Why Does Hair Turn Gray

Tom was a happy-go-lucky child who mixed well with everyone in school. He was quite popular in his class and everybody liked him. However, when school reopened after the summer break, everyone noticed that Tom had changed. He had suddenly turned into a very reserved boy who always sat in the far corner of the class and spoke very little. On top of that, he wore a cap the whole day long and he wouldn't allow anyone to remove it or even touch it. Every one was surprised at this sudden change of behavior and no one knew why. A few days later, they came to know why. Apparently, Tom's hair had started graying and he was feeling extremely embarrassed to reveal it to anyone.

Some of you may find the above scenario a bit familiar. Although graying of hair is extremely common in middle-aged and elder people, some teenagers and youngsters also experience premature graying of hair. Well, let us look at certain hair color related basics before we move on to the answer to this question.

How Does Hair Get Its Color

Each strand of hair basically consists of two parts:

• Hair shaft
• Hair root

The hair shaft is that part of the hair which is outside the scalp i.e., it is the part of the hair that we can see. The hair root on the other hand, is responsible for holding the hair shaft in place and is located below the surface of the scalp. If you pull out a hair from your scalp, you will see a small, almost negligible layer of white tissue at its base. That is known as the hair follicle. It contains a number of pigment cells known as melanocytes which produce a substance known as melanin. Melanin is what gives color to the hair. More the amount of melanin produced, darker is the color of the hair and vice-versa. When melanocytes start producing lesser and lesser melanin, that is when the color of the hair begins to lighten which in due course of time leads to gray hair.

Reasons for Gray Hair

Now that we know the biological principle behind graying of hair, let us have a look at the different factors that lead to graying.

• Genetics: Genes play a major role in determining hair characteristics, hair growth and hair color. If either or both of your parents (or even your grandparents) developed gray hair at a relatively young age, there are chances that you too can meet with the same fate. In such cases, there is really nothing that you can do about it. You can only accept it as a part of life and move on.
• Vitamin Deficiency: Graying of hair can happen if you have a severe deficiency of Vitamin B12. Other medical issues like anemia or thyroid problems are also known to result in graying of hair. Having a healthy diet is something that you can look at as a way of lessening this problem.
• Chemicals: Over-exposure to harmful chemicals and pollutants can sometimes contribute towards graying of hair. At the same time, continuous use of strong shampoos, chemical hair dyes, hair colors and other hair care products may lead to premature hair graying.
• Smoking: It has been medically proven that smoking has a direct impact on graying and hair loss. Tobacco, nicotine and other cigarette contents have adverse effects on the melanin-producing melanocytes which ultimately lead to graying of hair.
• Stress-related Reasons: People who have extremely hectic lives and are constantly under stress are also prone to graying. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance, getting adequate rest and enough sleep can help in eliminating this problem.

Graying is something that happens to each and every person. It's just that some people experience it while they are young whereas most others experience it at a later stage. If all this while, you were curious to know the reason behind graying of the hair, I do hope this article has satisfied your curiosity and answered all your questions.