Can grey hair be turned black?
Gray hair is considered a sign of aging, along with fine wrinkles and joint pain, but some people have gray hair since they were young. Live Science, a science media outlet, has explained with the opinions of experts whether it is possible to turn gray hair back to black.
Can gray hair be reversed? | Live Science
A small study conducted in 2021 found that subjects' hair turned gray during periods of high stress. On the other hand, there were also cases where 'black hair turned gray and then turned black again,' which is thought to be because the subjects took a vacation and their stress was relieved. In other words, it is suggested that the temporary relief of stress can reverse the graying of hair.
Gray hair caused by stress may return to its original color when stress is relieved - GIGAZINE
However, in most cases, the gray hair does not return to normal just because the stress is relieved. 'The arrow of time moves in one direction, and hair loses color for reasons that cannot be reversed,' said Martin Picard , co-author of the 2021 paper and associate professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University's Robert N. Butler Center on Aging.
It is also said that Marie Antoinette, who was executed during the French Revolution, had her hair turn white just before her execution, but Live Science points out that 'it's important to remember that a day or a few days of stress doesn't necessarily determine the color of your hair.'
Antonella Tosti , professor of dermatological surgery at the University of Miami , says environmental factors may have a stronger influence on greying than individual stressors: ' Oxidative stress , such as smoking or air pollution, definitely increases the risk of greying ,' she says.
There is accumulating evidence that a diet rich in antioxidants can reduce the effects of aging by reducing cell and DNA damage caused by molecules called free radicals that are produced by oxidative stress. However, it is unclear at the time of writing whether consuming foods that contain antioxidants, such as blueberries and pecans, can combat gray hair.
Unfortunately, reducing personal and environmental stressors can't completely prevent hair from going grey. Over half of people will start to go grey by age 50, and for many of those who go grey early, genetic factors may play a bigger role than stress.
'If early graying runs in your family, it's possible that you may also experience early graying,' says Joshua Zechner , a dermatologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. 'I've never seen hair go gray again, which may indicate a permanent change to the hair follicle itself.'
A 2023 study suggested that grey hair may be caused by melanocyte stem cells, which are responsible for pigmenting hair, becoming stuck at the base of the hair follicle and unable to move to pigment growing hair.
Research shows that the occurrence of gray hair is caused by 'stuck' stem cells, and that restoring the motility of cells could turn hair black again - GIGAZINE
Tosti claims that it may be possible to reactivate these melanocyte stem cells through treatment, turning gray hair black again, but at the time of writing, no process had been developed to make this happen.
'Currently, the only way to reverse gray hair is to have it dyed by a good colorist,' Zechner said.
in Science, Posted by log1h_ik