What is gray hair

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. The trait may have evolved partly to help pre-humans stand out from each other and attract mates, and to help regulate body temperature by absorbing or reflecting sunlight.

Gray hair is really hair with reduced melanin , while white hair completely lacks it. The cells may wear out, become damaged, or lose the support systems meant to keep them working. Here are common causes of premature white hair. Your makeup plays a big role in when or if you develop white hair. Stress can also affect your hair. A study found a connection between stress and a depletion of stem cells in the hair follicles of mice.

This theory might also explain why some world leaders appear to age or gray faster while in office. An autoimmune disease can also cause premature white hair. In the case of alopecia and vitiligo , the immune system can attack hair and cause loss of pigment. Hormonal changes caused by a thyroid problem — such as hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism — may also be responsible for premature white hair. The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of your neck.

It helps control many bodily functions such as metabolism. The health of your thyroid can also influence the color of your hair. An overactive or underactive thyroid can cause your body to produce less melanin. White hair at an early age can also indicate a vitamin B deficiency.

This vitamin plays an important role in your body. When there are fewer pigment cells in a hair follicle, that strand of hair will no longer contain as much melanin and will become a more transparent color — like gray, silver, or white — as it grows. As people continue to get older, fewer pigment cells will be around to produce melanin. Eventually, the hair will look completely gray. People can get gray hair at any age. Some people go gray at a young age — as early as when they are in high school or college — whereas others may be in their 30s or 40s before they see that first gray hair.

How early we get gray hair is determined by our genes. Clay tablets from the ancient Assyrian Empire 7th century B. Researchers continue to look for a way to reverse the graying process, but so far with little success.

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