By White hair has been universally associated with ageing, and the minute the first white hair pops out in your black/brown tresses – that’s it. Regardless of what your age may be, society has put the label of ‘old’ on you, and there is nothing you can do about it – well, besides rushing to the store; picking out the closest shade of hair dye you can find, and camouflaging the white into nonexistence. Heaven forbid, a woman in her twenties and thirties have a single white hair!
While, we at Mashion call nonsense to the notion that white hair is for old people — today we are going to dissect what causes pre mature white hair on people. Some say pre-mature white hair is a sign of a wise person, some say it is because you are an old soul, but let’s hear what the experts have to say about this! We connected with doctors from Jinnah Hospital in Karachi to bring you all the information on the causes of pre mature white hair.
Vitamin Deficiency
Doctor Mahleej Shah – House Officer at JPMC and a budding Aesthetician – shares that any deficiencies of vitamin B-6, B-12, Biotin, Vitamin D or vitamin E can contribute to premature grey hairs. So, stock up on your vitamins if you wish to keep your greys at bay!
Smoking
Smoking is not only hazardous to your lungs and heart, but it can also cause premature greys. Smoking constricts your blood vessels, which can reduce blood flow to hair follicles and eventually cause hair loss. Beyond this, toxins in cigarettes can damage your hair follicles and cause early white hair! Now, take this as a sign to burn this bad habit once and for all – no pun intended!
Stress
Studies have shown that stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, rev up your hormones and cause your blood vessels to constrict and divert more oxygen to your muscles. Doctor Maliha Arshad Pervez, cites a study that indicated that when a body is stressed, it releases the chemical norepinephrine into the follicles. This chemical causes the pigment cells to move out of the hair follicles, and without stem cells left to create new pigment cells, the new hair turns grey.
Genetics
According to Dr. Shah, “the major proponent to cause pre-mature hair greying is genetics. Being someone who suffers from this myself, you can eat all the vitamins under the sun, but if your genetics have pre-mature grey hair, then there’s nothing you can about it. You can’t fight your genes!”
