Long before the platinum and silver hair trend, people have been trying to disguise, or stop grey hair. We’ve all heard of the various thing that is believed to cause hair to go grey, or grow more grey hair. For some of use, we have avoided pulling out any grey hairs for fear two will grow in its place and spent way too much time and energy trying to cover them up.
Recently scientists revealed a possible “cure” for grey hair. This article will help to understand what is behind these scientific studies, what they really mean, and how much weight you should put in them. We will also provide you with several natural options for dealing with those pesky greys.
- What Causes Hair to Go Grey?
- The Science Behind Stopping the Grey
- Your Hair Bleaches Your Hair – Huh???
- Changes in Signals within the Brain
- Hair and Scalp Treatments that May Stop Grey
- L’Oréal’s Magic Pill
- Other Scientific Advances Toward Stopping the Greys
- Natural Ways to Halting Greying Hair – Maybe Curing Grey
- Combinations that Have Been Tried
What Causes Hair to Go Grey?
Before we get into the possible cure for grey hair, we wanted to cover the most common causes of grey hair, including premature greying, and understanding the difference between grey hair and white hair.
Aging – Shocking We Know
Surprise, surprise, grey hair is often the result of aging. In aging adults, grey hairs are often the result of decreases in the ability of hair follicle to collect the same amount of pigmentations that results in growing hair your natural hair color. Instead of your normal hair color, new hair growth comes in grey.
Ethnicity plays a Role – Sometimes
In general, there is an ethnic component to when or even if you will go grey. Most research supports that Caucasians tend to go grey earlier and more often than other ethnicities, followed by individuals of Asian descent and then African Americans. Though scientists have yet to locate any specific genetic cause for these differences.
Stress – But Not How You Thought
Take a look at anyone that has embraced their greys and they will likely tell you that their kids, job, stressful life, etc. were the cause of their grey hairs. The reality is that stress actually causes the biological processes within the body to alter, resulting in a reduction in the chemical reactions that result in hair pigmentation from melanin. Some scientists believe that there is a way to interrupt the chemical reaction but have yet to discover it.
Lifestyle
There are plenty of things that we do everyday that are believed to affect the way our bodies process. This includes the processes that result in the production of colored, or pigmented hairs. What we do know is that the following activities are considered to increase your chances of going grey earlier.
Smoking
Smoking is linking to a number of issues that are under the umbrella of premature aging. Smoking restricts the body’s ability to properly process oxygen at the cellular level. This results in an acceleration in cell death. Over time the cells are not regenerated as quickly resulting in a number of issues that are more common in older adults, such as dry and brittle skin, reduced hair growth, thinning and greying of hair.
Fortunately, many of these side effects of smoking can be reversed almost completely when someone stops smoking. However, the potential for slowing down cell death is directly affected by the length of time a person continues to smoke. Bottom line – stop smoking or you will appear older than your true age.
Diet
We are what we eat right? It should come as no surprise that the way we eat can affect if and when we go grey. Eating a diet full of important antioxidants, lean proteins, and taking a high-quality supplement with plenty of Vitamin C and Glutathione is believed to help slow down the aging of the cells and the body’s natural production of hydrogen peroxide within the hair.
Illnesses
There are plenty of illnesses and medical treatments that can have a drastic effect on our hair. We are all familiar with the side effects of cancer treatments. However, in many cases, even chemo-related hair changes may completely reverse once treatment is completed. There are a few illnesses that have shown to increase the production of grey hairs.
Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a condition that a loss of melanocytes. These cells are what provide the hair follicles with the color pigment that is then seen in hair as it grows. Most people associate this condition with skin pigmentation, hair color works in a very similar way.
Alopecia Areata
This disorder results in patches of hair that fall out, sometimes overnight. While this disorder does not exactly cause greying, it does affect colored hair more directly. This results in, sometimes large, patches of colored hair to fall out. This leaves behind grey hair. This is the one way that some people seemingly appear to go grey overnight. In reality, they have just lost a lot of colored hair.
The Science Behind Stopping the Grey
Scientists have been trying to discover the causes of grey hair for a very long time. Considered by many to be a version of the fountain of youth, the development of a treatment that would stop grey, particularly premature greying would be worth a fortune. Here are some of the discoveries that science has made to help understand greying hair.
Your Hair Bleaches Your Hair – Huh???
Most people know that one of the most popular ways to lighten or bleach your hair is to use hydrogen peroxide. Well, surprisingly, our hair begins to produce hydrogen peroxide as we age. Essentially, our hair bleaches itself from the inside out. Weird, we know.
A scientist has discovered that there are a number of chemical reactions that cause an increase in production of the hydrogen peroxide. They believe that the most essential is that as we age the hydrogen peroxide naturally builds up and tends to block the production of melanocytes, resulting in a reduction of hair pigmentation.
Changes in Signals within the Brain
We are not going to get too scientific here, however, some scientists have discovered a change in signaling pathways that are believed to be part of the communication between the brain and the processes that result in the production of melanocytes. Pathways that have been identified include both the Mnt and Wnt Signaling Pathways. Although they have been unable to identify if these changes are the result of genetic predisposition or of something that an individual can influence by action, medication, or other lifestyle changes.
Hair and Scalp Treatments that May Stop Grey
Interesting discoveries have been made from the result of individuals that have undergone treatment for other scalp or hair issues. The problem with these discoveries is that there is not enough documentation that these treatments are significantly effective or that some individuals just happened to have a decrease in greying.
Anti-interleukin (IL)-17 Therapy
Anti-IL-17 Therapy is a well-known treatment for severe scalp psoriasis. Psoriasis is a complicated condition that results in increased immunological response. Essentially, cells in areas affected by psoriasis regenerate at a faster rate. For some sufferers, the result is scaly, itchy patches on areas of their body.
The discovery was after a 61-year-old man showed up with darker pigmented hair than he had when he originally started the treatment. His hair went from a soft all-over grey to dark brown after 6 months. Scientists followed up with him after 10 months and the results remained the same, he was still growing dark brown hair.
Minoxidil and Finasteride
You may recognize one or both of these as common treatments for hair loss. Minoxidil is a popular over-the-counter treatment, while Finasteride is only available in the US by prescription. While many users report a darkening in the pigmentation of their hair, there is no evidence that either can reverse or stop the greying of hair. Additionally, it is common to end up with a complete reversal of any results once treatment is stopped.
SCF Protein, Krox20, and Hair Color
Both SCF (Stem Cell Factor) Protein and Krox20 have been to have a direct connection to the amount of pigmentation that can be found in hair. As with all stem cell research, there are currently many limitations to proper study and understanding of the potential knowledge and understanding.
L’Oréal’s Magic Pill
Nearly a decade ago, cosmetic giant L’Oréal announces that they were in the developing stages of a pill that when taken would prevent grey hair. There was a patent filed for the product, though we have yet to see it on the market. There have been some research uncovered that showed that the pill, which must be taking forever, does not darken existing pigmentation, but may prevent new grey hairs from growing. However, we are still waiting to see the pill on the market.
Other Scientific Advances Toward Stopping the Greys
There are several scientific studies and research currently in the works to attempt to discover a real cure. Here is a quick overview of just a few that are making some waves in the scientific community.
Hypoimmunogenic Hair Follicle
This is a big name that basically means a grey resistant hair implant. While implantation has been around for quite some time, the unfortunate result is that in many cases the implanted hairs will go grey well in advance of natural hairs. This results in a noticeable discrepancy between the implanted hair and the natural hair, sometimes years after the procedure. Many patients have to color treat their hair as early as a year post-implantation.
Platelet-Rich Plasma
Another interesting discovery may be the result of studying possible ways to prevent, reduce, or even reverse hair loss. Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments have been used in combination with hair transplants to help increase the acceptance of the new hair follicles that are implanted. It is now believed that PRP may potentially increase the production of the all-important melanocytes. As mentioned above, it is these melanocytes that are responsible for the development and distribution of melanin, which is responsible for supplying hair pigmentation.
Immune System and the Effect on Grey Hair Growth
There is a new study that hints there may be a connection between a compromised immune system or decreased immunological response that can be directly connected to an increase in the appearance of grey hair.
While the most recent research available suggests that mice developed a significant increase in the appearance of grey hairs after the innate immune system was activated, there is a big problem. These mice were already genetically predisposed to having an increase in grey hair. We understand that this research is in the very early stages and look forward to what the future may uncover.
Natural Ways to Halting Greying Hair – Maybe Curing Grey
Ok, now that we have gone through all of the scientific mumbo jumbo, we thought we would give you a bit of hope. There are several natural ways that people have been using for decades, perhaps even centuries in some cases, to battle the greys. Maybe there is something on this list that you can get your hands on and give it a try.
Amla
Amla is a product that is rich in Vitamin C and essential antioxidants. Amla is believed to also help reduce extra body heat, a known cause for premature greying. You can drink amla in juice for or add dried amla to water and drink it. Additionally, you can add amla to intense hair therapy treatments or add it to your favorite leave-in conditioner.
Ayurvedic Herbs
Ayurvedic herbs have been used for centuries as a form of natural medicine. There are two ayurvedic herbs that have shown to help reduce the appearance of grey hairs and help to slow the cellular degeneration that causes hair to turn grey. Bhringraj (Eclipta Alba) and Ashwagandha are the herbs that have been determined to work in the battle against premature greying.
Black Sesame Seeds
Black sesame seeds have been used in Chinese Medicine for centuries. They believe that the seeds nourish the scalp and help to darken the hair from within. Black sesame seeds also provide several other anti-aging properties, including a reduction in inflammation associated with arthritis and better sleep.
Chamomile
Individuals with blonde hair will want to use a rinse made from chamomile tea to help give your hair a more natural blonde glow. Chamomile can also reduce the symptoms of dandruff including flaking and itchy scalp. Chamomile will not work to help reduce the appearance of grey hairs in darker hair colors such as brown, red, or black.
Catalase or Pseudocatalase
Catalase has long been known to help restore and enrich hair’s normal color and tone. Scientists have made the discovery of a decrease in catalase is also connected to the development of patches of low pigmentation common to Vitiligo. Pseudocatalase, often found in a cream form has been developed for vitiligo sufferers. It is now believed that this same cream can help to stop and perhaps even reduce the production of grey hairs as well.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a hairs miracle treatment, so it is not surprising that it can also help to slow down or prevent the growth of gray hairs. Coconut oil, like Amla, helps to reduce excess body heat as well, resulting in a reduction or prevention of grey hair growth.
You can add coconut oil, milk, or meat to your diet. Additionally, coconut oil provides tons of moisture when used to massage the scalp or as a deep conditioning treatment. You can also combine coconut oil with Amla for a sucker punch to grey hair.
Curry Leaves
Another way to add vital antioxidants to your diet is to consume curry leaves. These dark green leaves contain Vitamins A, C, E, as well as iron and copper. Curry leaves can help to promote healthier hair growths and can be combined with both coconut oil and Amla if you choose.
Henna
While not technically a cure for greying, henna has long been used as a natural alternative to chemical dying processes. You can mix henna with a wide range of ingredients to achieve different colors. Henna also helps to provide deep conditioners to the hair.
Indigo
One ingredient often added to henna is indigo. This natural plant will cover even the most resistant grey hairs. You can use indigo to achieve a dark brown or black color.
Molasses (Black Strap Molasses)
A bioproduct of sugar, black strap molasses is an extremely thick black liquid that is packed with nutrients believed to help promote natural hair pigmentation. These minerals include iron, copper, selenium, and others. Black strap molasses also offers a number of benefits to fight aging and age-related issues, such as arthritis, blood sugar, and maybe even osteoporosis.
Onion
Onions have several essential nutrients, including the antioxidant catalase (see above). There are also plenty of other phytonutrients, including copper and Vitamin C. You can eat onions or use them in a paste combined with honey and use as a hair mask. In addition to helping slow down premature greying, onions have been used for centuries to battle hair loss, resulting in stronger and healthier hair growth.
Rosemary
Rosemary will not stop grey from growing, but it will help to darken the grey hairs that grow in. Rosemary is a great choice for the early appearances of grey hairs. Darkening the greys helps to camouflage the greys within your natural hair color. With the exception of color-treated hair, rosemary is one of the easiest to add to your hair. You can steep rosemary and use the tea as a hair rinse or infuse olive oil with dried rosemary for a moisturizing treatment.
Vitamin B12
B12 is believed to help support many of the biological processes that end up connected to the production of hair, specifically pigmentation. In fact, one of the early signs of a B12 deficiency is an increase in grey hairs. While the actual processes are unknown, it is believed that supplementing your diet with foods rich in B12, including animal byproducts, including eggs and dairy, as well as meat. There are no other natural sources of B12.
Wheat Grass
Drinking wheatgrass is another way that you can consume a ton of nutrients that have been known to help decrease the production of hydrogen production. Some of these include Vitamins A, B, C, iron, copper, and the antioxidant catalase. Wheatgrass can be bought in juice or powder form as well as grown and blended at home.
Combinations that Have Been Tried
Perhaps the best option is to follow in the steps of men who have fought and won the battle against the grey. One of the most popular combinations of those listed above includes not only using topical options but adding a range of nutrients to an overall healthy diet. Here is a breakdown of one of the most popular anti-grey plans:
Final Thoughts
Whether you decide to fight every grey hair, cover them up, or give in and embrace the greys, we all have our own unique makeup. We have provided you with a number of options in the hope that you would be able to find a treatment that works for your hair. While scientists still struggle to find a cure for grey hair, we will continue to help you deal with it the best way we can. As always, we wish you the best of luck!
Contents
- What Causes Hair to Go Grey?
- The Science Behind Stopping the Grey
- Your Hair Bleaches Your Hair – Huh???
- Changes in Signals within the Brain
- Hair and Scalp Treatments that May Stop Grey
- L’Oréal’s Magic Pill
- Other Scientific Advances Toward Stopping the Greys
- Natural Ways to Halting Greying Hair – Maybe Curing Grey
- Combinations that Have Been Tried