What makes grey hair turn black

The primary — and most scientifically-sound — reason for gray hair is in your genes. This is especially true if you go gray before 20 years old, which is referred to as premature graying. If your parents developed gray hair at a young age, chances are you will, too — and there's not much you can do about it.

Race also plays a role in how early your hair turns gray. For instance, gray hair tends to occur earlier in Caucasians but later in Asians. African Americans may go gray later, too, with the average gray strand appearing around 43 years old. Parents love to blame the stress of raising children for their gray hair. And while it's a little misguided to place all of the responsibility on them, stress may actually play a role in how early your hair turns gray.

The correlation between stress and gray hair is a bit more controversial than the role of genes. Though researchers sometimes go back and forth on this one, it's likely that it plays at least a minimal role. The theory begins in your sympathetic nervous system, which is activated during stress. Whether it's during a fight-or-flight situation like finding a spider in your bed or normal stress like being overworked on the job , the sympathetic nervous system can do permanent damage to cells called melanocyte cells, which are responsible for coloring your hair.

Once melanocyte cells are gone, they're gone for good — and you're left with hair stripped of its color that has turned gray. Read about ways to reduce your stress levels. As if you needed another reason to reach for fruits and veggies over chips and salsa, poor nutrition can actually cause nutritional deficiencies that may lead to gray hair. Graying is also associated with unhealthy habits, including alcohol consumption and smoking.

Preventing gray hair is just one among many reasons to take care of your body, eat healthy, and kick those unhealthy habits once and for all. Learn about ways to kickstart your journey to healthy eating. On occasion, gray hairs can be a sign of illness, such as thyroid disease or alopecia areata a common autoimmune disorder.

If you have other tell-tale signs, such as balding patches, let your healthcare provider know. However, don't panic — these are rare and little cause for concern. Few harbingers of old age are clearer than the sight of gray hair. As we grow older, black, brown, blonde or red strands lose their youthful hue. Although this may seem like a permanent change, new research reveals that the graying process can be undone—at least temporarily.

Hints that gray hairs could spontaneously regain color have existed as isolated case studies within the scientific literature for decades. This signaled a reversal in the normal graying process, which begins at the root. In a study published today in eLife, a group of researchers provide the most robust evidence of this phenomenon to date in hair from around a dozen people of various ages, ethnicities and sexes. It also aligns patterns of graying and reversal to periods of stress, which implies that this aging-related process is closely associated with our psychological well-being.

Around four years ago Martin Picard , a mitochondrial psychobiologist at Columbia University, was pondering the way our cells grow old in a multistep manner in which some of them begin to show signs of aging at much earlier time points than others. This patchwork process, he realized, was clearly visible on our head, where our hairs do not all turn gray at the same time.

Maybe the hairs that turn white first are the more vulnerable or least resilient. Unexpectedly, however, his partner turned to him and said she had seen such two-colored hairs on her head. Picard and his team began searching for others with two-colored hairs through local ads, on social media and by word of mouth. Eventually, they were able to find 14 people—men and women ranging from nine to 65 years old with various ethnic backgrounds although the majority were white.

Those individuals provided both single- and two-colored hair strands from different parts of the body, including the scalp, face and pubic area. The researchers then developed a technique to digitize and quantify the subtle changes in color, which they dubbed hair pigmentation patterns, along each strand.

Grey strands of hair are really a person's most devastating nightmare. Hair primarily turns grey when melanocytes around hair follicle decrease or stops production of melanin. Keratin is the main protein which builds up hair. Absence or deficiency of melanin in keratin causes hair greying. Deficiency of melanin can be caused because of genetics, age and hormonal changes in the body. Chemical dyes to blacken hair and redeem hair's lustre and shine may have harmful effects on in the long run.

So, in this article, we talk about some natural remedies which can help turning grey hair into black. Keep reading Skincare tips: Extra oil production or oily skin is a common monsoon-related skin issue. Here's a simple remedy that can help you deep cleanse your face and remove extra oil.

Nutritionist Pooja Makhija lists out three simple and easily available home remedies that will protect you and your family from monsoon-related illnesses. Applying black tea to your grey hair can make hair black gradually. It also helps in increasing volume of hair and makes hair shinier.

Use the black tea mask twice a week and avoid using a shampoo after it, for effective results. Black tea can help turning grey hair into black Photo Credit: iStock. Both coconut oil and lemon are great ingredients for hair. They help in preserving pigment cells in hair follicles and make hair blacker day by day. It is suggested that you apply coconut oil and lemon mixture on your hair twice a week for good results.

Coconut oil is excellent for hair Photo Credit: iStock. Amla is great for hair and has proven to be even more beneficial when you use it as dye paste. You can mix amla juice with henna and apply it on hair. Henna's anti-bacterial and antifungal properties help in maintaining pH level of scalp. Combination of amla and henna is probably the best home remedy to cure greyness. Apply the pack once in a month for effective results. Amla is an effective home remedy for turning grey hair into black Photo Credit: iStock.