I am 24 year old and my hair are getting white at a very high speed (about half of them are white. What are the reasons for it and what should I do now?
Ask Free Question
Hair is originally white. It gets pigment, melanin, through specialized cells called melanocytes. These cells pump this pigment into the hair follicles that gives hair a characteristic color. Melanin is of two predominant types: Eomelanin (dark pigment) and Pheomelanin (light pigment). These combine in various proportions and produce a huge range of hair textures. The amount and combination of various melanin types are determined mainly by our genes. Melanocytes start their secretion even before our birth and their function regresses with our age. Generally, melanocyte function decreases 10-20% every 10 years after age 30. How melanocyte function lessens with age is a mystery. Scientists believe that our hair follicles have a ?melanogenic clock? that regulates hair pigmentation with age and hence, minimizes it with aging. Grey hair is a precursor of white hair, and contains less or no melanin at all due to inactive melanocytes. Balanced diet is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Several diet-related factors influence hair health. Vitamin deficiency is one of them, specifically deficiency of Vitamin B12. If you take Vitamin B12 in your diet and it does not get absorbed, the condition is called pernicious anemia and requires medical treatment. In another case, lack of intake of Vitamin B12 can accelerate the graying of hair even at a younger age.
Take help from the best doctors
Ask a free question
Get FREE multiple opinions from Doctors