The study showed that stress causes the release of the chemical norepinephrine into the follicle. Norepinephrine affects the melanocyte stem cells living there. It causes them to rapidly turn into pigment cells and move out of the hair follicles.
Blame the mind-mitochondria connection
Changes in 300 proteins occurred when hair color changed, and the researchers developed a mathematical model that suggests stress-induced changes in mitochondria may explain how stress turns hair gray.
Chronic stress can have multiple effects on the body, and the hair is no exception. A 2013 study showed a correlation between stress and graying of hair in mice. The theory is that melanocytes are depleted when under stress. While genetics seems to be a larger factor in when one grays, stress can contribute to it.
And while it may seem intuitive that stress can accelerate graying, the researchers were surprised to discover that hair color can be restored when stress is eliminated, a finding that contrasts with a recent study in mice that suggested that stressed-induced gray hairs are permanent.
Hormonal changes due to thyroid conditions like hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism can also be to blame for too-soon white hair. Thyroid health actually plays a big role in hair color. If your thyroid is overactive or underactive, it can cause your body to create less melanin, which you need for pigmented hair.
Severe stress could theoretically cause the immune system to cause dark hairs to fall out, leaving just the white ones behind. Nonetheless, there are no scientifically documented cases of this happening after a fright.
Canities subita, also called Marie Antoinette syndrome or Thomas More syndrome, is an alleged condition of hair turning white overnight due to stress or trauma.
Marie Antoinette syndrome designates the condition in which scalp hair suddenly turns white. The name alludes to the unhappy Queen Marie Antoinette of France (1755-1793), whose hair allegedly turned white the night before her last walk to the guillotine during the French Revolution.
Can White Hair Turn Black Again Permanently? If your white hair is caused by genes, then It is not possible to turn white hair black again permanently. However, if it is caused by nutritional deficiencies or other factors such as thyroid disease and vitiligo, you can use various methods to reverse white hair.
“But you can't lose pigment in your hair. Once it leaves your scalp, it's non-living; it's dead.” But, Orentreich says, while fear can't suddenly cause your hair to turn white, there is a medical condition that could make people think it has.
Let's concentrate on "overnight". Just like in the cartoons? There is no scientific evidence that hair can turn white overnight due to some traumatic experience. However, legend has it that both Thomas More and Marie Antoinette suffered a hair colour change to white the night before their executions.
For centuries, people have believed that a sudden fright, scare or traumatic experience could turn your hair white overnight. It is in fact medically impossible.
Gray hair is caused by a loss in melanin, whereas white hair does not have any melanin at all. As you age, your hair produces less and less melanin that leads your hair to appear gray, and then eventually white. However, the speed that your hair loses melanin is largely attributed to genetics.
Naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide can also build up in the hair, bleaching the color. 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.
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.
People use “gray,” “white” and “silver” interchangeably to describe hair that is turning or has turned. Its appearance — whether it looks, gray, white or silver — depends on how much natural color, or pigment, remains, experts say. Hair that has lost all its color typically appears white.
The age at which hair begins to turn grey and the increase in grey hair with age appear to be clearly linked to ethnic and geographical origin. At a similar age, subjects of Asian or African descent, who have the darkest hair, have fewer grey hairs than those of Caucasian origin, who have lighter hair tones.
So while the myth that if you pluck one gray hair ten of its siblings will pop up in its place has been dispelled, you still may want to refrain from plucking. In addition to swelling and scarring, plucking hair straight from the root could also contribute to irreversible premature hair loss in the area.
At what age does hair generally tend to turn white? "People usually notice their first grey hairs in their early 30s," says Anabel, "and on average, over half of our hair will be white (unpigmented) by our 50s.
As people age, these follicles begin to die off, and there is less melanin in the hair. As the follicles die and melanin decreases, the color of the hair fades to silver, gray, or white. This process happens with hair all over the body, including pubic hair. In some cases, hair may prematurely age and gray.
Stress can cause hair to gray prematurely by affecting the stem cells that are responsible for regenerating hair pigment. The findings give insights for future research into how stress affects stem cells and tissue regeneration.
With elder characters, white hair denotes maturity, wisdom, and dignity. Sometimes these characteristics are applied to younger characters, but this seems to be rare. Silver hair is a derivative of white. It tends to be associated with age and is more worldly than white hair persona.
"When your body stops generating melanin, hair goes gray, silver, or white and follicles produce less sebum (which is the natural oil that hydrates hair)," explains colorist and R+Co Collective member, Richy Kandasamy. "As a result, gray hair tends to be drier, which gives it that wiry, dry, and stubborn texture.