We all know a friend who, in his early thirties, has hair or a beard full of reeds. On the other hand, other people stick with their natural hair color well into their 50s. Well, a study by Harvard has discovered the factors that most influence the appearance of gray hair.
This whitening of the hair occurs when the follicles lose the ability to generate melanin, the pigment that gives our hair its color. When they stop producing the aforementioned melanin, the hair loses its color and turns white, although this process does not affect all people in the same way.
The Harvard study, carried out by Robert H. Shmerlingfrom the American university’s School of Medicine, has identified three key factors that influence graying.
The first of them is the genetics, which influences the rate at which follicles lose their ability to produce melanin. It is also important ethnicity Since, for example, graying in African Americans usually begins at age forty while in white people it does so at age thirty.
And the last but not least is the stress. A high state of stress can cause hair loss, which when regenerated can do so with less force in the follicles to produce melanin. In addition, stress causes hormonal changes that can affect the follicles.