Dr. Kraleti explains that your hair turns gray or white when the pigment cells in the follicle surrounding the hair die. “When you pluck a hair a new one will grow in its place and because the pigment cells are no longer producing pigment, this new hair will also be white.”
As we age, our hair follicles produce less melanin, the pigment-producing cells in each follicle. If you pull a gray hair, a new gray hair will grow in its place. It has no effect on surrounding hair, because each follicle has its own set of genetics.
With the right diagnosis and treatments, white hair progression can be stopped and reversed in some instances. A balanced diet and good hair care can also help. In some cases, however, the process is irreversible. Regular use of natural remedies may slow down and possibly reverse white hair.
The development of white hairs is seen in patients who pull their hair. This includes trichotillomania and hair pulling conditions along this spectrum. Any white hairs that are produced typically grow back with color.
Plucking white hair does not give you more white hair. Each of your hair strands grows out of a single hair follicle. So if you pull out the white hair only one hair can grow back in its place and possibly it will be white too.
"The white bulb at the end of the hair is keratin (or protein) and is the same keratin that makes up your skin and nails. A white bulb is not indicative of hair loss," said stylist Carrie Capalbo of Salon YOSHIKO. "It's part of the lining of the hair follicles.
Dr. 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.”
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.
Although the primary cause of premature hair graying (PHG) is considered to be genetic, certain environmental factors also play a role. Trace element deficiencies such as Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3, and calcium may also be associated with PHG.
Typically, white people start going gray in their mid-30s, Asians in their late 30s, and Blacks in their mid-40s. Half of all people have a significant amount of gray hair by the time they turn 50.
POSSIBLE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF GRAYING
Reversible hypopigmentation of the hair can be seen in nutritional deficiencies protein-energy malnutrition and diseases of chronic loss of protein. Copper and iron deficiency also can cause graying of hair.
Don't go crazy plucking grey hairs. If you have thinning brows, you want to keep all the hairs you can. Plucking the hair just removes the grey temporarily until another grey hair grows back in its place. If you're plagued by bushy brows, brush or comb hairs upwards and carefully trim above the brow line only.
Vitamins and minerals deficiency
Follicle whitening can also be caused by iron deficiency, folate deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, and vitamin B12 deficiency. Premature graying of hair is associated with folic acid deficiency and low levels of biotin.
The vast majority of people with gray hair have age-related graying. However, sometimes graying hair indicates an illness, especially if it occurs at a particularly young age. Health problems that may be heralded by gray hair include: vitamin B12 deficiency.
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.
Even getting out your tweezers for the odd hair might seem harmless, but next time swap the tweezers for your razor and some shaving gel to remove those stray hairs. This is because plucking hairs can traumatise the follicle, causing scar tissue to build-up around the pore.
Gray hair is also more fragile and prone to breakage than when it had pigment. Your gray hair may be the result of some imbalance of hormones due to diet, stress, age, or lifestyle. These imbalances can cause gray hair to fall as your hair follicles are producing at a reduced capacity.
The black dots are due to remnant of the upper part of the hair root, which remains adherent to the hair-follicle ostium. Hair powder, also known as hair dust, on the other hand, is caused by complete destruction of the hair shaft, leaving a 'sprinkled hair residue' [1].
So what is this small white particle? In fact, the white small particles in the roots of the hair are fat particles composed of sebum and oil.
Hair casts or pseudonits are 2-7 mm long, discrete, firm, shiny, white, freely movable tubular accretions that encircle the hair shafts of the scalp. [1] Even though they are not unusual, there is scarce literature on them and underdiagnosis is common.