Gray hair: causes and treatment in men and women

Although gray hair is a physiologically inherent process, that is, it is a normal phenomenon in the human body that occurs with age (aging of the body). But, the mechanism of hair pigment loss is not fully understood, it is very complex and scientifically this means: a failure in the synthesis of melanin pigment.

And what about people who have gray hair at the age of 20, or even earlier? Trichologists answer this question: despite the fact that gray hair is genetically programmed, it is also aggravated by a number of factors (which we will consider below). And unfortunately there are no effective methods of dealing with gray hair and it is also impossible to stop it.

The onset of the appearance of gray hair is considered normal in men - at 30-35, in women - at 40-45 years.

Gray hair does not mean sick, it is quite healthy and viable, just as a result of restructuring, it has somewhat changed its structure and properties.

Causes of early gray hair

Most often, the appearance of gray hair is genetically inherent and we cannot significantly affect this process. Especially the appearance of gray hair at an early age. From a scientific point of view, this is explained as follows:

A variant of the IRF4 gene is associated with gray hair, which is responsible for hair color. That is, this gene is a regulator of the production and delivery of pigment to the hair. With certain gene variants, the pigment production job does not start. This causes more pronounced or early gray hair. And nothing can be done about it. For example, if your mother has gray hair before the age of 30, and the father - after 60, then you will not have the middle age of gray hair. You will either turn gray early, like mom, or late, like dad.

The cells that produce melanin (melanocytes) begin to function even before the baby is born and gradually regress with age. After reaching the age of thirty and every subsequent 10 years, the activity of melanocytes decreases by 10-20%, each is individual. Melanin, in addition to color, gives hair elasticity and shine, therefore the loss of the dye makes it more brittle, dull, and unruly.

But!

In many cases, graying hair can signal internal problems of the body, because our hair is the first to respond to problems in our body. And if these problems are eliminated, then the pigment can be restored, or at least this process can be slowed down. Therefore, first of all, you need to exclude provoking factors.

What to check for early gray hair?

1. First of all, it is the hormonal background, you need to check the work of the thyroid gland. Thyroid hormones affect hair structure and pigmentation. In hypothyroidism, the intensity of metabolic processes decreases, which can affect the formation of pigments that color the hair.

Analyzes: TSH, T3, T4 free

2. It is possible to lose hair color due to a lack of certain vitamins and minerals in the body. It is necessary to exclude the deficit:

• vitamin B12
• vitamin B (folic acid)
• vitamin D
• zinc
• magnesium
• copper
• calcium
• manganese
• iron, but when checking iron you need to pass such tests: ferritin, OZhSS, iron.

3. Hair can begin to turn gray after severe psycho-emotional stress. In this condition, damage to the cells of melanocytes, which are responsible for the production of pigment (melanin), occurs. A strong stressful situation affects the composition of the blood, hormones, causes vasospasm, and this, in turn, provokes a malfunction and even atrophy of pigment-forming cells.

Presumably, stress hormones contribute to the formation of intrafollicular inflammatory processes with the formation of free radical groups, disruption of blood microcirculation in hair follicles, and distortion of signals that control the delivery of melanin.

How to treat gray hair?

Such nonsense, can be found on the Internet, about the treatment of gray hair, it's horror.For example, treatment of gray hair with oils, folk masks, salt peels, ginseng root, magic healing shampoos. Once again, I repeat, there are no scientifically proven methods of combating gray hair yet, although there is a lot of research in this direction. And some studies claim that taking para-aminobenzoic acid at a dose of 500-1000 mg per day (PABA, vitamin B10) can improve hair pigmentation at the time of admission, improve! and not return pigmentation. And it is all the more impossible to do anything with cosmetic or folk remedies.

Pay more attention to preparations of copper, zinc, magnesium, they help to "keep" hair pigmentation.

But, you need to take any drugs only after taking tests and consulting a doctor! This will help the doctor choose the right treatment for each individual case.

In order to prevent or slow down the appearance of gray hair, you can do:

1. Monitor your diet, timely replenish the lack of important vitamins and microelements for hair (which are listed above).
2. Make sure that there is no lack of iron in the body. This applies to women, because it is the main and most common cause of deterioration in the general condition of hair and even intense hair loss. Especially in women of childbearing age.
3. Monitor hormonal levels.
4. If possible, avoid situations that lead to psycho-emotional overwork and stress.

Don't get fooled! on special vitamin complexes or dietary supplements that can slow down the appearance of gray hair or even more - restore gray hair. Because there is not a single proven effective complex that would stimulate the production of melanin.

Those hairs that have already become gray cannot be returned to their previous color by any scientific development today, much less doctors, trichologists or cosmetologists, they can only be painted over. Fortunately, today there are many colors that are very close to natural hair pigmentation.