Gray hair is typically associated with the aging process, but many people turn prematurely gray. The graying process is best understood when you take a look at what causes hair to go gray and some of the underlying factors.
The Graying Process
Hair follicles contain special cells called melanocytes that are responsible for causing pigment (melanin) production in the hair, nails and skin. As long as the melanocytes are working, hair maintains its youthful hue. However, melanocytes are encoded with a predetermined lifespan. After melanocytes die, pigment is no longer produced, and hair grows out transparent in varying shades of white, silver and gray.
Genetics
While gray hair is closely associated with the aging process, according to Dr. Leo M. Cooney, Yale University's chief of geriatrics, gray hair is determined mostly by genetics. When can you expect to go gray? It depends on your genes. However, Caucasians typically go gray first, often as early as their mid-30s, followed by Asians and Africans. Around half of people aged 50 have at least 50 percent of gray in their hair. People with premature gray won't die any sooner than their peers--they simply got the bad luck of the draw from the family gene pool.
Other Causes
There are other causes of premature gray, including health disorders such as thyroid disease, vitiligo, vitamin B deficiency, and anemia. It's also posed that stress and smoking can cause hair to go gray sooner than it normally would. However, the most determining factor is still found embedded in each individual's genetics.
Can Gray Hair Be Reversed?
Currently, there are no medical treatments that can reverse gray hair. Holistic and nutritional treatments include Fo-Ti, a Chinese herb, PABA (vitamin B10) and folic acid (vitamin B9). These purport to reverse gray hair, but there is no scientific evidence to support these claims. There are a number of old wives' remedies that purport to reverse gray hair. Some of these include ingesting molasses and apple cider vinegar or rubbing your fingernails together.
Treatments for Gray Hair
The only way to "reverse" gray hair is to do so cosmetically by using a progressive colorant or a hair dye. Gray hair is very porous, so often a permanent hair dye that seeps into the hair's cuticle is the best way to go about camouflaging gray hair.
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