It usually happens under the bathroom light. You lean in toward the mirror and there it is, one bright silver strand at your temple. Then you start counting. Welcome to this month's hair health update from Holistic Hair Studio, where we look at the science behind what happens to the hair of our clients across Alexandria, from Old Town North to Del Ray.
Gray hair is one of the most common things our clients ask us about, and also one of the most misunderstood. Here is what researchers now know about why hair loses its color.
Gray Hair Has No Color at All
Each strand of hair grows from a follicle beneath your scalp. Inside that follicle live pigment cells called melanocytes. As a new hair forms, they pass melanin into it. Eumelanin gives brown and black shades, and pheomelanin gives red and gold.
When the melanocytes stop delivering pigment, the new hair grows in white. What we call gray is usually a mix of white strands sitting beside pigmented ones, and the eye blends them into silver or salt and pepper.
The Stem Cells That Get Stuck
For decades the explanation was simply age. Research is now giving a much more precise answer. Pigment cells are replaced from a small reservoir of melanocyte stem cells in each follicle. In 2023, a team at NYU Grossman School of Medicine reported in the journal Nature that these stem cells normally move between two zones of the follicle as hair grows, sheds and regrows. With time, many of them become stuck in one zone, where they can no longer mature into working pigment cells. The follicle keeps producing hair, but the pigment supply stops.
Does Stress Really Turn Hair Gray?
In 2020, researchers at Harvard published a study in Nature showing that, in mice, acute stress triggered nerves to release norepinephrine, which rapidly used up the melanocyte stem cells. Once they were gone, the gray was permanent.
Human evidence followed. In 2021, a Columbia University team reported in the journal eLife that they had mapped pigment along individual human hairs and found strands that had lost color during a stressful period and then regained it when life became easier. The researchers were clear that this happens only within limits. Stress may speed up graying in hair that is already close to turning, and in some cases a recent change can reverse.
The Legend of Hair That Turned White Overnight
History offers a darker version of the stress story. Accounts written after the French Revolution claim that Marie Antoinette's hair turned white in the night before she went to the guillotine in 1793. The condition is still sometimes called Marie Antoinette syndrome. Dermatologists point out that hair which has already grown out of the scalp cannot lose its pigment. The likeliest explanations are a sudden shedding of pigmented hairs, which leaves the white ones behind, or more simply that a prisoner no longer had access to hair dye.
The 50 by 50 Rule Is Wrong
You may have heard that half of all people are half gray by the age of 50. A worldwide survey of 4,192 people published in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2012 found the real figure was between 6 and 23 percent, depending on ethnic and geographic origin and natural hair color. Genetics plays the largest role in when you go gray. If your parents grayed early, you are more likely to as well.
Some medical factors are also linked to early graying, including low vitamin B12, thyroid conditions and smoking. If you notice sudden or very early graying, it is worth mentioning to your doctor.
Three Gray Hair Myths
Pulling out a gray hair does not make more grow in its place. Each follicle grows one hair at a time, and repeated plucking can damage the follicle.
Gray hair is not coarser because it is gray. It can feel different because the follicle produces less oil with age, and white hair reflects light differently.
Coloring your hair does not cause it to go gray faster. Harsh color can damage the strand, but it does not affect the pigment cells in the follicle.
Caring for Gray in Alexandria
Whether you love your silver or would rather blend it, gray hair needs care of its own. It shows yellowing from hard water, sun and heat more easily, which is why our Toner Service, from $70, is one of the most requested services among our Alexandria clients. If you prefer coverage, our Color service, from $240, and Color Retouch, from $175, use O&M COR.color, formulated without ammonia, PPD, resorcinol or parabens, so your scalp is not exposed to harsh fumes.
Clients come to our Powhatan Street studio from Old Town North, Del Ray, Potomac Yard and Arlington to talk through the options. We will tell you honestly what will suit your hair and your routine.
If your silver has started to look dull, read our guide to why gray hair turns yellow.
Your Gray Hair Checklist
Do not pluck gray hairs
Protect silver from strong sun and very hot tools
Use a gentle OWAY shampoo and a weekly mask
Mention sudden or very early graying to your doctor
Book a Toner Service or a color consultation at Holistic Hair Studio
Book your appointment today and experience the transformative power of natural organic hair wellness at Holistic Hair Studio!
1433 Powhatan Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Book your appointment: 703-473-6864
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