2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Kevin Jiang)
Have you ever noticed more silver hairs after a stressful week at work or a tumultuous time in life? It’s become common knowledge that , seemingly exemplified by popular media and people like former U.S. president Barack Obama — who entered office with a head of black hair only to end his first term grey.
But despite its popular representation, experts say stress plays a relatively minor role in the loss of hair colour. A hard workweek is less to blame for your grey hairs, they say, than your parents. Meanwhile, a growing movement of is demonstrating that going grey is a process to be embraced, not reviled — and something to be considered before you reach for the hair dye.
Embracing silver without the awkward in-between stage Embracing silver without the awkward in-between stage The main culprit behind early greying is your DNA. It’s believed our genetics drive “90 to 95 per cent or more” of premature greying, said Dr. Jeff Donovan, a dermatologist, hair loss specialist and director at the Donovan Hair Clinic in Whistler, B.
C. If you have a family history of early greying, you’re “very likely” to experience it yourself, he said. Our hair is naturally white.
To get its colour, specialized cells inside each hair follicle inject a pigment called melanin into hair as it’s produced, Donovan explained. When something goes wrong in this process, new hairs end up with less or no colour — what we perceive as greying. Chief among the causes are one’s genetics and the aging process — hair follicles naturally produce less melanin as we age, leading to a loss of colour.
Greying is deemed premature if it happens before the age of 20 in Caucasians, 25 in Asians and 30 in people of African ancestry, Dr. Anagha Bangalore Kumar, a dermatologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told the Star. That said, if you find yourself suddenly and rapidly greying, Donovan urges you see a doctor.
Sudden, premature greying can signify deeper health issues. suggests an overactive immune system may be linked to premature greying, offering an explanation for why some report more grey hairs after weathering severe illness. A dermatologist and a trichologist weigh in on the TikTok trend that takes aim at thinning hair.
A dermatologist and a trichologist weigh in on the TikTok trend that takes aim at thinning hair. Other conditions, including thyroid abnormalities and osteopenia (a condition leading to low bone mineral density), have also been linked to premature greying, . Nutritional deficiencies are a relatively common cause, Donovan said.
A lack of vitamin B12 is a major driver, but deficiencies in iron, calcium, zinc, copper and vitamin D can also factor in. Certain drugs, like some chemotherapies, can lend to early greying, he continued. Smoking is another “very important risk factor.
” Then there’s the stress conversation. While evidence exists linking stress with premature greying, it hasn’t been widely proven. Ongoing stress from any cause can lead to chronic inflammation and damage the cells that colour our hair, Kumar said in a statement.
While acknowledging that, Dr. Jamal Zachery Depradine, a geriatrician at West Park Healthcare Centre in Toronto noted stress is “unlikely to be the major driving factor unless someone’s experiencing high-level stress over long periods.” According to , a research team found acute stress can lead pigment-producing cells in mice to deplete faster, causing their fur to turn grey.
The following year, uncovered a link between psychological stress and hair greying in humans. Millions of people around the world are affected by alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss and was thrown into the spot..
. Millions of people around the world are affected by alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss and was thrown into the spot..
. While social media is flooded with secret remedies to stop or even reverse greying, experts say no “miracle cure” exists. “The cosmetics industries are intensely interested in the research being done around the world to stop hair graying,” Donovan said.
“But we’re not there yet — and that’s why hair dyes remain the number one treatment.” If you’re prematurely greying, Donovan recommends seeing a doctor to rule out any underlying health conditions — it’s relatively easy to remedy nutritional deficiencies with supplements, which could slow or stop the greying process. “Managing emotional stress, adopting a balanced diet (with anti-inflammatory agents), reducing smoking and sun damage can all reduce free radical damage and subsequently slow the process of greying,” Kumar said in a statement.
Unfortunately, if your premature greying is driven by genetics, there’s not much you can do to stop it, Donovan said. Most experts agree there’s no way to reverse greying once it starts. That said, a offers some hope.
After testing strands of hair from 14 people, researchers found some hairs lost their colour after a stressful event. But, as these grey hairs continued growing, the scientists were surprised to see some regaining their colour after the stressor was removed. For example, one participant’s grey hair darkened after two weeks of vacation.
It’s a stressful choice for many, says The Kit’s executive editor It’s a stressful choice for many, says The Kit’s executive editor “What our data suggests is that your state of mind and your experience could actually influence the greying or the colour of your hair,” Martin Picard, the study’s senior author and an associate professor of behavioural medicine at Columbia, told the Star. Picard’s team hypothesized a threshold exists for temporary greying — meaning if you’re about to go grey anyway, extra stress could push you in that direction sooner. But if you’re just over the limit and that stress suddenly goes away, your hair might regain some of its lost colour, he said.
Unfortunately, that means stress reduction won’t be much use if you’re already well past the threshold with a head of white hair. Before you reach for the dye, consider letting your hair shine as is. Since the pandemic, more people have begun embracing their grey hair featuring women proudly showing their natural colour.
Some are standing against the constant social pressure — especially among women — to dye their hair lest they face sometimes blatant ageism. Famously, was ousted from CTV after growing out her grey hair. “Do I get overlooked for career opportunities, fun conversations or dates based on my grey hair? Difficult to know for sure,” reflecting on her own decision to embrace her grey hair.
“What I do know is that if someone assumes I’m past my prime because my hair happens to be grey, well, it would be a shame and their loss. And if they change their minds, they might find me and my head of fabulous grey hair on a seat on the train.”.
