One of the most pressing and persistent questions that we are asked is ‘ what causes gray hair? ’ The truth is that scientists and even herbologists cannot agree precisely on the causes of greying hair. That said, there are certain contributory factors which, when looked at as a whole can help to explain why certain people gray much earlier than others.

Why do some thirty-year-olds look like little grandma’s while others at the same age have full heads of bright blond, brunette, or red hair?

What makes one person start to turn grey early in life, while others seem to go well into old age without the appearance of a single grey hair?

Scientists have been actively studying the causes of grey hair for many years, and finally there have been some breakthroughs with new possible theories.

Is it really your children causing you to look older than your age? Or could there be other causes of grey hair? There are many suspected causes, and here are some of the most likely to blame for your grey hair.

Why Do We Get Grey Hair ?

People view gray hair as a sign of stress and worry or ageing. Your hair can turn gray due to health, heredity and environmental factors, but the predominant cause aging.

Your hair starts turning gray when your body stops producing the color-producing pigments called melanin.

Eumelanin and pheomelanin are the two types of melanin, the mix of which determine the hair color. Eumelanin is dark brown or black in color and Pheomelanin is reddish yellow. The amount of melanin in the keratinocytes decreases with age, hence in simple words gray hair is hair with declining levels of melanin.

White hair has no melanin at all. The first gray or white hair strand usually appears on the temples and on the top of the head.

Men hair starts to gray around age 30, while women hair strand starts graying around age 35. Smoking. Illnesses, Pernicious anemia, drug treatment and alternative medicine can be some of the factors contributing to graying of hair.

There may be premature graying of hair due to excessive intake of tea, coffee, alcohol, meat, and fried, oily, greasy, spicy, sour, and acidic foods, because all these food stuffs reduce the moisture and nutrients reaching the hair follicles.

Gray Hair Vitamin

Lack of copper may lead to drop in melanin. Eat foods that are rich in copper e.g. crab, oysters, sunflower seeds, cashews and almonds.

Iron & iodine taken in the form of sea food give better result. Carrots, bananas & similar other vegetables and fruits are also rich in iodine.

Iodine and copper are the two anti-graying vitamins. They belong to B group. These are produced in the intestinal track by bacteria. Thus yogurt is also an excellent home remedy for graying of hair.

Avoid foods loaded with artificial colors and preservatives, as these put a strain on your digestive system and can lead to dry, brittle hair and a dehydrated scalp. Too many carbohydrates, such a pasta and bread, can diminish levels of antioxidants in your body that are needed to neutralize free radicals.

We’ll look at each in turn:

1. Peroxide build-up inside the hair

Research in recent years has come to the revelation that hair strands may collect peroxide through the years. Hydrogen peroxide is used by brunettes who want to strip their color and go blond, and it is also produced inside the human body naturally. Research has shown that something known as “catalase” is supposed to keep peroxide molecules in check, but may be in low supply for those who get grey hair.

2. Emotional Shock, Trauma and Stress

This is one of the most popularly believed causes of grey hair, but it has not been scientifically proven to date. There are some experts who believe it is possible that consistent stress over time can interfere with the formation of hair, specifically the portion of the process where the color of the hair is determined. Many believe that it is not likely to be the sole cause of grey hair in most people, though it is a legitimate cause to consider.

Arguably this factor beats all the others in terms of the causes of gray hair. Many people who have experienced a highly traumatic event such as an accident, find that their hair can turn gray literally overnight. Hard to believe I know, but true nonetheless! If you do find that you are starting to show the signs of greying hair it’s very important to take a look at your life and lifestyle and attempt to identify any stress patterns of triggers, as it is precisely this stress that can be the root cause.

3. Nutritional deficiencies

It is possible that those who do not consume healthy diets could be at greater risk for grey hair. Whether there is a direct link between grey hair and nutrition is yet to be proven, but many believe that this may be just another lifestyle choice that could increase the risk of going grey at an earlier age. When it comes to the hair follicles building strands of hair, the process of adding color can be negatively effective when essential nutrients are running low or missing in the body.

Underlying medical conditions can lead to accelerated greying of the hair. In particular people with a deficiency in B12 vitamin often find their hair greying early. In addition, those with anemia or thyroid problems often display the very same symptoms.

4. The natural aging process

A pretty obvious factor really! And whilst it is certainly turn that people can start greying as early as their teens, most people don’t start greying until their late twenties or early thirties. By the time they have reached their forties most people will display some form of grey hair, to varying degrees. It’s a simple biological fact that as people age they lose the pigmentation in their hair, which is known as melanin. The less melanin present in the hair follicles,the more gray their hair will appear.

This cause of graying hair comes last, because it is the cause most people do not want to hear. No one wants to hear that it is simply natural for hair to go grey, but it is a part of the reality. For whatever reasons, most people start to get grey hair later in life. It is typically after the age of thirty, with most women starting to see their first grey strands around thirty-five, and men noticing those first strands around thirty.

Any mix of causes could be behind this “natural” shift in hair color that comes later in life. It is likely that those factors are brought on early for some reason in those who get grey hair at younger ages. Saying that aging is one of the most likely causes of grey hair is disheartening, but it is what real life is showing to be true. Changes with the body from hormonal changes to the accumulation of lifestyle choices over many years finally come to a boiling point, and things change inside the body. Graying hair happens to be one of those things that change for most people.

It is possible that the causes of grey hair on your head are different from the causes of grey hair on someone else’s head. Yet, many experts are predicting that it is a mixture of genetic predisposition and lifestyle choices. This means you may be set up by your parents to have grey hair, but your own choices on how to live could push your body in one direction or the other.

Who really knows what the cause of grey hair are for you, or anyone else you know. With so many possibilities and so much uncertainty, it is best to live the healthiest life you possibly can and hope your genetics have set you up for a colorful head of hair as you age. Most people will not be able to escape grey hair entirely, but by living healthy you can at least ensure your hair is being formed properly, and you are not tipping genetic predispositions in the wrong direction.

5. Genetics- Depending on our genetic make-up we are more less pre-disposed to form grey hair as we get older. And whilst you can minimise the rate at which you grey through a healthy lifestyle and diet, your core genetic make-up cannot be changed. Generally speaking if your folks are pre-disposed to tray hair it is highly likely that you will too!

6. Smoking - Believe it or not, the act of smoking can actually cause the body to suppress and therefore reduce the presence of melanin in the body. In turn this leads to accelerated greying. Yet another reason to add to the long list for why you should kick this habit!