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.
There are no treatments that are proven to treat (or reverse) gray hair. As researchers learn more about how the graying process happens, they may develop effective medications and treatments for gray hair.
Slowing Down Gray Hair
According to the LiveStrong Foundation, women may begin a vitamin regimen in order to prevent and/or slow the graying process which includes the following vitamins: Vitamin B12, Vitamin E, Vitamin B9, and PABA. This is the recommended protocol: when you eat breakfast, take 2mcg of vitamin B12.
Despite the claims made online and by product marketers, it's not possible to reverse white hair if the cause is genetic. Once your hair follicles lose melanin, they can't produce it on their own. As melanin production slows, your hair turns gray, and then white when melanin production has completely stopped.
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.
“Plucking a gray hair will only get you a new gray hair in its place because there is only one hair that is able to grow per follicle. Your surrounding hairs will not turn white until their own follicles' pigment cells die.”
Vitamin B-12 deficiency is one of the most common causes of prematurely graying hair. Researchers have noted that vitamin B-12 deficiencies are often concurrent with folic acid and biotin deficiencies in people whose hair has started to turn gray early.
B-6 may help restore hair to its original color following an illness or deficiency. Para-Amino benzoic Acid (PABA) and Pantothenic Acid are part of the family of B-complex vitamins. Both of these vitamins are available at health food stores and pharmacies. Use them to postpone the onset of graying.
While vitamins cannot reverse gray hair, they can slow down the process. Eating a diet rich in vitamins D, B5, and B12, iron, and calcium can prevent your existing hair from turning gray.
Vitamins B6 and B12 have also been proven to boost melanin production. Goddard says that vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, has been found to trigger the production of enzymes and chemical reactions that boost the metabolism of the hair proteins (keratin and melanin) in the hair follicles.
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.
Gray hair is one of the universal signs of advanced age. More likely than not, at some point in your life, your hair will start to go gray. Some individuals can maintain hair color well into their older age, but most do not.
Lack of proper sleep and stress are main reason of premature greying of hairs. Such lifestyle increases the ageing process which in turn may affect the hair growth, volume and overall health.
Typically, white people start going gray in their mid-30s, Asians in their late 30s, and African-Americans in their mid-40s. Half of all people have a significant amount of gray hair by the time they turn 50.
Iron: beef, dark leafy greens, fortified cereals, oysters, white beans, dark chocolate, lentils. Copper: beef liver, oysters, unsweetened chocolate, potatoes, shiitake mushrooms. Selenium: Brazil nuts, tuna, halibut, sardines, shrimp.
Some studies have demonstrated that grey and ageing hair can recover its original colour when nourished by diets rich in zinc and supplements formulated with this element. As an additional benefit, zinc also helps eliminate the dandruff present on the scalp.
Only one hair grows per follicle. When your strand turns gray or white, the pigment cells in that follicle have already died. 1 "In other words, plucking a gray hair will only get you a new gray hair in its place," says Gillen, so any plucking is pretty much pointless. You're simply delaying the inevitable.
Having lower levels of vitamins and minerals can be associated with getting gray hair prematurely, according to a Cosmoderma article published in December 2021. The study noted that a lack of calcium, copper, ferritin, and zinc could lead to early gray hair. Another possibility is a vitamin B12 deficiency, Dr.
Pollutants and toxins can cause you to grey faster, according to the Library of Congress. These chemicals generate free radicals-or oxidative stress-that damage melanin production and speed hair aging, studies suggest. But once hair grows out of the follicle, it's dead, adds Dr. Day.
Stress can cause hair to gray prematurely by affecting the stem cells that are responsible for regenerating hair pigment.
It's most common for graying to begin in your 30s, though some people spot a few grays in their 20s. If you think you're going gray unusually early, there are a number of possible reasons why. Smoking, for one, has been linked to the early onset of gray hair.