A person's hair naturally becomes grey as they age. But it’s not just age that contributes to those silver strands on your head. Living a stressful and urban lifestyle can definitely increase the chances of premature grey hair. The use of hard water to wash your hair can cause it to grey as well. Smoking, thyroid problems, genetics, your diet - the root of greying are many! But the way that hair turns grey is all the same.
Melanin, a pigment that gives your hair its dark color, is present in hundreds of millions of hair follicles. Once our body stops producing that pigment, your hair begins to turn grey. Out of all the factors mentioned above, let’s touch upon three of them. Studies show that your diet and your stress levels are major contributors to causing melanin production to stop being produced in your hair follicles.
1. Unbalanced Diet
Lack of certain nutrients can cause premature greying, such as iron, copper, vitamin B, iodine, and omega 3. These should be included in the diet to prevent premature greying. In contrast to this, packaged, junk, refined, or processed foods will worsen greying. Eating a healthy diet composed of greens, fruits and nuts, veggies, protein, iron and more is vital, not just to hair health, but to your body’s health in general.
2. Increased stress levels
A chemical called norepinephrine is released into hair follicles when stress is present. This chemical then targets the melanocyte stem cells, thus causing them to rapidly convert into pigment cells and leave the follicles, resulting in grey hair.
Hormonal imbalances brought on by certain medical conditions such as constipation or anemia is also a cause for people as young as 20 and 30 to go grey..
3. Genetics
The process of hair going from dark to white or gray with age is mainly due to genetics. That means you could have inherited it from either parent. There is one gene that's been pinpointed as the root cause of premature greying. This gene is called interferon regulatory factor 4. It is important in regulating and producing melanin in the hair. This gene is also linked to people with blonde or lighter-colored hair. On the other hand, melanin is the pigment that is responsible for giving our hair a darker hue. With age, the melanocytes that produce the color in hair follicles can slow down. How rapidly the myocytes kick in, depends on how early they kicked in for your parents. According to studies, hair typically begins to lighten in the mid-30s for Americans, the late-30s for Asians, and the mid-40s for Africans, and this can directly be linked to their ancestry.
A few tips/ natural grey hair remedies that can be done in order to avoid premature greying or delay greying of hair altogether are:
1. Healthy and balanced diet
There are specific foods to consume to prevent premature greying such as those high in copper like cashews, potatoes, chickpeas, almonds, mushrooms, etc. A significant amount of copper is present in nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds too, which stimulates the synthesis of melanin in the body and results in more pigmentation. Additionally, consuming vitamin B-rich foods such as curd, paneer, banana, carrots has been found to significantly reduce premature grey hair as they boost the body's oxygen supply, which in turn helps in keeping the cells healthy thus resulting in strong and lustrous hair.
In short, It is imperative to have a healthy diet that’s rich in essential minerals such as copper, vitamin B, omega 3, iron, and iodine.
2. Amla
It is a fruit rich in antioxidants that counteracts premature greying of hair by having anti-ageing properties. There are several ways you can benefit from amla. Wash your hair with amla-infused water. Alternatively, you can extract amla juice and combine it with a tablespoon of almond oil and a few lemon squeezes. Mix well, apply to your scalp, and let it stay on for a few minutes before being rinsed off. Else, If you intend to use amla powder, boil it in coconut oil until it changes colour, then apply it liberally to your hair. Rinse it with lukewarm water and see what happens.
3. Ayurvedic Products
Delaying the onset of grey hair by maintaining good hair health with ayurvedic hair oils, ayurvedic-based shampoos, natural hair products, and ayurvedic treatments throughout the year can be beneficial. The ayurvedic herbs Bhringraj, Vilwa, Bihtaka, and Gooseberry help to improve the condition of your hair when used alongside other ayurvedic ingredients for premature greying. Along with preventing grey hair, herbal hair products also slow down the rate and speed of hairfall, strengthen and boost hair growth, and moisturise the scalp. Some of the best Ayurvedic hair care brands in India offer combo products containing hair spa and malt to stop premature greying.
4. Stop Stressing Out
You often find people saying they've gone grey due to stress. In fact, Marie Antoinette is said to have gone completely grey the night before she was beheaded. While that may be a stretch, it's not uncommon to find people in power with grey hair, given the responsibilities that lay on their shoulders. Those with work stress, financial burdens, relationship issues and more, go grey earlier than others, too. Research suggests that the depigmentation of hair is triggered by stress, more specifically, oxidative stress which is caused by an imbalance of antioxidants and free radicals in the body. These trigger cells and tissue damage, while accelerating the process of going grey.
Interestingly, people who are stressed tend to take to smoking. Smoking too is a key cause of accelerating oxidative stress. If you smoke, perhaps the fear of your hair turning white faster will cause you to kick the habit.
You must correct your diet routine in order to get back your black, lustrous hair. If you neglect your diet and lifestyle routine, you will see grey hair appear again and again. So, no matter what external or homemade remedies you try, grey hair will occur repeatedly unless you have strong and healthy hair from the inside.
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