Crisis! A Premature Gray Hair!

Crisis! A Premature Gray Hair!

And What to Do About It

Perhaps you’ve found yourself looking like this lady one too many days. Perhaps after that you find yourself with a dreaded Gray Hair. Crisis!

Hair color comes from the ratio of eumelanin and pheomelanin (two types of melanin pigment) and can vary immensely. There are genetic and environmental factors that affect the pigmentation of hair, and it’s not always understood what these factors are.

Premature gray hairs are not fully understood. They can sometimes be optical illusions, with the hair’s keratin protein reflecting in light to look grey or white. There is a lot of research around premature graying, but there isn’t a consensus about what causes it. Some researchers believe that stress causing gray hair is a myth, while others believe it plays a role in graying. Premature graying differs for folks of differing ethnicities. Caucasians are said to be graying prematurely if their hair changes color before age 20; Africans age 30; Indians age 25. Pulling out a gray hair doesn’t cause more gray hairs to grow. However, plucking out a hair could make it difficult for new hairs to grow. If you’ve got a gray, don’t stress. Aging is a part of life. 😄