Cause & Solution of Premature Graying of Hairs

Premature Graying of Hair

With today's increasing life expectation, the desire to look youthful plays a bigger role than ever. The hair care industry has become aware of this and also more capable to deliver active products that are directed toward meeting this consumer demand.

This will be clearly reflected by fact that the global hair care market, which was valued at US$81.3 bn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$105.3 bn by 2024, registering a steady 3.0% CAGR during the forecast period [1].

However, in most of the cases to look charming & young, efforts generally go against the fundamentals of nature and thus, its reparations are but obvious. Besides, other complex biological consequences, lack of proper diet (may be at the name of dieting) is one of the important reason for premature graying of hair along with so many other reasons. Usually, due to lack of proper information, people leave the proper diet just to look slim. This hampers the proper body metabolism, resulted in various type of complications. For the treatment of any such problem people rush to doctor & try to get solution. However, what they get in-turn is another return gift. (the next post shall be dedicated to balance diet).

Definition & Symptoms:

Canities, or hair graying, is a process of consecutive process of aging, occur in human. However, age at which canities start may varies with ethnicity and race, providing the condition, if it occur before the ages decided are 20 (in Whites), 25 (in Asians) and 30 (in Africans) [2]. According to ‘medical-dictionary’, grayness or whiteness of the scalp hair, especially as associated with aging [3]. Physiological whitening or graying of hair [4].

The white or gray color of hair appears as perception of an optical impact of the reflection on incident light covers the intrinsic pale yellow color of hair keratin. This seems as a consequence of decrease in active melanocytes in the hair bulb (gray anagen hair follicles), which cause loss of pigments in hair shaft. This may also occur as results of the defective melanin transfers to cortical keratinocytes or melanocyte degeneration are also believed to contribute to this.

Process of Blackening of Hair & How it affected 

APM: Arrector pilorum muscle, SG: Sebacean gland, IRS: Inner root sheeth, P.BMc: Pigmented hair bulb melanocytes, ORS-AMC: Outer root apoptotic melanocytes, Ap-BMc: Apoptotic hair bulb melanocytes)

 Let’s not go in much technical details and directly jump to brief idea about coloring mechanism so that one can understands as to how the process may be supported by ourselves.

1.     Color hair depends on melanogenesis, the synthesis of melanin. This melanin synthesized in melanocytes present intermingled with keratinocyte, in hair follicle.

2.    The human hair follicles contain two types of melanin, the black-brown pigment eumelanins mainly present in black and brown hair & the yellow or red pheomelanins in auburn and blonde hair.

3.   The process of synthesis of melanin and its subsequent distribution from the melanocyte to keratinocyte is regulated by genetic and environmental factors.

4. The fully differentiated melanocyte found in hair bulb matrix, melanocytes are distributed within the matrix above and around the upper dermal papilla.

5.  Transfer melanin granules to keratinocytes of the hair cortex & less to the medulla while least to the cuticle.

6. UVR or cytokinin, stimulation cause ORS melanocytes to be migrated and differentiate to naturally repigment

Than how it turns white?

1. Loss of melanocyte stem cells can temporarily precede with loss of differentiated melanocytes.

2. Melanocytes in the hair bulb retract their melanocytes and shut down melanogenesis towards the end of anagen.

3.  This incomplete maintenance of melanocyte stem cells cause physiologic hair graying through loss of differentiated progeny with aging

4. Hair bulb melanocytes are probably recruited from the ORS melanocyte population at the onset of anagen.

5. Migration and activation of melanocytes by unknown local signaling mechanisms like α- melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH). Modulation or failure of which may result in graying.

6.   The progression of graying is complexed with advancing age more hair follicles remain for longer duration in the resting phase (telogen).

7. Decline in melanogenic enzymes: tyrosinase, gp75, and dopachrome tautomerase

8.      Gray hair follicles lack melanocytes in the hair bulb while retaining those in the ORS.

So, What Can be done to Prevent or Revert Premature Graying:

Prior to go for any kind treatment, it should be clear to understand the cause of whitening. If it has not been under family history, or you are not suffering from Book’s syndrome, Progeria, Dystrophia myotonica, Routhmund-Thompson syndrome, Cri-du-chat syndrome, Ataxia telanglectasia, Fisch’s syndrome, Seckle syndrome, Down’s syndrome, then the most probably there is chances of environmental insult or the chances of dietary problems. 

 Premature canities may appear alone without any underlying pathology as an autosomal dominant condition occurring before 20 years of age. Or may also occur in association with certain organ-specific autoimmune disorders like, pernicious anemia, (55% patients with graying of hair), hyper- or hypothyroidism, as part of various premature aging syndromes and atopic diathesis.

How to Manage the Problem

·     Reversible hypopigmentation can be noted if the cause is nutritional deficiencies, like: chronic protein loss (due to kwashiorkor, nephrosis, celiac disease, and other causes of malabsorption), Iron and copper deficiency.

·         In such cases, nutritional supplements containing various combinations of vitamins and minerals like biotin, calcium pantothenate, zinc, copper, and selenium can be given in such cases.

·    Besides, nutritional supplements, other chemical agents include, large doses of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), PUVASOL, latanoprost, a PGF₂ α- (eye drops), defibrotide, cyclosporine, corticosteroid, etretinate, L-thyroxine, verapamil, tamoxifen, levodopa, cisplatin, acitretin, tri-iodothyronine, and lenalidomide, can also be given.

·     Traditionally used therapies to darken gray hair include, Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), Bhringaraj (Eclipta alba), mooncake seed tree (Firmiana simplex), lotus tree (Zizyphus spina-christi), Henna, (Lawsonia alba).

·         Anti-oxidants supplements in food, like green tea polyphenols, selenium, copper, phytoestrogens, melatonin, use of L-methionine to suppress methionine oxidation and restore the methionine-sulfoxide repair mechanism, and thus prevent graying of hair needs further exploration.

·         SkQs, a compound comprising plastoquinone (an antioxidant moiety), a penetrating cation, and a decane or pentane linker have been synthesized that specifically target mitochondria and act as rechargeable antioxidants.

Author’s Recommendations

My statement will still the same. Use all the natural & traditional products, available around you, and those also which appears seasonally. However, experts recommended following herbs for the treatments.  Amla (Indian gooseberry); Coconut oil and lemon juice; Curry leaves; Tea or coffee; Black sesame seeds; Black strap molasses; Onion paste; Rosemary and sage; Amaranthus; Shikakai.

However, in case autosomal (genetic) constraints, one has no other option but to dyeing the hair. Even in these cases, too, it would be rather better to go for herbal products, like

Bhringraj or Karisalankanni (Eclipta prostrata):

Good experimental data avialable to support its application for hair growth health. The time required for complete hair growth was also significantly reduced. Quantitative analysis of hair growth after treatment with petroleum ether extract (5%) exhibited greater number of hair follicles in anagenic phase (69 +/- 4) which were higher as compared to control (47 +/- 13). The result of treatment with 2 and 5% petroleum ether extracts were better than the positive control minoxidil 2% treatment [5], [6]. Best way to use Eclipta prostrata is to boil its pest of with coconut oil. for detail see [7].

For more technical details watch this Video