Complex idea - explication

Why does hair turn white?

Everyone's hair colors are varied. However, no matter what our hair color is, one day everyone will have white hair. Some people panic when they see their first white hair and absolutely want to start dyeing them. This reaction is common even though this change of color is inevitable. But why does hair turn white? There is a specific explanation.

Firstly, the human body is like a car. When both get older, they do not work as well than at the beginning. So, an old human body is like an old car.

To understand why the hair turns white, it is important to understand what melanin is. It is a pigment that comes with different shades, but the forms and ratios may vary. Pigment protection against UV radiation is the primary role of melanin. Everyone has melanin, even animals. When our skin tans in the sun, melanin is responsible. It can absorb light very effectively, which is important for the human body. However, the process of melanin formation is rather complex. Even as for some types of melanin, experts have not yet discovered everything. But what is clear is that this pigment plays an important role for many aspects of our body, not only for our hair color. It also determinate our skin and eyes color. People with a light skin have less melanin than people with dark skin.

When our body is older, the cells that produce hair color do not work as well. Over the years, melanocytes are cells that decrease their melanin production. Melanin is the pigment that colors hair but with the years, the body produces less and less of these hormones. As a result, these cells are less effective, and the hair starts to appear white. This process is gradual and take many years but one day, all the hairs will be white.

It is also important to know that the lifespan of a hair is approximately of 3 years, which is not that much. It is after about 10 cycles that the pigmentation process degrades, just like a car has issues after 10 years. In summary, to better understand, a gray hair has less melanin and a white hair has no melanin.

In general, after 30 years old, the probability to have white hair increases of 10 to 20 % every 10 years. However, the age when we have white hair varies by person even though the hair has about 10 cycles. Some people have white hair at a very young age, while others have them older. Sometimes, there is a big difference of years between two persons. This difference may seem strange to understand. So, what explains this difference?  Some experts say that stress, smoking, hormones and deficiencies of vitamin B-6, B-12, biotin, vitamin D and vitamin E can accelerate the process. There is also ethnicity that has an effect because Caucasians have generally more white hair than Africans and Asians. But it is genes that play a most important role. Normally, the age at which our mother, father, grandmother and grandfather had grey hair should be related to the age at which we have grey hair. Past generations can give a good idea of age to which we will be concerned. But, of course, there's a certain margin of error. It is impossible to predict everything!

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