Thursday, July 23, 2009

Grey Hair. Is greying hair early due to stress or simply genetics?

I have three brothers (2 full, 1 half) all with varied greying hair. The youngest, 3 years younger than me, has greyed signifcantly earlier than the others, when I myself have only a few. I have always assumed that I have had more stress in my life than any of the others.



Grey Hair. Is greying hair early due to stress or simply genetics?

My two grandfathers had very little gray hair. One died at 50 and the other at 105. My dad is half gray and half black in the fringes around his bald head. I see myself as that 16 year old boy at the prom trying to get his first quick feel. Brown hair all around. However, if I look hard in the mirror I am grayer then Taylor Hicks and my beard looks like Santa Claus. I started going gray slowly at 45, I am now 60. I also used to have really thick hair. I am not bald anywhere but my hair has thinned out. The only strange thing about all my hair is I went bald on my upper eye lashes. I don't think it was stress or genetics. I think it was my wife getting even with me for something I did or did not do.



Grey Hair. Is greying hair early due to stress or simply genetics?

my dog has grey hair =/ whos drowing..... guess he wont have grey hair for long! =D



Grey Hair. Is greying hair early due to stress or simply genetics?

It sounds like genetics to me, but I believe that some studies have linked high levels of stress with hair loss/graying.



So just chill out! Try meditating...



Grey Hair. Is greying hair early due to stress or simply genetics?

American Idol winner Taylor Hicks sports a gray thatch and he's only 29. CNN's Anderson Cooper says he started to see salt mixed in with the pepper at age 20. Phil Donohue has used his striking white hair for decades to create an aura of eminence.



But take notice -- these are all men. Women, with the possible exception of household hinter Heloise and her long white mane, usually don't flaunt the early gray look.



Why do some people go gray early? And does it have any health implications?



How Hair Works



Hair grows in stages, with a certain percentage of hair either growing or resting at any one time. The hair follicles -- the little bags under the skin where hair is formed out of skin -- also contain pigment called melanin.



When the body stops producing pigments, the hair becomes colorless, turning white. Mixed with darker hair, this produces a look most commonly associated with "gray." An actual gray hair may be a result of pigment dilution.



Why Start This Early?



"Premature graying is genetically determined for the most part," David Bank, MD, tells WebMD. Bank is director of the Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic, and Laser Surgery in Mount Kisco, N.Y. "Graying is natural. We all do it eventually."



When more than half the hair is white by age 40, though, this is considered "premature."



Bank also points out that head hair grows more actively than body hair. So the head can go gray while other hairy parts remain your normal color. Correction: Your former color.



Basically, Bank says, if you look around your family and see a lot of gray, you may be headed in that direction.



What About Turning White Overnight?



A good scare, legend has it, can turn hair white overnight. Martyr Thomas More and the notorious Marie Antoinette supposedly went "white" the night before their executions.



What about Cooper? His new book, just out, titled A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival, recounts many harrowing adventures. Could his exploits have turned him white?



Of course, existing hair cannot "turn" any color because the part above the skin is already whatever color it is. One explanation for this "white overnight phenomenon," is that the dark hairs suddenly fall victim to an autoimmune condition called alopecia areata, which can cause dark hairs to fall out overnight -- leaving the white ones.



Bank adds that the dark hair can fall out in quite large quantities in a short period of time and you might not notice. "I know that sounds weird," he says, "but some goes down the drain. You may not notice."



He also points out that going gray does not mean that your body's aging process has sped up. You aren't suddenly going to lose function in other areas.



Grey Hair. Is greying hair early due to stress or simply genetics?

Well it could be the fact that your hair follicles are responding to your shampoo or conditioner



you could try gray touch up shampoo....it slowly turns them back to your original hair color.



But make sure you get the right color.



gray hair is not easy



Maybe get a massage every once in a while



drink some tea instead of coffee have a little more you time.



Grey Hair. Is greying hair early due to stress or simply genetics?

Hi, since youre brothers have some grey hair, I think we can assume that its genetic. I have heard though that certain vitamins help with the prevention of grey hairs. The one that I can remember is Zinc. Otherwise do what I do and pluck the few greys out!

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