Stress & Gray Hair
A lot of times people kept wondering if stress has anything related to graying. Of course, excessive stress can trigger or contributes in making white hair. Times without number studies shown that it is mainly biological in nature, therefore, anything beyond the natural body mechanism affects the entire body system.
This is how graying often begins. When our bodies are working properly, cells in our hair follicles known as melanocyte produce pigment that is the most vital one called melanin. And when the melanocytes discontinue generating these pigments, we begin to grow a transparent hair which looks like an unsightly gray due to the color of the dead cells.
Let’s quickly take a look at the meaning of melanin? A shady pigment originate in skin, hair, feathers, scales, eyes as well as some internal membranes; this melanin is also present in the peritoneum of a lot of animals such as frogs but its function there is not clearly understood by scientist. Formed as an end product in the cause of metabolism of the amino acid tyrosine, melanin is noticeable in dark skin moles of humans.
Why does this come to pass? The primary reason is heredity; blame it on your parents, uncles, grandparents or relation. However, there are also many medical conditions characterized by graying such as lack of vitamin A B-12, thyroid imbalance, anemia and so on. These are some of the medical causes of premature graying.
At the same time as scientists were researching about skin cancer they discovered other possible causes. The hair might be losing its color due to the slow dying off of adult stem cells known as melanocytes. These cells offer a reservoir for the renewal of pigment producing cells. They further bring into being that the loss of melanocytes not only leads to graying but it is also the reason for diminishes hues that give the hair shaft a youthful appearance. The melanocyte cells do not only become worn-out, they also tend to make errors as they become old and gradually turning into ‘fully committed’ pigment cells that site themselves in the wrong part of the follicle, as a result leading to a loss of pigmentation.
New evidence revealed that smokers are four times more likely to go gray quicker than normal. Psychological shock or trauma can also turn hair white faster and usual.
Frequently stressed and emotionally troubled people, malnutrition and other forms of body abuse can suffer graying as well. Scientist believes that anything that affects the health of our skin where the hair grows and wherein the pigmentation takes place could have big factor with our hair discoloration.
