News1 min ago
Grey hair
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why does our hair turn white or grey when we reach our older years in life ?
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Don't need to be getting on in life! I started going silvery white (not grey) at 14. My younger sister is as white as I am and two of my sons began 'silvering' at the ripe old ages of 12 and 15 respectively. I should add we all, originally, had dark hair. Mine was black, my sister's dark brown and the boys were very dark brown. My middle son is blondish and he seems to be ok!
Pigment-producing cells add colour to our hair as it grows. Darker hair has more pigment than lighter hair. As we age, the pigment-producing cells slowly die off. Hair’s base colour shows through, and individual hairs appear white. When mixed in with strands of hair that still have their original colour, hair looks grey.
There must be a hereditary factor involved somewhere, as my father did not go grey until his seventies and then his beard turned first. I have obviously inherited this as my hair is still dark brown, but I'm not telling you how old I am! As Lindylou said, you don't need to be ageing to go grey - I've known teenagers who've gone grey as well.
One extreme answer is that it's a genetic indicator that you're likely to be past your physical prime and are not a perfect mate.
I don't actually believe this but it fits in nicely with a good book I've just read that said *everything* we do is down to our genes (slight exaggeration on my part there!).
I don't actually believe this but it fits in nicely with a good book I've just read that said *everything* we do is down to our genes (slight exaggeration on my part there!).
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