There is a long-held concept that greying hair is a sign of lived experience rather than merely a problem of time and age. The proverb "you're making my hair grey" implies that thinning locks are a sign of anxiety, yet history has it that Marie Antoinette's hair turned white in a single night after discovering she would be put to death.
Yet, can a person's life experiences actually alter the colour of their hair? According to science, although hair colour normally fades with age, some variables, such as stress, may hasten this process.
According to the American Psychological Association, stress is a common reaction to everyday stresses, but it can turn harmful when it interferes with a person's day-to-day functioning.
Although genes mostly determine when people grey, stress "may expedite" the greying process, according to David Kingsley, president of the Global Trichology Association and a hair loss researcher. The study of hair and scalp disorders is known as trichology.
According to him, even indirect stressors like anaemia, thyroid problems, hormonal imbalances, and malnutrition can affect hair colouring.
According to a 2020 research published in the journal Nature, stress in mice can decrease melanocytes, the cells responsible for pigmenting the hair (opens in new tab). Stem cells that are found in hair follicles create melanocytes.
In the experiment, researchers made the mice experience stress. Corticosterone—the stress hormone cortisol in rodents—and norepinephrine—a neurotransmitter and hormone—flowed into the follicle in response. The norepinephrine allowed the stem cell to change into a typical melanocyte once it reached the follicle, which prevented it from continuing to divide forever. The follicle was no longer able to produce new pigment cells since the stem cell had been irreversibly altered. That hair lost its source of colour, or in the case of the mouse, its fur.
While the results might not necessarily apply to people, a 2021 research published in the journal eLife(opens in new tab) indicated that stress can also make people's hair turn grey, but the effect isn't always irreversible.
Individuals with "two-colored hair"—gray and pigmented in the same strand—or some grey hair were asked to keep a journal of their recent stressful situations. They discovered a connection between stressors like job loss and greying. Yet eliminating the stressor could stop the greying.
In a statement, lead author Martin Picard, a neurologist at Columbia University, said: "There was one person who went on vacation, and five hairs on that person's head returned back to dark throughout the vacation, synchronised in time".
It's obvious that factors other than genetics influence when a hair becomes grey, Picard added. In addition to the vast range in when people go gray—from their 30s to their 80s—"every hair has the same DNA, is exposed to the same material," according to Picard, who spoke to Live Science. Why then do some grey early while others do it later?
Picard and his colleagues hypothesised that hair must reach a certain threshold before going grey, based on mathematical models. Stress can tip someone over the edge when they are in their middle age and are closer to that threshold.
Kingley concurred. He said that as they mature, melanocyte stem cells become more susceptible. So, he noted, extra stress may "alter the timing" of greying.
If someone's hair has just recently turned grey, Picard and his co-authors hypothesised that it would be feasible to stop the greying process. But, for someone who has had grey hair for a while, reducing stress is unlikely to make their locks return to their original colour because the hair has advanced well past the point at which it starts to turn grey.
Kingsley claimed that in his experience, hair rarely regains its colour. In contrast to persons who are greying naturally, reverse greying is more likely among patients being treated for a hair loss problem, he added.
The ideal next step, according to Picard, would be a prospective follow-up study. Over several months, researchers would keep track of the individuals' experiences and measure their salivary stress hormone levels before examining their hair strands. But nothing like it has yet to be started.
The main point still stands. What we do has a tangible effect on things like hair greying, which we previously believed to be irreversible.
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