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Gray hair at an early age: causes, treatment

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 27.08.2022
 
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The appearance of the first gray threads flashing in a hairstyle rarely pleases women, although men often leave them indifferent. And early gray hair, in addition to aesthetic experiences, also causes concern about the state of one's health.

What does early gray hair mean?

Hair color "salt and pepper" is associated in most people with maturity and wisdom, that is, with the withering of the body and loss of health. In fact, early gray hair is not at all a sign of poor health, as evidenced by a large-scale study recently conducted by Spanish scientists, although there are a number of diseases in which the production of coloring pigment can decrease.

The presence of gray hair is also associated with nervous overstrain and negative stress factors, and although frequent adrenaline rushes have a detrimental effect on melanocytes, however, the ability to immediately turn gray from grief is not supported by the study. Some of its participants experienced serious shocks in the process of observing them. They did not have gray hair immediately after the traumatic event.

Early gray hair does not correlate with nutrition, lifestyle, or place of residence. Her appearance does not depend on gender. According to the observations of scientists, in a completely healthy person, the first gray hair can appear as early as 16-20 years old, and a chronically ill person often does not have a single gray hair even at fifty. All this is very individual and speaks only of an inherited predisposition. No other causal relationship has been established.

Nevertheless, even a long-term and mass study is limited in time; in its course, the causes that act immediately or quickly enough are revealed. Therefore, one should not completely ignore the influence of long-term or permanently acting external and internal factors that are unfavorable for the general state of health, even if during the study they did not appear as decisive.

Epidemiology

Statistics show that heavy smokers turn gray faster than non-smokers, moreover, five times. Naturally, gray hair becomes more with age, but it turned out that every tenth inhabitant of our planet, even after 60 years, does not have gray hair. In general, scientists do not consider early gray hair a sign of aging and ill health, by the way, and late too. It’s just that in gray-haired people, antioxidant processes are activated, glutathione, the protector of cells from the toxic properties of free radicals, is concentrated not in melanocytes, but in the cells of more vital internal organs, which slows down the aging of the body, and allows the owner of silver hair to live a long life with good health.

Causes of the early gray hair

Gray hairs appear in all of us according to an individual schedule, depending on the inherited tendency. A noticeable graying is considered early until reaching the age of 25-30, when by the age of forty most of the hair is already depigmented, and the appearance of silver threads after 35 years is generally considered as a variant of the norm. First, individual gray hairs are found on the temples and in the upper part of the head (at the crown). The majority of the population is already celebrating their half-century anniversary with a fairly gray hair, although not all of them - some have preserved hair pigmentation at this age, but this is not at all evidence of good health.

So, the research-confirmed cause of graying hair at an early age is a genetic predisposition to premature graying. Scientists have not been able to connect early gray hair with other reasons. The subjects did not always lead a correct and healthy lifestyle, ate differently, worked and rested, were active and not very active, were nervous, sometimes experienced serious psychological trauma, not all of them were in excellent health, but this could not be correlated with the premature appearance of gray hair.

Such rare congenital pathologies as Werner and Waardenburg syndromes lead to the appearance of early gray hair, however, this symptom is not the main one.

Acquired risk factors for natural hair bleaching at an earlier age than nature intended also exist. Experts associate them with the inhibition of melanin synthesis, in which many hormones take part - pituitary, thyroid, sex, neurotransmitters and peptides, in particular, glutathione, which determines redox cellular characteristics.

The rate of melanin production may decrease with insufficient thyroid function, autoimmune pathologies - vitiligo, thyroiditis, diseases and dietary errors leading to pernicious or iron deficiency anemia, lack of protein, vitamins / minerals, cardiovascular pathologies (usually in men).

Foci of gray hair can be of a viral nature - shingles, be the result of radiation damage and head injuries.

Early gray hair may appear after chemotherapy, taking antiparkinsonian drugs.

Frequent dyeing of hair with dyes with an oxidizing agent (hydrogen peroxide), lightening, perm, environmental problems (often all in combination) causes massive “oxidative stress”, leading to dysfunction of melanocytes.

Early gray hair with a yellowish tint is typical for heavy smokers. Excessive insolation also disrupts the synthesis of melanin.

Nervous shocks, although they do not lead to instant graying of the hair, but an excess of adrenaline in the blood disrupts the combination of the coloring pigment with the proteins in the hair, which leads to their discoloration. Vasospasm during stress also negatively affects the formation of melanin.

So general health, nutrition and lifestyle still affect the pathogenesis of the appearance of gray hair at any age and can accelerate this process. In any case, graying is based on a slowdown in the production of coloring pigment, which is due to a decrease in the activity or death of melanocytes. The structure of depigmented hair changes - they acquire air cavities, become porous, which gives them a silvery-white color.

Symptoms of the early gray hair

Silver threads in the hair of very young people - this is how early gray hair is clinically manifested.

The first signs - gray hairs on the temples or crown sometimes appear very early, even before the age of 20, and by the age of 40, most of the hair in such people is already depigmented.

The lack or absence of melanin in the hair changes not only their appearance, but also the structure and properties. Melanin not only dyes the hair in any color, but also makes it strong, resilient and elastic, provides protection from insolation and other harmful factors. Dark hair undergoes the greatest changes. Gray hairs are hollow inside, they are drier, more split and broken, more vulnerable to adverse environmental influences. They become disobedient, more confused. They are more difficult to comb and style.

Early gray hair is not a sign of aging of the body, but it can be one of the symptoms of a violation of somatic health, however, not the very first and only one. Therefore, if the appearance of gray hair at a young age is not characteristic of a family history and, in addition, there are some symptoms of malaise, then it makes sense to consult a doctor in order to find out the reasons for the insufficient production of melanocytes.

Psychosomatics

Any disease has not only physiological, but also psychological preconditions. Psychosomatic medicine studies the psychological background of the development of somatic symptom complexes.

Hair grows on the head, which symbolizes ourselves, and early gray hair, from a metaphysical point of view, speaks of a lack of strength and faith in oneself, despair, strong tension, helplessness, fear of the present and future. Our crown connects us with the Universe, and if this connection is interrupted, a person cannot cope with life's tasks, loses harmony in life, gray hair appears.

Traditional medicine has noticed that early gray hair in men may indicate a weakness in the cardiovascular system. Psychosomatic aspects of diseases of the heart and blood vessels correlate with tension, constant stress, nervous overload, anxiety, which corresponds to the causes of early gray hair.

Early gray hair in women is interpreted from the point of view of their traditional role in society and is explained by the woman's anxiety for her family nest, the uncertainty that she will be able to maintain the well-being of her family and provide an adequate level of security for her children.

Only the patient himself can correct his psycho-emotional state by changing the stereotypes of his thinking.

Complications and consequences

Early gray hair does not pose a direct threat to health, even, according to the latest data, it is classified as a prognostic factor.

The consequences of early graying can be attributed to dissatisfaction with one's appearance, but such a deficiency can be quickly corrected in a beauty salon.

Nevertheless, an early gray-haired person should pay attention to the state of his health, since diseases that lead to a violation of the synthesis of melanocytes should not be launched and it is better to identify them at the beginning of their development.

Diagnostics of the early gray hair

The appearance of early gray hair may be associated with certain diseases or external factors. To establish this, it is necessary to undergo a comprehensive examination and get advice from a cardiologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist.

The patient will be tested. Laboratory studies can be very different from a clinical blood test to more specific ones: for the level of serum iron, vitamin B12, other vitamins and minerals, thyroid hormones, and serum gastrin levels.

Depending on the alleged diagnosis, instrumental diagnostics may be prescribed.

Based on the results of the examination, a differential diagnosis is carried out, which allows to establish what caused the insufficient synthesis of melanin. Alimentary causes are differentiated from diseases that led to metabolic disorders.

Treatment of the early gray hair

If gray hairs have already appeared, then it is not always possible to stop the graying process itself and completely restore the previous state of the hair. But you can slow down the rate of appearance of a new gray hair. True, you will have to make an effort: it is possible to change your lifestyle, parting with bad habits, review your diet, provide professional care for your scalp and hair, and most importantly, review your life attitudes, get rid of fears, overcome self-doubt and helplessness. The appearance of early gray hair is attributed to psychosomatic pathologies and positive attitudes bring real results.

That's what is categorically not recommended to do, so it's pulling out the first gray hairs. They gleam singly in the parting, and the hand itself reaches out to correct the defect. This is not necessary, because, firstly, pulling out gray hairs can lead to infection and the development of dermatitis, and secondly, the hair follicles can be damaged, and they will stop growing, which will lead to the formation of bald spots in the places of graying.

How to stop early gray hair? There are drugs that, according to their manufacturers, can regenerate melanocytes and restore their ability to produce a coloring pigment. True, there will be no effect from the first application, a noticeable improvement should occur after regular use for two to three weeks. Preparations for restoring hair color are available in different forms.

Spray Stopsedin is sprayed on the hair. You don't have to wash your hair to use it. It is suitable for both men and women, and it contains natural and useful components, the complex effect of which is to improve the hair and scalp, as well as to restore the natural processes of melanin synthesis.

This is inositol or vitamin B8, which has a beneficial effect not only on hair growth and the formation of a pigment that colors them, but also normalizes the work of the cardiovascular and hepatobiliary systems, the muscular apparatus, also called the “elixir of youth”, since it protects cells from aging and death; biotin or vitamin B7 (beauty vitamin), which is involved in the breakdown of fatty acids, leucine, a coenzyme in the process of gluconeogenesis. In addition, the preparation includes amla oil, which contains a lot of necessary components for the restoration of hair follicles, and the levorotatory isomer of tyrosine, a non-essential amino acid necessary for the production of thyroid hormones and catecholamines, due to which an anti-stress effect is manifested, anxiety is reduced and mood improves.

Stopsedin is used extremely simply: the spray bottle is shaken vigorously, and through the dispenser its contents are applied to the hair roots. After that, massage movements are distributed over the scalp under the hair. Then I comb my hair and that's it. The return of color is promised in about three weeks or a month, depending on the degree of neglect of the problem. After that, you will only have to maintain the brightness and quality of the hair, periodically applying the drug to them.

Slovak Reparex lotion is somewhat more difficult to use. Before using it, the hair should be wet, after application it is also rubbed into the scalp with massage movements, and after five minutes the head is dried with a hair dryer. Reparex is produced separately for female and male consumers. It contains G-reductase, capable of catalyzing the process of melanin synthesis; monovalent silver nitrate (lapis) and rosmarinic acid - antioxidants, leveling the effects of oxidative stress; pantothenic (vitamin B5) and ricinoleic acids, which prevent discoloration and stimulate hair repair; sea salt as a source of essential mineral ingredients. The lotion is used every day for the first two to three weeks. And when the color is restored, once or twice a week - to maintain the achieved effect.

Certain vitamins are also used for hair growth. For example, Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin). A neurotropic vitamin can be prescribed for its established deficiency, which develops in many diseases (gastritis with low acidity, autoimmune processes) and protein-free diets.

Magnesium injections and magnesium preparations, for example, Magne B6, have an anti-stress effect.

Para-aminobenzoic acid or vitamin B10, nicotinic (B3) and folic (B9) acids prevent the early appearance of gray hair. Vitamin A contributes to the integrity, smoothness and elasticity of each hair, without vitamin D calcium absorption is problematic, vitamins C and E are powerful antioxidants.

The lack of zinc, calcium, magnesium, copper and selenium affects the quality of the hairline, so it is advisable to take vitamin-mineral complexes, such as Selmevit Intensive or Melan Plus. But if the use of external remedies Stopsedin, Reparex and others is possible on their own initiative, then before ingesting even seemingly harmless multivitamins, a doctor's consultation is necessary, since hypervitaminosis and an excess of minerals are as dangerous as its deficiency.

Treatment is prescribed individually. It is aimed at activating blood flow in the capillaries, improving the trophism and plastic properties of the scalp, normalizing neurohumoral connections, stimulating melanotropocytes and the formation of a coloring pigment.

In combination with the intake of mono- or multivitamins, the use of external agents for the above purposes, physiotherapy is also used.

Head massage, acupuncture and reflexology are widely used to relieve stress, vascular and muscle spasms, increase blood flow and eliminate inflammation.

Mesotherapy can slow down the process of premature graying - the procedure consists in the subcutaneous injection of vitamin cocktails with thin and short needles, the bulk of which are B vitamins and melanin pigment precursors, oligoelements - the most popular complex: zinc, cobalt, nickel. Zinc is essential for the regeneration of scalp and hair cells; cobalt - normalizes hematopoiesis, in particular, the synthesis of proteins and vitamin B12, directly prevents the appearance of early gray hair; nickel - contributes to the formation of arginine, which activates blood circulation in the skin capillaries, therefore, improves nutrition and respiration. Usually, to obtain a visible effect, it is necessary to undergo about a dozen procedures - one per week. Mesotherapy does not bring significant discomfort and is easily tolerated by patients.

Effective treatment of early gray hair with laser radiation, which stimulates recovery, metabolic and biosynthetic processes. The effectiveness of laser therapy is associated with the activation of enzyme systems. A laser scanning beam, laser puncture, magneto-laser therapy are used.

A new method is plasma therapy - similar to mesotherapy, only injections are performed with a plasma solution enriched with platelets, which starts the process of auto-regeneration in the scalp.

Of the hardware methods of physiological effects, electrical stimulation, d'Arsonval currents, phototherapy, ozone therapy are used, activating "sleeping" hair follicles and even restoring the damaged ones.

Professionals usually do not mind the fact that the patient will supplement the treatment at home with hair care according to alternative medicine prescriptions. However, they do not consider home treatment to be effective, although they acknowledge that the hair and scalp become healthier. Nevertheless, many people claim that they managed to cope with the problem exclusively by alternative means. You can check how effective such recipes are only empirically on your own hair.

Alternative Treatment

There are many recipes for restoring hair color: from completely simple ones that do not need to be spent either time or money, to very complex ones.

Let's start with the most basic - massages. There is an opinion that the stimulation of not the scalp, but the nail plates helps to regenerate the quality of the hair. It is these zones that are responsible for the health, growth and color of hair. It is recommended to intensively rub the nails of the hands against each other two or three times a day for five minutes, putting the fingers of the left hand bent into a half-fist to the fingers of the right hand with the nails. Do not forget about the nails of the thumbs. The result will be noticeable in a month, and after six months the gray hair will completely disappear.

Impact directly on the hair - wind a strand of hair on your finger and hold it for about five minutes, then the next.

With spiral movements, you can massage the scalp from the top of the head to the back of the head and in the opposite direction. This massage is recommended to be done when you are going to wash your hair.

Dimexide hair masks are popular. It is a medicinal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with good penetrating power. It is added to masks based on many natural ingredients, combined with vitamins, oils, brewer's yeast and herbal decoctions. A good conductor, dimexide, promotes faster penetration of nutrients deep into the skin, stimulates blood circulation, improves nutrition and respiration, increasing the efficiency of cell regeneration. In addition, as a drug, it relieves local inflammation, irritation, pain.

The recipe must be followed exactly. Dimexide must be diluted with water and thoroughly mix the ingredients of the mask. Undiluted dimexide can cause skin burns. After applying the mask, you may feel a slight burning sensation and tingling of the skin. This is fine.

It is also necessary to take into account the possibility of developing an allergic reaction. Do not make masks with dimexide for people with allergic reactions to NSAIDs and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cancer, kidney pathologies, and also during pregnancy and lactation. When working with the preparation, hands must be protected with gloves.

First prepare a 10% solution of dimexide. One measure of the drug, for example, a teaspoon or a measuring cup, is diluted in nine corresponding measures of water. Then we combine with another component of the mask in the ratio of one part of the dimexide solution to three parts of the remaining ingredients. The composition is applied with a brush to the roots of previously washed and towel-dried hair immediately after preparing the mixture. The head is covered with cling film, wrapped in a towel and a warm scarf, left for half an hour or an hour, then washed off with shampoo and rinsed with lemon water.

The treatment course includes seven to eight masks, procedures are carried out once or twice a week. Then there is a break for three to four months.

Mask with vitamins A and E: mix a teaspoon of Aevit oil solution, burdock and castor oils, dimexide solution. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil (for fragrance), lemon is recommended for fair-haired people. Warm the mixture a little and rub it into the hair roots. Warm up your head. The exposure time is about an hour.

Yeast mask: mix three teaspoons of liquid brewer's yeast with one spoon of dimexide solution. If there are no liquid ones, you can take any (dry, in briquettes), activate them with warm water, milk, kefir and mix at the moment of active fermentation. Warm up your head. Keep an hour.

Without dimexide, they also make a mask with yeast. To do this, stir dry yeast with warm water 1: 1 (a tablespoon), add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed onion juice, salt on the tip of a knife, burdock and / or castor oil (a teaspoon). Warm up your head. Keep an hour.

The following recipe is quite complicated, from the field of psychosomatics, but the author claims that he and many others, using this technique, got rid of the early rather massive gray hair completely, along the way, apparently, having improved their state of health. In an ecologically clean place, you need to dig up land. Best in spring, early morning. Before you start digging, you need to thank the world for what it is and you live in it. The result depends on sincerity. Dig up the earth, loosen it and put it in a plastic bag to bring home. This is enough for the entire course.

Procedures are carried out in the morning and before bedtime. First you need to mentally tune in to the rejuvenation of your body. At the time of the procedure, do not think about business and worries, only about yourself, your loved one. Wash your hair with warm water without detergents and dry your hair with a towel so that no water drips. Mix part of the land brought with a sour-milk drink to a state of slurry. Curdled milk, kefir, fermented baked milk will do. Apply the mixture to the hair roots for a quarter of an hour. At this time, focus on love and gratitude to the world around us. Wash off the applied mixture. The duration of the course is seven days.

With early graying, herbal treatment can be effective. Calamus, amaranth and aloe are used as powerful antioxidants. Basil, immortelle flowers, birch leaves and buds, oregano, calendula, St. John's wort and others are natural hair renewal biostimulants.

To prevent early graying, you can prepare nettle oil (dark hair). Three tablespoons of fresh or dry nettles are placed in a glass container and poured with 150 g of heated vegetable oil. The vessel is stored in a place protected from light for a week. The finished oil is rubbed into the scalp at the roots of the hair about an hour before the intended wash. In addition to the prevention of gray hair, such procedures contribute to the improvement of hair and scalp.

You can make an infusion of a pinch of calendula, chamomile flowers and hop cones. The mixture is brewed with boiling water in a glass. Infuse for 20 minutes. Filter and rub into the hair roots every other day. You don't need to wash it off.

Bay leaf is a powerful biostimulant for hair renewal. It is in every kitchen. It can also be used to make butter. To do this, 20 dry leaves are ground in a coffee grinder and poured with a glass of olive oil in a glass container with an airtight lid. It must be made by cold pressing. The vessel is stored in a dark place for a week, after which the oil is ready. It is used to make masks or simply rubbed into the hair roots.

It is worth remembering that herbal remedies can also cause intolerance reactions and often have a strong odor. This should be considered for allergy sufferers, hypertensive patients, pregnant and lactating women.

Homeopathy

Homeopathic treatment of early gray hair should be carried out under the supervision of a physician of the appropriate profile, its success largely depends on the correctness of the prescribed constitutional remedy. It is prescribed not so much on the basis of the presence of gray strands in the hair, but on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the patient's psychological portrait, the characteristics of his behavior and reactions to external stimuli, appearance, inclinations and addictions.

The drugs of choice in case of early gray hair are:

  • phosphoricum acidum (phosphoric acid), when the patient has suffered a severe nervous shock or is under the influence of chronic stress;
  • fluoricum acidum (hydrofluoric acid), when the patient is clearly asocial, aggressive, selfish;
  • vinca minor (periwinkle small) - one of the symptoms is the loss of pigmented hair and the growth of gray hair in their place;
  • thallium sulphuricum (thallium sulfate) - effective when hair problems are associated with medication;
  • lycopodium (club moss) - early graying associated with metabolic disorders.

Other drugs may be prescribed depending on the accompanying symptoms and modalities.

Surgery

Surgical intervention - hair transplantation is resorted to when graying is extremely rare. It is much easier and safer to just dye your hair. Nevertheless, such techniques exist, although they are more often resorted to to hide baldness and post-traumatic scars, and not just gray hair. Modern hair transplantation allows you to transplant microscopic areas of the scalp with a hair follicle from one place to another and restore the hairline.

Operations are expensive, requiring high qualifications, and are carried out manually or using modern robotic devices.

Prevention

If your parents turned gray early, then there is a high probability that you also inherited this tendency, and there's nothing to be done about it.

But taking care of your own health - the absence of bad habits, good nutrition (proteins, vitamins, trace elements), hair care will help at least slow down and maintain the quality of hair. You should not get involved in fashionable diets, starve, exclude the use of any products. Such experiments disrupt the balance of substances necessary for the body and cause metabolic disorders.

In addition, premature gray hair is associated with low stress resistance. The gurus of psychosomatics recommend, first of all, to put things in order in oneself, engage in self-knowledge and knowledge of the world, reconsider one's value system and replace harmful attitudes with positive ones. In this regard, self-hypnosis is useful. In solitude, a person pronounces attitudes aimed at positive (affirmations), in which he wants to believe. It has been established that with repeated repetition of such verbal formulas, the psycho-emotional state of a person and his physical health improve.

Forecast

Early gray hair is not life-threatening. In the vast majority of cases (some sources call 98%), even examination does not allow us to establish its physiological cause. In addition, modern methods of hair care allow you to hide early gray hair, mask it with a haircut, styling, toning, coloring. In general, it does not pose a serious problem.

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