What Causes Gray Hair?

What causes gray hair? Do we know how to prevent gray hair, and are any of the gray hair products actually effective? On this page I will attempt to answer these questions.

Grey Hair – Causes

From what science knows about the process of graying, it is caused by a change in melanocytes which lose pigmentation gradually turning from their original color to gray or white.

The melanocytes that lose their pigmentation have very low levels of two chemicals, catalase and methionine sulfoxide reductase. The theory is that a free radical called “reactive oxygen species,” is responsible for the oxidative stress that damages the melanocytes and essentially robs them of their pigmentation.

Gray hair is caused by free radicals that attack the melanocytes in the hair shaft. The compound thought to be responsible for this is H2O2 otherwise known as “hydrogen peroxide.”

How to Prevent Gray Hair

Since we know what causes gray hair, (at least in theory) we have a clue as to how to prevent gray hair. Free radical production is caused by toxins in the body, stress, and poor diet. All of these produce oxidative stress (free radicals) and all can be counteracted with a few simple steps.

Limit sugar and other refined carbohydrates

Get plenty of antioxidants in your diet, in nutritional supplements, and by grounding

Brief intense exercise, not long and drawn out like slow aerobics

Reduce your stress with relaxation exercise, meditation, speed tracing, and pscyhoacoutsical products like relaxation tapes or cd's.

It's no wonder that people under a lot of stress tend to gray earlier than people who are calmer. There are exceptions, but stress will bring on graying due to the chemical changes that it produces in your body.

What causes gray hair are all of these assaults on your body chemistry which you must neutralize. I am not aware of any “proven” remedies for gray hair, so until we know definitively how to reverse gray hair, the emphasis should be on prevention.

I began graying at the sides in my late 30's and it has not progressed any further at 56. I do keep sugar to a minimum, do not do long duration aerobics, get antioxidants, and ground. It has worked for me and so should definitely work for you.

Gray Hair Products

I will mention several gray hair products that I have encountered on the Internet. I can't endorse them because I have no evidence that they work. You may want to try them and see.

Some hair care products like Grecian Formula contain lead. Thus I would not advise their use for obvious reasons. Lead is a toxic heavy metal. I would not advocate using any product that contains it!

Here are some of these products:

No More Gray - nutritional product claimed to supply nutrients needed by hair to maintain normal hair color - by Top of the World Distributors®

Fo-Ti - Chinese herbal remedy said to be able to restore normal hair color

Emu oil shampoo – said to contain omega 3 fatty acids needed by the hair

Organic Unsulphered black strap molasses – allegedly contains nutrients helpful in preventing gray hair

Laser treatment – said to positively affect catalase levels in the melanocytes

PABA – para-amino-benzoic-acid – a nutrient thought to be lacking in graying hair

What causes gray hair is the same thing that causes aging all over the body, free radicals, stress, and lack of antioxidant protection. A good antiaging program will help prevent gray hair, and might even possibly reverse gray hair!