Premature Grey Hair: Causes and Treatments


shape your waist Contrary to the idea that grey hair is a sign of wisdom, premature grey hair is not. Since life begins at 40, grey hair usually grows in number at this age. But if before you reach this age and half of your hairs are grey, you do have lots of premature grey hair, and you can do something about it. Who would want to speed up his aging process in the first place?

Before the hair appears to be its usual color in the head, it is normally white in color. It becomes blonde, black, brown, or red due to melanin, the same pigment in the skin color produced by the melanocytes. The malanocytes are found in the little sacs or hair follicles from which hair grows. According to scientists, if Melanocytes Stem Cells (MSCs) fail to produce melanocytes and eventually melanin, the result would be premature grey hair.

Causes of premature grey hair:

  • Premature grey hair is primarily related to genetic causes. If most of your family members had premature grey hair, you are also about to join them sooner or later.
  • Another cause to have premature grey hair is too much stress and tension experienced in the early life. Too much stress can alter normal body functions including the production of normal hair with normal color.
  • Smoking functions like stress as it change some normal body functions that often lead to diseases. Although premature grey hair is not life threatening, it is somewhat humiliating to look a lot older than you actually are.
  • Some medical conditions have also been linked to premature graying of hair like thyroid conditions, vitiligo, anemia, and vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder in which there is the destruction of melanocytes causing the hairs to become white and the skin to have white patches.

You can do something if your hair is already graying when they are not yet supposed to. Treatments for premature grey hair vary from artificial to natural methods. Artificial treatments for premature grey hair include hair coloring and hair dyes. As the hair grows, hair coloring methods can make your hair look darker and as its natural color for some months. On the other hand, the effects of hair dyes are shorter in duration. Unlike the artificial ways, natural methods for premature grey hair guarantee longer and lasting effects. These natural methods are usually mixtures of substances found in the household like:

  • Curd and black pepper
  • Sesame oil or olive oil and juice of bottle gourd
  • Gooseberries and mango seeds
  • Tea leaves and water
  • Henna paste and walnut pulp

Like in any other condition if you know the causes, prevention is still a lot better than cure. Healthy habits like not smoking, handling stress and tension properly can slow down the greying hair process. So you can deal with the greying process when it is really your time. On the other hand, if it is genetically related or disease related in which you have no control of, treatments for premature grey hair are always within your reach.