Your appearance defines your personality and more or less it is the personality and the way you look which provides the confidence. The one who is confident is more likely to excel and move ahead than the one who is shy and under confident. A major part of personality depends on the looks and thus the way you conduct yourself in public reflects your personality. But due to marking this presence people often ignore the hazards of using artificial chemicals to look better. This results in many problems, one of them being premature grey hairs.
What is Premature Greying of Hair?
It can be defined as greying of hairs before the age of 20 years or in early 20’s due to chemical products, cosmetics or malnutrition. Premature greying can also happen if it is genetically transferred to you in your family. Healthy hairs are a sign of general well being in youth. Hairs serve as great tool for non-verbal communication and hence the hair colour, style can significantly affect the appearance of the person. Premature Greying Of Hairs is more common towards men than in women, however the reason behind it is not evident.
Why Do Hair Turn Grey Early?
Dermatologist and skin expert Dr. K Swaroop tells why people often get grey and white hairs at early age. According to him it can be due to various reasons, the major one being use of chemical dyes in hairs, hair gels and cream etc. Another reason which causes premature greying could be because of genetic transfer. Basically our body has small sacs like hair follicles that line skin cells. It has melanin which is responsible for hair colour, if it loses its pigment, the hairs are turned white.
However there can be other reasons too behind it. Let us know what can be further causes of premature greying of hairs in detail.
Also Read-What Types Of Hair Loss Pattern Can Be Signs Of Baldness?
Factors Affecting Early Greying of Hair-
1. Stress- You must have heard people relating grey or white hairs with stress problems. It is quite true, chronic stress can cause early greying of hairs which can be caused due to multiple problems-
- Sleep problems
- Anxiety
- High blood pressure
- Change in appetite
Stress results to depletion of stem cells which are present in the hair follicle. This results in early greying of hairs and even more with people who have lot on their head. If you might notice, most of the leaders at high position somewhere suffer from stress and early greying of hairs.
2. Genetics- The genes surely does affect you. As like other health problems or characteristics genes also pass out grey hairs to the younger generation. If anyone in your parents has white hairs at early age then it might be possible that you are at high risk of developing the same issue.
3. Thyroid Disorder- Hyperthyroidism or Hypothyroidism can be a factor considering early greying of hairs. Hormonal changes occur when you have thyroid thus resulting in premature white or grey hairs. It is basically a gland which is present in base of your neck which controls the bodily functions such as metabolism.
4. Vitamin B-12 Deficiency- It is responsible for growth of healthy hairs in the body. If there is deficiency of vitamin B-12 in the body, then there are chances that your hairs turn grey early. This deficiency is also associated with pernicious anemia. In this the body is unable to absorb vitamins and thus healthy blood cells are not produced leading to lack of oxygen in hair cells in your body. This can affect the melanin production.
5. Smoking- It is not a surprise that smoking cigarettes have hazardous effect on lungs and heart. But it is not just limited to that; smoking is injurious to your hairs too. Most of the people who smoke regularly end up having grey hairs before the age of 30. Smoking constricts the blood vessels which again reduce the blood flow going to the hair follicles causing hair loss. Also the toxins which are present in cigarettes damage hair follicles causing premature greying of hairs.
6. Autoimmune Disease- It is not so common to have autoimmune disease but if it does, it kills its own cells. When the body’s immune system attacks itself it is called autoimmune disease. This is a factor which can be responsible for early greying of hairs and can cause loss of pigment which provides colour to hairs.
Sometimes it also happens that grey hairs are developed in a particular area on the scalp. It is an evident patch which is evidently noticeable. This can be either natural or developed patch in hairs. This condition is called Poliosis.
Poliosis Condition
Having grey patch in one particular area and maintaining the natural coloured hairs in others is when it is called Poliosis. It can happen both to adults and the children. In Poliosis, melanin is in a much decreased proportion or completely absent in the roots of affected hair.
It alone does not harm the health of a person but people to cover up use hair dyes, hats etc due to which Poliosis occurs with a serious disorder. Due to refraction of light the hairs sometimes appear to be white but they are actually grey.
Treatment Options for Premature Greying of Hair
There is no single treatment for PGH. It depends on the type of problem which needs to be addressed. There treatment for PGH from vitamin B-12 deficiency or hypothyroidism can be treated through vitamin and hormone replacement respectively. Sometimes, when the grey hairs are not much, they can also be plucked, if 10 percent or less hair has been affected by it. However a good option is to rely on hair colorants for restoration of hair colour.
Natural hair colours can be also used which are made of Indian gooseberry, false daisy, lotus tree and henna. Natural hair colours are hypoallergenic and are not toxic and can also provide a permanent solution at a cheaper cost. But it can damage hair shaft due to oxidation. Hence it depends on the person if the risk is worth taking.
Although some medication which is prescribed for treatment or restoration of hair colour include zinc, biotin, calcium, copper, selenium etc which are not totally successful. Apart from it calcium pantothenate has been the only dose which has showed positive results so far.
Also Read- Want Faster Hair Growth Tips? Here Are 12 Best Hair Oils
Conclusion
Premature greying of hairs is an increasing disorder which is happening to many people these days. Major factor causing PGH is the synthetic or chemical dyes and stress issues. Other factors include genetic occurrence, smoking and vitamin B-12 deficiency etc. PGH are more common towards men than in women. This can be treated depending on the nature or cause of occurrence but better and cheaper option is to use temporary natural hair colours or taking Calcium pantothenate.
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