Dr. Jennifer Chwalek: The process of hair changing from darker color to white or gray with age is mainly due to genetics. It can be inherited from either parent.
Grey hair and genetics
The age at which a person's hair turns grey is influenced by the IRF4 gene, and one specific variant (rs12203592) is a marker for premature greying. The IFR4 gene controls that activity of another gene called TYR, which encodes an enzyme that is needed for melanin production.
The gene variant linked to graying is found only in people with European ancestry, and it has previously been associated with light hair colors. Other firsts include genes associated with unibrows, eyebrow thickness, and beard thickness, the researchers report today in Nature Communications.
Genes responsible for hair color come from both parents. Although the genes passed down from a child's parents determine hair color, variations can result in a child having a different hair color than both parents.
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.
Gray hair develops as melanocytes decrease in number, but exactly when those cells begin to wane differs for each individual. However, there are some general trends. According to the article, “graying typically begins in the mid-30s for Caucasians, the late-30s for Asians, and the mid-40s for Africans."
The rarest natural hair colour is red, which makes up only one to two percent of the global population. You commonly see these hair colours in western and northern areas of Europe, especially Scotland and Ireland. However, natural redheads may not exist for much longer.
All men inherit a Y chromosome from their father, which means all traits that are only found on the Y chromosome come from dad, not mom. The Supporting Evidence: Y-linked traits follow a clear paternal lineage.
Phenotype – This refers to the visible traits that manifest as a result of your child's DNA sequences. So your child's blond hair may be one of his physical traits inherited from Father, but he may also have the genes for brown hair, thanks to Mom.
For instance, gray hair tends to occur earlier in Caucasians but later in Asians. African Americans may go gray later, too, with the average gray strand appearing around 43 years old.
It has been shown that graying occurs earlier in Caucasians compared with African Americans. A study showed that the average age of graying in Caucasians is 34 compared with 44 in African Americans. Another reason is stress. Chronic stress can have multiple effects on the body, and the hair is no exception.
Scientists still don't know why some people turn gray early, late, or not at all, although they suspect genes, nutrients and possibly the immune system play a role in depleting melanocyte stem cells.
If genetics or aging is the cause, nothing can prevent or reverse the process. However, treating graying hair could allow color pigmentation to return if the loss is due to a medical condition.
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, and medications, your gray hair cannot be reversed.
For example, if the father is an independent thinker or risk-taker, it's likely his daughter will have some of those same qualities. Other personality traits such as intelligence, empathy, creativity, and leadership skills can also be inherited from the father.
Males normally have an X and a Y chromosome (XY). A male inherits an X chromosome from his mother and a Y chromosome from his father. The picture above therefore shows the chromosomes of a male as the last pair of chromosomes (XY). Sometimes, there is a change in one copy of a gene which stops it from working properly.
Physical features. Physical features such as hair color, hair texture, hairline, skin, and varicose veins are inherited from your mother.
#BLONDE! The contest for the most attractive hair colour is obviously won by the blonde color with 35% of the overall vote, followed by the brunette. The bronze goes to Pippi Longstocking (people 30 and above will understand ? ). And the fourth place is for black hair colour.
Green is considered by some to be the actual rarest eye color in the world, though others would say it's been dethroned by red, violet, and grey eyes. Green eyes don't possess a lot of melanin, which creates a Rayleigh scattering effect: Light gets reflected and scattered by the eyes instead of absorbed by pigment.
There's a little genetic tweak that makes the combination of red hair and blue eyes the rarest of them all.
Gray hair comes down to melanin, or rather the lack of melanin. Melanin is the pigment that gives hair its color. Gray hair has reduced melanin, while white hair completely lacks it. This occurs because of a gradual decline in the number of stem cells that mature to become melanin-producing cells.
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.”
Grey and gray are two different spellings of the same word. Gray is more common in the U.S., while grey is more common in other English-speaking countries. In proper names—like Earl Grey tea and the unit Gray, among others—the spelling stays the same, and they need to be memorized.