The ABCs of Gray Hair

I’m sorry to say that no matter how technologically advanced our hair care products are today, our hair still ages, which means it thins, goes gray and sometimes falls out.
But what exactly happens to our hair as we age? Like our bones and organs, including our skin, there are just fewer cells reproducing as we get older, and our hair in no exception, and a lack of protein within the hair shaft means thinner and oftentimes coarser strands.
When it comes to gray hair, for years it’s been common knowledge that the melanin inside the hair naturally slows down production as we age. But a recent discovery by Germany and UK-based scientific teams has called into question the traditional thinking on why we go gray. Their recent studies have shown that the appearance of gray hair is actually caused by a build-up of hydrogen peroxide within the roots of our hair.

While hydrogen peroxide is naturally present in our bodies and our hair, a gradual build-up, say the experts, targets the enzymes that control the creation of melanin, which dictates our hair color.
What does this mean in the long term? For one it’s a great starting point. If scientists have hit on why our hair actually goes gray, is it so far-fetched to imagine a “cure” for those unwanted signs of passing time? Hair-coloring brands may not like the sound of this, but for the moment they are safe. We are still going gray, whether we like it or not!