Why some people have gray hair and other don't

Some people love having gray hair, and they don't dye it. On the other hand, some people don't like having it, but Mother Nature says otherwise. Both men and women want to know why some people have Gray Hair and some people don't. It would be great if the people who want it get it, and the people who don't want it, don't get it. However, it doesn't work that way.

Causes

There are several factors involved when it comes to who has gray hair and who doesn't.

One of the main reasons people have gray hair is because of age. According to dermatologists, 50 percent of the population has 50 percent gray hair by the time they turn 50. That knowledge is referred to as the 50-50-50 rule, according to Dr. Anthony Oro, professor of dermatology at Stanford University.

Another reason hair color changes is because of ethnicity. Scientists have no data on why the color of Caucasians hair changes before other races. Asians are the next group, and African-Americans are the last to get gray hair.

Stress in a person's life is related to almost everything, including going gray.

Dr. Roopal Kundu, who teaches dermatology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, believes that stress has a lot to do with the color of one's hair. Hair loss usually follows a stressful event. When it grows back, it may be a different color.

One cause may be hard to believe, but a person's lifestyle, such as smoking and drinking have a lot to do with the color of his hair. Also, the color has a lot to do with a person's diet especially if there is a deficiency of vitamin B12. A good suggestion is to include foods containing vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants such as liver and carrots.

Myths

People think hair turns gray, but that's not true. All hairs come in gray. A strand grows for one to three years.

When it sheds, a new strand grows in its place, and it is gray. That's because every time there is a turn over with new hairs, they have to reform their pigment cells. When people use dye, it just coats the strands available at the time, but it doesn't change the color of new ones coming in. That's why you see a different color at the root when new hair comes in.

People don't know that hair and its color are two separate things. Hair is made from hair stem cells and the color comes from pigment forming cells. Both of them work together to get the finished product.

Gray hair might look more coarse than regular hair, but it isn't. It is quite the opposite. It is actually finer than regular even though it may appear drier because the scalp produces less oil as people get older.

Dying hair

One would think it would be easier to dye gray hair because it is lighter, but it is much harder because it is resistant to dyes as if it wants to stay gray. People might not know that the hydrogen peroxide used to dye their hair is the same hydrogen peroxide that comes in naturally. As people age, the hydrogen peroxide builds up in the follicles and blocks the production of the pigment that would give color to one's hair.