the transparent hair. Harvard scientists proposed that a failure of melanocyte stem cells (MSC) to maintain the production of melanocytes could cause the graying of hair.


Gray Hair Facts

Pluck one gray hair and two more will grow back - completely false.

Gray hair can be harder to color as it is more resistant to haircolor or hair dye due to a decreased amount of melanin.

Gray hair can also be the result of a medical condition. If you are deficient in B12 or suffer from a thyroid imbalance it can also cause your hair to go Gray.

When your hair is half white and half colored, it's called "salt and pepper"

Smokers are 4 times more likely to have gray hair than nonsmokers and smoking has been conclusively linked to accelerated hair loss.

Can hair can turn gray over night? Hair turns gray slowly over time. As you get older, the production of your color pigment slows down and gray hair begins to appear.

Can you get grey hair from a fright or psychological shock or trauma? Studies have shown that if this does happen then it’s typically due to Alopecia areata. What happens here is that the thicker, darker hairs stop growing before it effects the growth of Gray hairs, giving the impression of Gray hair overnight.

In some cases, gray hair may instead be caused by a deficiency of B12 or a thyroid imbalance.

Gray hair is more noticeable in people with darker hair because it stands out, but people with naturally lighter hair are just as likely to go gray.

Your chance of going gray increases 10-20% every decade after 30 years.

Keratin is the protein that makes up our hair, skin, and nails.

Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence that any diet, herb, supplement, or natural product can prevent or reverse gray hair.

Alopecia areata, a condition in which hair is lost from areas of the body, eventually causes round shaped patches of hair loss or complete hair loss called baldness.

 

See our interesting list of Hair Care Myths and Tips

 


Link - <a href=http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/gray-hair.shtml>What Causes Gray Hair?</a>

This article is general information ONLY and is NOT a substitute for medical advice or treatment

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