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Posted by on Jan 12, 2016 in TellMeWhy |

Why Does Hair Turn Gray?

Why Does Hair Turn Gray?

People with gray or white hair didn’t always have hair that color. Their hair may once have been black or brown, light blond or flaming red.

Your hair grows from special hair follicles which are underneath the surface of your skin. The color of hair comes from a pigment (coloring matter) that is deposited in the new hair cells as they form in the hair roots.

As a person grows older, less and less pigment is deposited in the newly forming hair cells. The hair gradually becomes gray or white because of the lack of added color. A person’s hair color is inherited.

How early we get gray hair is determined by our genes. This means that most of us will start having gray hairs around the same age that our parents or grandparents first did.

Gray hair is more noticeable in people with darker hair because it stands out, but people with naturally lighter hair are just as likely to go gray. From the time a person notices a few gray hairs, it may take more than 10 years for all of that person’s hair to turn gray.

Content for this question contributed by Lori Freeland, resident of Arlington, Gilliam County, Oregon, USA