What Causes Gray Hair, and Can You Reverse It? - GoodRx (2024)

For some people, gray hair can be hard to deal with, no matter the age when it happens. While a few may embrace the color change, others may look for ways to prevent or reverse the process. But is it really possible to reverse gray hair? Are there things you could be doing to prevent this from happening?

Here, we’ll review how your hair turns gray, which medical conditions or lifestyle factors could be contributing to this change, and if it really is possible to reverse gray hair.

Why does hair turn gray?

Getting gray hair is part of the normal aging process for many people. In fact, nearly 1 in 4 people will have half their hair turn gray by the age of 50.

For the most part, when you get gray hair — and how much of it you get — comes from the genes you inherit from your parents. Scientists have found a specific gene linked to gray hair, although there are probably many different genes involved. So, at what age your hair starts to turn gray (and how much of it does) depends mainly on genetics.

“Premature graying” is a term used when hair turns gray earlier than expected. There are some underlying conditions that can cause this. Let’s first review how hair gets its color, and then discuss why people’s hair may turn gray.

How hair gets its color

Hair color comes from melanin, which is a natural pigment found in different parts of your body, including your:

• Hair follicles

• Skin (responsible for your skin color)

• Parts of your eye (responsible for your eye color)

There are two main types of melanin — eumelanin and pheomelanin. Your hair color depends on how much and what types of melanin you have in your hair follicles, which is determined mainly by your genes. But, in general, hair follicles make less melanin as you get older, which causes hair to start growing in gray or white.

Hair color can also change over time. For example, light-colored hair in children may get darker as they get older. Scientists aren’t exactly sure why this happens, but it may have to do with hormonal changes.

Oxidative stress

Oxidative stress is a cellular process that may also contribute to hair follicles losing pigment and turning gray. Oxidative stress occurs when there’s an imbalance of free radicals (which can damage cells) and antioxidants (which can prevent or delay some cell damage).

Certain situations or chemicals might cause oxidative stress and speed up gray hair. But more research is needed to figure out exactly how:

• People with gray hair can have high levels of hydrogen peroxide and low levels of catalase. The body naturally produces both of these chemicals, but catalase normally keeps hydrogen peroxide in check. So when levels of catalase are low, hydrogen peroxide can build up.

• Periods of chronic or acute psychological stress can cause inflammation in the body.

• Ultraviolet (UV) light, especially UVA and UVB from the sun, can increase the oxidative stress in hair follicles.

Other factors that may contribute to gray hair

It’s possible that some health conditions and lifestyle habits may be linked to getting gray hair, especially when it happens early. Examples include:

• Nutrient deficiencies (like low levels of vitamin B12 or ferritin, which can happen from low iron levels, among other reasons)

• Some genetic conditions (like tuberous sclerosis and acatalasemia)

• Thyroid disease

• Vitiligo

• Alopecia areata

• Smoking

• Psychological stress

• Certain medications (like chloroquine)

Can gray hair be reversed?

Until recently, the answer to this has been no. It was thought that once a hair follicle stopped making melanin, it wasn’t possible for it to regain its color on its own.

But a recent study showed that it may be possible to reverse gray hair — even if just temporarily. In the study, researchers were able to analyze how individual hair shafts changed over time. They showed that stress was linked to hairs turning gray, and when that stress was removed, some color was restored in some parts of the hair.

The study involved a small number of people, and the changes in hair color were subtle and only seen with a high-resolution scanner. But they provide evidence that turning gray may not be a fixed process.

It’s hard to say for sure what this means for individual people — if anything — since everyone’s situation and genetics are unique.

Are there gray hair treatments?

There are no treatments that are proven to treat (or reverse) gray hair. As researchers learn more about how the graying process happens, they may develop effective medications and treatments for gray hair.

For now, the best choice for people who want to cover their gray hair is to use hair coloring, which can be temporary or permanent depending on the type.

Or you can ditch the hair dye and opt to gray naturally and gracefully.

Are there natural remedies to prevent or reverse from graying?

So far, there are no natural remedies that can slow down the hair-graying process. The best thing you can do is to stay healthy, eat a well-rounded diet, and lower your stress levels as much as possible.

Can you prevent gray hair?

No, in general there’s no way to prevent your hair from turning gray as you age.

Eating a nutritious, well-balanced diet is a good idea. This helps improve your overall health and decreases your risk of developing any nutritional deficiencies that may be associated with graying too early.

It’s possible that lifestyle changes — like smoking cessation and lowering your stress levels — could help prevent premature graying. So far, though, there’s no definitive evidence to prove this. But research shows that these two lifestyle changes improve other aspects of your health, so they may be worth doing anyway.

Can stress cause gray hair?

Stress has often been linked to getting gray hair. But science has only recently been able to back up this claim. A recent study showed that people who experience psychological stress were more likely to develop gray hair. It’s important to know that the study was pretty small, so more research is needed to figure out exactly how this happens.

Can sleep play a role?

So far, there’s no direct link between the amount and quality of sleep a person gets and whether or not they have gray hair. But not getting enough sleep contributes to increased stress levels. Since stress is linked to gray hair, it’s very possible that not getting enough sleep over a prolonged period of time can indirectly contribute to gray hair.

What’s premature gray?

Premature graying happens when people gray earlier than expected. The age may vary from person to person, but premature gray is defined differently according to someone’s descent:

• White people are prematurely gray if they’re younger than 20 years old.

• People of Asian descent are prematurely gray if they’re younger than 25 years old.

• People of African descent are prematurely gray if they’re younger than 30 years old.

Experts aren’t sure exactly why people get premature gray hair, but it’s probably related to genes. If your parents had premature grays, you may be more likely to get them. Other factors may play a role (more on this below).

Myths about gray hair

There are many myths about gray hair that you may have heard. Here are some common beliefs that experts think are likely not true:

• Coloring your hair leads to faster loss of color.

• Plucking gray hair leads to multiple gray hairs growing back.

• Laser hair removal can get rid of gray hairs.

• Bleaching your hair causes gray hair.

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