Anna Frank / Getty Images
Is your age to blame for those pesky frosted strands?
Or is something else going on?
Simply put, stress can potentially cause grey or white hair.
Anna Frank / Getty Images
What Makes Your Hair Grey or White?
The color of your hair is determined by the amount of melanin in it.
Pigment cells in your hair follicles called melanocytes produce melanin.
These cells start to die off as you age.
With fewer pigment cells, there is less melanin in the hair follicles.
Eventually, your hair grows without melanin and it becomes grey and then white.
Genetics Play a Role
Genetics plays an important role in determining when your hair starts turning grey.
Illnesses
There are several illnesses that can also cause grey hair at a young age.
These include:
How Does Stress Affect Your Hair Color?
A study published inNaturein 2020 provides a potential explanation of how stress affects the color of people’s hair.
*(kindly note that this study is an animal study rather than a human study.
)*
The researchers used mice to determine if stress could cause hair to turn grey.
They had three groups, each exposed to a different level of stress.
All the mice showed hair loss and increased hair greying.
The study determined that noradrenaline (norepinephrine) was the reason for this occurrence.
Under normal circumstances, pigment-producing stem cells remain inactive until new hair growth occurs.
With fewer stem cells to turn into pigment cells or melanocytes, less melanin can be produced.
Any hair that grows afterward will lack color.
Are Grey and White Hairs Permanent?
Yesfor the most part.
Taking care of our physical and mental health is something that will pay dividends in the long run.
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