Cures for Graying Hair

If you believe your latest Internet search, there are any number of remedies and cures for gray hair available in exchange for your credit card information. However, curing gray hair isn't that simple, and you could well be purchasing a product that has no scientific studies to support its claims. So before you put your belief in tantalizing gray hair cure products, make sure you understand what causes gray hair--as well as the only proven way to "cure" it.

Is There a Cure for Gray?

• Unfortunately, once hair turns gray, there is no conventional medical treatment that will cause your hair to grow out to the color it used to be. However, scientists and medical researchers have studied the graying process thoroughly, as well as some of the factors that may cause hair to turn gray. For example, in June 2009, results of a study conducted by the Tokyo Medical and Dental University suggest that repeated exposure to certain environmental and physical stressors can cause irreversible damage to DNA, which in turn triggers gray hair, as well as the physical aging process. This brings us closer to understanding what causes gray hair--and closer to a medical treatment.

About Your Hair

• Each of your hair follicles is comprised of a "buddy system" of two special cells. Keratinocytes, which regulate the production of keratin, are responsible for creating the physical structure of your hair. Melanocytes, on the other hand, dictate the production of melanin, or pigment. Not only do melancytes decide what color your hair will be--blond, red, brown, or black and any shade in between--but the amount of melanin released. When melanocytes cease to function, melanin stops being produced and hair eventually grows out transparent. Gray or silver hair still has some melanin while a pure white hair has no pigment at all.

Gray Hair Causes

• Scientific research like that conducted by the Toyko team of research has identified some ways in which melanocytes can be disabled. Additional research on people with vitiligo, a type of albinism that results in white patches of hair, also indicates that melanocytes can be disabled by certain medical conditions (other illnesses that are known to cause gray hair include thyroid disorders and certain types of anemia). But ultimately, the strongest tie between gray hair and the time at which melanocytes stop functioning is heredity. Each melanocyte has a predetermined lifespan that is largely determined by your genetic make-up. Some people die in old age with a head of dark hair, while others start to see premature gray in their early twenties. But in most cases, gray hair is simply a natural side-effect of the physical aging process.

Gray Hair Cures: Are They Scams?

• There are an abundance of holistic supplements that claim to cure gray hair--but do they? Consumers who invest a considerable amount of time and money in a certain gray hair cure that is not backed up by scientific study nor approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration certainly want to know. A well-known gray hair cure is the Chinese herb Fo-Ti; legend has it that an old Chinese villager by the name of "Mr. He" took the herb and restored his white hair back to black. Not only that, Fo-Ti also purportedly made him appear physically young again. Whether Mr. He really existed is unknown, however, gray hair products containing Fo-Ti are very popular and are sold on numerous Internet sites. Other supplements high in B vitamins claim to cure gray hair, too. Again, the efficacy of these is supported only by word-of-mouth testimony. Before you invest a lot of money in an unknown gray hair cure, it's helpful to do research on the product and see what people who have used them are saying.

Get Rid of Gray

• Scientific research on the various causes of gray hair gives consumers hope that one day there will be a medical treatment that can prevent or delay the graying process. However, currently, there's only one "cure" for graying hair, and that can be found contained in a box of Miss Clairol or in the skills of a salon stylist who specializes in coloring gray hair.