What time does gray hair appear in women?

For a long time it was believed that the appearance of gray hair indicates the decline of the body, a turn from youth to old age. Gray hair? Pull him out quickly! It's time to dispel this myth: gray hair has nothing to do with age!

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Trichologist Joe Cincotta participated in a large study in which thousands of volunteers agreed. A group of scientists monitored the subjects’ diet, their lifestyle, the amount of stress and nervous tension, and correlated this with hereditary factors, skin and hair color, gender and age.

The conclusions that scientists have reached are impressive.

Firstly, stress does not play a significant role in the formation of gray hair. Among the study participants were people experiencing very serious life dramas, from the loss of a business to the death of loved ones. None of them showed the appearance or increase in the number of gray hairs immediately after a stressful situation. So the expression “Gone gray overnight” is nothing more than a beautiful metaphor.

Secondly, a decrease in the production of melanin, which is responsible for the presence of pigment in the hair, does occur with age, but for each person - at an individual rate, which does not depend on the region of residence, nor on diet, nor on the amount of physical activity, nor on general condition of the body. Absolutely healthy people sometimes turn gray at the age of 20, and those suffering from severe chronic diseases do not have a single gray hair by the age of 50.

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The third conclusion: taking vitamins and dietary supplements is not able to slow down the appearance of gray hair. There is not a single proven effective set of dietary supplements that would stimulate melanin production.

The fourth conclusion: gray hair is in no way interconnected with other processes in the body that are traditionally considered age-related. Neither the appearance of wrinkles on the skin, nor changes in joint and bone tissue, nor the condition of internal organs, nor metabolism - all this has nothing to do with the presence or absence of gray hair.

And finally, plucking gray hairs, early resort to coloring, and any hair and scalp care procedures also have no effect on the process of gradual loss of pigment.

The culprit behind the occurrence of gray hair has nevertheless been found: it is a genetic factor. The sooner your parents started going grey, the sooner you will most likely go grey. And on the contrary, if in a family traditionally gray hair appeared in people at a very respectful age, you also don’t have to worry about the early appearance of silver strands.

So, get out of your head the worries about “Oh my God, I’m getting old, I have a gray hair on my temple!”, and if this gray hair bothers you, read our material about the most fashionable hair colors of the season!

British scientists have proven that gray hair is good; it indicates the health of the owner of platinum hair.

Recent studies by British scientists prove that there is a completely different connection between gray hair and the condition of the human body than what previous researchers spoke about. The loss of coloring pigments has long been perceived by scientists as a consequence of severe psychological shocks and nervous breakdowns. The normal age for the appearance of gray hair was considered to be 40 years. For blondes - a little earlier, for dark-haired - later. In addition, frequent dyeing and perm, which in a certain way affect the structure of the hair, were also attributed to the ability to influence the appearance of gray hair. Genetic predisposition was also included in the test.

It was generally accepted that anemia and diseases of the cardiovascular system cause a disruption in the supply of necessary substances to the hair follicles. Another reason is thyroid dysfunction. Incorrect diets, monotonous meals, digestive problems were also blamed...

According to the results of recent studies, scientists have been able to prove the opposite. It turns out that gray hair is a sign of good human health. True, there are exceptions here too. This applies to cases where gray hair appears before the age of 30. Quite a lot of people experience their first gray hair at the age of 25. The cause of gray hair here can be anything, from alcohol abuse to genes. Previously, scientists found that high levels of adrenaline are also responsible for the appearance of gray hair. American researchers have found that the cells that give hair color disappear under the influence of shock doses of the stress hormone. Unfortunately, if stress has already caused the disappearance of these cells in the body, they will never come back. Gray hair will not turn light or dark again. When the human body is under stress, stem cells responsible for production move from the hair follicles to the skin to help minimize damage. Scientists discovered exactly the same effect of stress in experiments on mice.

According to the authors of the study, their discovery may explain why stress causes skin pigmentation, that is, a person becomes gloomy and noticeably darker.

Every year, oxidative processes in the human body become more intense, and this reduces the amount of the antioxidant glutathione.

If gray hair appears in old age, then this is due to a large amount of glutathione, which is what causes gray hair.

Scientists explain that if gray hair appears by the age of 50–55, this means that there are no serious problems in the body. That is why, when you see gray hair, you should not despair, this is a sign that the body is functioning correctly.

Cosmetics giant L'Oreal conducted a study to discover how many men and women don't need its gray-covering hair dye. It turned out that 10% of people over 60 years old do not have a single gray hair. Stars such as Susan Sarandon (65 years old) and Sigourney Weaver (62) are just one of them. Their hair color remains the same almost all their lives.

It turned out that the number of gray people among older people is much less than was always believed. Previously, there was an opinion that among 50-year-olds, half had at least 50% gray hair, but in fact less than 25% were found to have gray hair. Moreover, gray hair is spreading unevenly around the world, and in some countries there are even fewer gray-haired people.

The researchers based their findings on an analysis of the hair color of 4,000 men and women of different ages and ethnic groups from 20 different countries. Overall, 74% of people aged 45 to 65 had gray hair covering at least 27% of their scalp. Gray levels increase with age, and between 56 and 60, 86% already have some gray hair, and between 61 and 65, 90% of people have gray hair on at least 40% of their scalp. At the same time, gray hair is more common in men (78%) than in women (71%). In the stronger sex it usually starts on the forehead, then goes to the crown and from there to the back of the head, and in women it is in equal proportions on the forehead and on the back of the head.

A bold new trend has emerged in the fashion world today. Artificial gray hair is becoming increasingly popular. Stars such as Agyness Deyn, Kelly Osbourne and Pixie Geldof have already followed the new trend and showed the world “gray” hair.

Women and men have been fighting gray hair with various chemical methods for generations. But now silver strands have appeared even in the hairstyles of Dior and Chanel models. Top hairdressers in Manhattan say that the number of applications for artificial gray hair has recently increased. Victoria Hunter, the owner of a salon in the West Village, says that ordinary people have already followed the “stars” and want to radically change their appearance.

The fashion trend has seriously interested scientists. In an interview with the New York Times, Arizona State University gender studies professor Rose Waits said that in this way, trendsetters demonstrate their wealth and respectability.

But still, the new trend is intended more for young people. Experts in the field of hairdressing do not recommend such experiments for older people. Even Kate Moss, 36, faced criticism and disapproval when gray streaks were discovered in the model's hair last month. Within 24 hours, Kate got rid of them.

Glasgow-based hairdresser Stephanie Paul says natural gray hair has no pigment. And to get a new fashionable shade, it is necessary that the hair retains its pigmentation. Therefore, fashionable gray hair is only for the young.

For those who do not want to put up with the appearance of gray hair, even though it demonstrates excellent health, it is proposed to follow a number of simple rules. Such as including fresh vegetables and fruits, protein-rich foods, fish, nuts, and legumes in your daily menu. In addition, do not forget about taking multivitamins and regularly visiting an endocrinologist. And of course, if possible, get upset as little as possible about unimportant reasons. And if it is not possible to completely protect yourself from stress, keeping your nervous system under control is quite possible.

Treatment of gray hair that has already appeared is hardly possible. But it’s easy to hide it with various cosmetics. If there is very little gray hair, you can try special tinting shampoos. They lightly color the hair, masking the highlights of sparse gray hair. They are used in the same way as regular shampoos - applied to damp hair, whipped into foam, then rinsed off. Use dark shades to cover gray hair as much as possible.

The content of the article

Graying is largely due to genetic reasons, but there are other factors, such as diet and stress.

For most people, genetics is the determining factor. You will have your first gray strands at the same age as your parents or grandparents. However, the rate at which new gray hair appears also depends on a person's lifestyle and habits.

What makes gray hair worse?

Smoking speeds up the process of new gray hair. Anemia, poor nutrition, lack of B vitamins and thyroid problems can also contribute to premature hair bleaching.

The pigment melanin is responsible for hair color in the human body. This is the same pigment that turns the skin dark when tanning. Each hair follicle contains cells called melanocytes. These, in turn, produce coloring pigments of black, brown, yellow and red, and also conduct melanin to the cells that produce keratin, the main protein that makes up hair.

At the very beginning of graying, melanocytes are still present in the hair, but the hair color becomes lighter. Gradually, these cells die out, and nothing remains of the rich hair color.

The appearance of gray hair is an inevitable process of aging. But sometimes premature gray hair occurs as a result of an autoimmune disease. Some people begin to go gray after the age of 20, but they are quite healthy. Severe stress or shock can cause large amounts of gray hair to appear quickly.

As a rule, white-skinned people begin to go gray after the age of 30, Asians closer to 40, and Africans after 40. According to research, the age of first gray hair in women is becoming earlier. Currently, approximately 32 percent of women begin to go gray before reaching age 30. This suggests that, in addition to genetic factors, hair is greatly affected by stress. It has been scientifically proven that during stress, vitamin B is destroyed in the body, and its lack contributes to the appearance of gray hair.

Japanese scientists claim that hair follicles react to stress in the same way as DNA. This is called oxidative stress and is caused by pollution, smoking and ultraviolet radiation. There is also some connection between this type of stress and emotional stress.

How to deal with gray hair

Nowadays, those who want to look young have little choice: dye their hair or leave it as is, gray. It should be borne in mind that gray hair is difficult to dye due to the lack of melanin in it.

Researchers from the L'Oreal Institute discovered an interesting fact. They learned that skin and hair cells produce melanocytes in the same way. But skin doesn't change color with age the same way hair does. The reason for this is the lack of enzymes in hair follicles that are found in skin cells. Scientists hope to develop a drug that could replicate the effect of enzymes to make hair cells retain color longer.