Why does hair turn gray? This must be a question that every adult must have asked themselves at some point in time. Graying of hair seems even more mysterious when one sees a 30 year old with a head full of gray hair and yet a 45 year old with almost no gray hair. Well, there is a scientific explanation for this disparity.
Each strand of hair comprises of two components: the shaft (upper part) and the root (lower part anchored under the skin). The hair root is surrounded by hair follicles. The hair follicle is what is responsible for the growth and characteristics of each hair strand. One of these characteristics is hair coloration.
Inside a hair follicle are cells that produce melanin. This gives color to the hair shaft and is the same substance that gives color to the skin. There are two types of melanin. Phaeomelanin produces light hair colors and eumelanin produces dark hair colors. These two substances blend together to create the entire possible range of human hair colors.
When you get older, these color producing cells in the hair follicles start to die. As less and less color is produced, the hair strand turns grey. Each hair strand turns grey at its own rate, independent of the other strands. It can take several years for your entire head to turn gray because you have over 100,000 hairs. In fact, it usually takes well over ten years to go gray from the time you notice your first grey hair.
The age at which you notice your first grey hair is another matter. That depends on several factors. One important influence is heredity. If your parents went grey at an early age, it is possible that you will too. If your parents held onto their natural color late into life, there is a good chance you will not turn grey early.
Another thing that can cause your hair to turn gray early is your diet. If you eat a proper diet, it might be possible for you to forestall grey hair. The cells in your hair follicles that produce melanin need the proper nutrients to stay healthy and produce the melanin needed for dark hair coloring. This includes nutrients like iron and Vitamin B. Therefore if your diet is filled with low nutrient foods like junk foods, you may go gray much earlier than you need to.
Smoking is also linked to premature grey hair. Smoking is known to be an unhealthy habit. It deprives your body and hair of the oxygen it needs to be healthy and strong. It is even possible that smoking can go as far as causing your hair to turn grey way before its time. Illnesses can also contribute to grey hair. Medical conditions like thyroid disease and anemia might cause your hair to go gray. Treatments for cancer like radiation therapy and chemotherapy can also kill cells in your hair follicles and lead to premature gray hairs.
A number of methods are often employed to combat the graying of hair. Since this is a natural biological process, methods used are almost invariably superficial and mainly geared at covering the gray hair.
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