What Are the Causes of Premature Gray Hair in Women?

You've just attended your five-year high school reunion and are startled to see that some of your former teenager buddies have already begun to turn gray, and they're only 23-years-old; it happens. Most of us don't start graying until we're in our 30s and 40s but there are those individuals who, due to their genetic blueprint, start to lose the pigment in their hair very early on. Although we refer to our hair turning gray (or white) that's not exactly what happens. Dark hair doesn't turn white; rather, you shed your dark hair, and it is replaced by new hair that is translucent (no color) but which we refer to as gray or white.

Melanin

• All of us produce melanin, which is pigment. Pigment is in our hair follicles as well as in our skin. As we get older, we start producing less melanin. If your predecessors were in the camp that stopped producing melanin early on, it is very likely that you have inherited this characteristic. The improper synthesis of protein results in premature gray hair, according to home-remedies-for-you.com. Fluctuation of melanin production occurs if protein isn't being synthesized properly, which may be due to genetics.

Other Factors

• Aside from your genetic predisposition, there are other factors that can cause hair to lose its pigment prematurely. If you are suffering from a thyroid disorder, this can impact the color of your hair.
  Yogawiz.com maintains that poor nutrition of the scalp may exacerbate graying. If your diet is lacking vitamin B, iron, iodine and copper, this may result in premature graying. In addition, overdrying the hair, use of chemicals, not keeping your hair clean and washing your hair in hot water can lead to an itchy and dry scalp, which may lead to loss of pigment.

Catalase and Hydrogen Peroxide

• Another factor in influencing when a person is going to go gray is determined by the individual's production of the enzyme catalase. This enzyme becomes hydrogen peroxide when it is broken down. When catalase production is normal, it doesn't have an adverse reaction on our hair; however, if production goes awry, this can cause hydrogen peroxide to accumulate. When there is too much hydrogen peroxide, this will make your hair lose its color. Normally, the enzyme works fine until we're older, at which time it gets tripped up and no longer works optimally.

Stress

• Dr. Diana Bihova, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center in New York City, notes that stress doesn't have anything to do with premature graying hair, unless a person completely depletes his vitamin B levels; however, others disagree and maintain that ongoing stress may cause premature gray hair. Dr. Jennifer Lin of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston, who is a researcher, said that there is evidence that stress hormones mediate signals that instruct melanocytes to deliver melanin to keratinocytes. It is possible that if the signals are disrupted, melanin will not deliver pigment to your hair, thus you will go gray.

  Dr. Ralf Paus, professor of dermatology at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, explains that graying may in fact be the result of chronic damage done by free radicals. Stress hormones that are produced either locally by cells in the follicle or systemically may produce inflammation that drives the free radical production. Free radicals are unstable molecules that damage cells. Dr. Paus notes that it's possible that these free radicals can induce bleaching of melanin or influence melanin production.

Lifestyle

• Long work hours, excessive caffeine, irregular eating, skipping meals, becoming anemic and stress may all contribute to premature hair, according to daisybrushes.com.
  Stress-free-mama.com points out that in the Chinese medical world it is believed that keeping your kidneys and blood strong and healthy my prevent premature graying. Suggestions for achieving this include eating black sesame seeds, nettles, blackstrap molasses, hijiki seaweed and wheat grass.

Additional Considerations

• Selfgrowth.com maintains that genetics are the main factor when it comes to premature graying, although other factors may play a role. If a person's hair is 50 percent gray by the time she is 40-years-old, this is considered premature graying. Typically, Caucasians will get their first gray hair at approximately 34.2 years of age, give or take nine years one way or another, while black people on average don't start graying until they are 43.9 years old, give or take 10 years one way or the other.
  Grayhairstyle.com thinks smoking causes premature graying of hair, noting that smokers are four times more likely to go gray than nonsmokers, although there isn't complete agreement about this.