New study finds grey hair could be reversible with less stress!
Stress can cause a lot of damage to your body and, as it turns out, it might just be responsible for those grey hairs, too.
Before we jump right in, it is important to note that there is nothing wrong with grey hair!
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Although society has established that grey hair means "old" and sometimes even "unattractive", we do not agree. Grey hair has become such a trend that people of all ages are choosing to dye their hair grey. But grey hair isn't always age-related and doesn't necessarily indicate an older age, as many young people can develop grey hair at a very early age.
And just like there is no problem with people wearing their grey hair with pride, there is also nothing wrong with people trying to hide their grey hair if that's what they are more comfortable with.
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At the end of the day, it's your choice.
That being said, if you want to learn more about what causes grey hair and how you could possibly reverse the process (without breaking the bank) then read on!
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Are your parents even your parents if they didn't tell you, "you're giving me grey hairs", growing up?
They probably did. There might have even been some truth to those words.
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eLife recently published a small study where they collected hair samples from 14 participants. The participants ranged from age nine to 65-years-of-age and they had to have "some grey hairs" or "two-coloured hairs" (hair that contains two colours).
The hair colour of each strand was analysed and they had compared it to the hair-growth time.
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The researchers discovered that 10 people's hair had the colour returning, despite previously being grey.
This was determined by having the participants note their stressors and so during the time their hair was analysed, those who reported more stressful times had more hair turning grey.
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The participants that reported feeling more relaxed incredibly enough showed signs of reversal taking place meaning the hair colour returned to the grey hair, which suggests that there truly is a connection between stress and the greying process.
The researchers did note that the reversal is only possible if you find it at a young enough age and the reversal might not be guaranteed at an older age, as it probably has a very specific window of opportunity.
We don't think that reducing stress in a 70-year-old who's been gray for years will darken their hair or increasing stress in a 10-year-old will be enough to tip their hair over the gray threshold.
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Ultimately, grey hairs pop up when your body stops producing cells that generate melanin, so until that can be completely reversed, us humans will just have to take what we can get.
And if that means less stress = more colour, then sign us up!
Main image courtesy of iStock