Truth or Fiction: Well-Known Myths About Gray Hair

If you are starting to get gray hair, then it's likely that you have identified the culprit as stress. No matter whether it's pressure to perform in a highly competitive corporate world or even the anxiety that comes from facing to numerous headlines regarding the sorry state with the economy, it's no wonder more people associate graying hair with a stressful life-style.

However, whilst a great number of authorities have repeated espoused the theory that there's no real connection in between stress and gray hair, recent research has proved that your very first instinct is

correct. In truth, a number of scientific studies and surveys have found a sturdy link amongst stress and gray hair. Once we endure rising levels of stress, our bodies manufacture far more hydrogen peroxide, that is then accumulated into our hair follicles. Because of this increase in hydrogen peroxide , the enzymes which are primarily accountable for repairing hair follicles (MSRA and MSRB) are deactivated, leading to melanocyte death. This then will allow the hydrogen peroxide to proficiently bleach the hair follicles unabated, resulting in a stressed-out silver mane.

In other words, commence taking up that yoga habit - since stress does gray hair! When it involves common myths surrounding gray hair, this isn't the sole "theory" that needs to be looked at. In an effort to put an end to the preferred graying hair myths around - and to update them with a lot more rational scientific explanations - we've unraveled the fact from the fiction of graying hair.

The Myth: Like the mythological Hydra, pulling out one gray hair will only result in two gray hairs taking its spot.


The Truth: This well-known myth is totally and unequivocally false. Though our eyes may have us convinced that multiple gray hairs have taken the space of the original offender, plucking a single hair follicle will result in the growth of another single hair follicle - regardless of what its color. This myth was probably fueled by the rapid hair graying process,leading some to believe that a plucked gray hair would come back with a vengeance.

The Myth: Smoking causes gray hair.


The Truth: This is one case were that old wives tale was actually correct, as smoking does indeed trigger gray hair. A 1997 analysis carried out by researchers in England found that smokers ended up up to four times much more likely to have gray hair than their non-smoking counterparts. If you want to preserve your luscious hair color - and enhance your health - then it's time for you to ditch the smoking habit.

The Myth: You are able to reverse the graying hair process.


The Truth: Even though there are a few methods for reversing graying hair, you can find plenty of quack cure-alls that do nothing but raise false hope. Actually, in a forum dedicated to dealing with gray hair, one forum user even instructed another user to "drink more carrot juice" to get rid of gray hair. For a quick gray hair fix, buy yourself a box of semi-permanent or permanent hair dye. Speaking of which...

The Myth: You can only use permanent hair dye to cover up those stubborn gray hairs.


The Truth: Those of you that happen to be turned off by the idea of a permanent hair dye can relax - semi-permanent hair dye covers those grays just as well. It's likely that this rumor started off a few decades ago before semi-permanent hair dye had developed into the better coverage formulas to choose from today.

The Myth: Hair can turn gray immediately after a frightening event or trauma.


The Truth: Hollywood has long ascribed to the myth that hair can turn gray due to a frightening event (just look at Frankenstein's bride). But there's positively no empirical support that hair can suddenly turn gray after a severe shock or trauma. Sorry Hollywood.

These are by no means the limit to the number of graying hair myths that happen to be circulating out in the world today - but they are the largest offenders. While we still might not exactly comprehend what it is in our genes that makes some of us go gray earlier than other folks, we do realize that well-known graying hair myths are preventing us from seeing the larger picture.