Grey or should we say White Hair?

Firstly to dispel a common mith, there is no such thing as grey hair! It is the colour produced by a mixture of white and pigmented hair. So in truth we should refer grey hair as white hair!

There are many possible causes of grey hair which include Albinism, Canities, Leucotrichia (poliosis), pigment loss syndrome, vitiligo, medication, stress, alopecia areata etc...

Is it possible for your hair to turn grey over night?

The simple answer is no however, it is possible for someone to have the appearance of greying hair suddenly overnight. In the case of diffuse hair loss or diffuse alopecia areata, during the regrowth phase in many cases the hair will re grow in the first instance without pigment hence the colour is white or as described here as grey. If a further bout of hair shedding was about to occur, it is highly likely that the pigmented hair would shed first. Hence waking up in the morning with only white hair being present leaving the patient believing that the hair turned white over night. The only possible way to change the hair colour over night is to colour the hair removing the natural colour pigment leaving the hair grey!

How does our hair get its colour?

Melanocytes within the hair follicle produce melanin (colour pigment) from tyrosinase. There are 2 types listed below:

Eumelanin - which produces the brown and black pigments.

Pheumelanin - which produces the yellow and red pigments.

Your hair is either produced from one or part of both types of melanin.

Why does our hair turn grey?

This question is still open for debate. However there are two possibilities: Either the melanocytes fail to produce melanin, or in fact the body fails to produce melanocytes.

Is hair greying a sign that we are getting old?

As we get older the body failed to be as effective in certain aspects of growth and production. Hence if is highly likely that as we age the hair will start to grey. However, as discussed above there are numerous reasons why we may turn grey prematurely. Some may be temporary, most would be considered permanent. Health may be affected. Hereditary factors are likely.

If you are concerned and would like to know why you are going grey please contact the helpline and we can arrange a consultation with a trichologist who will be able to advise you.

We hope you have found this page informative.