Pre-Mature Greying of Hairs & Its Prevention with Management.

Definition: Greying of hair before the normal physiological process is called Pre-Mature Greying. And Greying generally occurs after 30 years of age but this age factor varies from race to race
like in 20 years in whites, 25 years in Asians & 30 years in Africans.

                                                                         Fig-Premature Greying

Description: 
We know very well how hair is an important tool for the self esteem in society.And it gives  confidence to you to stand up front to present your point of view.But if your hair is not natural enough in colouring at your natural age , how does it feel. Its same like Premature Greying of Hairs at your early age because it is perceived as an old age sign and also affect you self esteem in society.

Pathogenesis:
A pigment called melanin manufactured by melanocytes gives colour to hair & skin. In case, if deficiency of this pigment starts, it turns your black hair to grey.

                                                             
                                                                            Fig-Melanin hair
Etiology:
1) Lack of Hair conditioning like Oiling:-
  Oiling is very essential thing that needs to be done regularly for healthy & shiny hairs. Due to lack of oiling hair getting dry & brittle & ultimately it damages the texture of hair shiny.

2) Hydrogen Peroxide:-
  Hair follicle cells produce hydrogen peroxide in somewhat with the help of an enzyme called tyrosinase. But when tyrosinase less, catalyst of hydrogen peroxide occurs into water & oxygen and finally it hampers  production of melanin & ultimately hair starts turning grey due to less melanin.

3) High Stress Level:-
 I always say one thing about the stress and that is "Stress is the keynote for every kind of disease".
In a study being done in 2013 shown that  stress can lead to depletion of stem cells in hair follicles.
Stem cells are very crucial for hair follicles and that is for production of melanin from melanocytes.
Stress level will different for different individuals.
Stress may be acute or chronic & especially chronic stress will definitely affect the greying of hairs.
Chronic stress includes-
a)Sleep problems
b)Anxiety
c)Change in appetite
d)High Blood Pressure etc.

4) Nutritional Deficiencies:-
  a) Vitamins: As we know pigmentation of hair responsible for colouring of hair. For the production of melanin melanocytes need some vitamins like B,D,E and especially Vit-B12. Generally vitamins affect the hair pigmentation. So, because of less presence of Vit-B12 melanocyte cells fail to produce enough melanin for natural colouring of hairs.

b) Iron: Iron deficiency also leads to premature greying of hairs.

c) Copper: Deficiency of copper can also lead to premature greying and that is one of the reason doctors advise to drink water in copper vessel.

d)Zinc: Zinc deficiency also responsible for greying of hairs because zinc is utilised in pigmentation of hair

                                                                        Fig-Greying of hairs
                                               
5) Heavy medicinal dosages:- Certain therapeutic drug like antimalarial drugs inhibit the tyrosine kinase receptor found in melanocytes . It reduces the melanogenesis.

6) Genetic Factors:- Premature Greying also depends on genetic factors like parents too had in their early life because otherwise not related as per my knowledge & search.

7) Social habits like Smoking:-As we know smoking is a rick factor for lung & heart diseases but its also a risk factor for hairs too. Generally smoking reduces the blood flow to hair follicles by shrinking the blood vessels.So, smokers must be alert for this.

8) Medical disorders:- Certain medical conditions also related to Premature Greying.
a)Thyroid Disorder- Decreased thyroid hormones can cause the Premature Greying because T3 & T4 has direct action on hair follicles to increase the mealnogenesis(process of formation of melanin) so less T3 & T4 will cause less melanin formation leading to Premature Greying of hairs.

b)Progeria- Premature Greying can be notices as a sign of Progeria but clinically also should relate to other features too. And regard to this how can we forget Bollywood super star Amitabh Bachhan featured film "PAA".

9)Chemical Products:- Certain chemical products can also cause Premature Greying due to presence of some chemicals like hydrogen peroxide in dye if used for a long period of time.

10)Auto-Immune diseases:- Some Auto-immune diseases also initiate premature greying by affecting loss of hair pigment like in Alopecia Areata  & Vitiligo.

Diagnosis:It can be easily diagnosed by seeing the grey or white hairs on the scalp of young individuals in their early life.

Differential Diagnosis: Premature greying can be easily diagnosed but its very important to discuss that we should have a detail knowledge how to differentiate it form other hypomelanotic hair disorders.
Followings are the other hypomelanotic hair disorders-:
1)Albinism- This is a genetic disorder in which whole hairs are white even skin also.

2)Neurocutaneous Disorder-Griscelli, Chediak-Higashi, Elejaldi Syndrome can also cause white hairs in children. And some other syndromes are also cause of white hairs in children.

3)Metabolic Syndrome- Pheylemetonuria, histidinemis,oasthouse disease and homocystinuria cause white hairs in childhood.

4)Vitiligo- It causes localised white hairs called Poliosis.

Risk Factors: 
a) You will astonished to know that there will be a risk of myocardial infarction in person with grey hairs in compare to those who do not have grey hairs as found in a study of the Copenhagen City of Heart.

b) Premature greying of hair has a relation for increasing the density of hair impairment but it needs a further study.

Prevention & Management:
1) Hiding of Grey Hairs:- Grey hairs can be hided by following way.
a) Semi-permanent or demi-permanent colour
Colour is always a goo choice for hiding grey hairs if just started recently. But due to some much chemicals & some of them harmful also so we do not recommend for colouring of young children for their premature greying.In a report I did read that every colour has at least 5000 different chemicals and they are carcinogenic in nature.So, be very very careful before using the colours.

b) Highlighting
 Highlighting the scattered grey hairs can also be a solution. It depends on percentage of grey hairs because if it is excess, it would not be a acceptable solution.

c) Permanent Colour
If you have 50-60% of grey hairs, permanent colour is the best solution for you. But I said earlier about the colour in regards to chemical, it applies here also.
 d) Hair Products
 And if you do not want to colour your hairs, use some hair make up like spray for time being,which will be washed off after shampooing.

2) Prevention of Grey Hairs:- Greying can be prevented in the following way -
a)Mixture of Coconut Oil & Curry leaves
 Boil some handful quantity of curry leaves in one cup of coconut oil for at least 8-10 minutes and that leave it for cooling.This mixture acts as a conditioner & also provides essential protein needed for damaged hairs.
Now apply this mixture on the scalp & do some massage & leave it over night and wash it in morning.This should be repeated 3/wk.But you must have a clear view in your mind that this acts as a preventive measure not curing one.

b)Ribbed Gourd & Olive oil
  Cut the fresh gourd into pieces & left for drying for sometime.After that kept it in olive oil for soaking for 3-4 days. Then boil this soaked mixture for that time until it turns into black.Then use this mixture for scalp massage like 3/wk. It also can prevent further greying.

c) Hair pack of Onion & Lemon juice
  Using onion is a traditional home care remedy for greying and also for conditioning the hairs.But if you use it in a proper way ,it will act best to give best benefit.
We have to make a hair pack by mixing onion & lemon juice.Then apply this hair pack on hairs and leave it for half an hour and after that wash it with your regular shampoo.

d)Black Seed Oil
  Black oil is very commonly found in our Indian kitchen.And we call it with common name Kalonji .It is very effective for greying of hairs. It also helps in hair falling.
Warm some black seed oil & massage it over the scalp & leave it over night.Then wash it with your regular shampoo in the morning.

e) Mustard oil
  We have been seeing & eating the mustard oil in food since our childhood.Always see the mustard oil is kept in chicken for cooking of some food.But we never think that its use in hair. This oil is rich source of antioxidant ,selenium & some fats also. It gives strength and shine to hairs.It also helps to make hair darker & hide the greying too.
Boil some required quantity of mustard oil & massage it over the scalp & leave it over night then wash it in morning with your regular shampoo.

f) Salt & Black Tea
  Mix one table spoon of table salt in one cup of strong black tea after cooling.Then massage this mixture on scalp and apply on hairs and leave it for an hour .After that wash it with regular shampoo.

g) Amla & Lemon juice with Almond oil
   We have been hearing the benefits of Amla since our childhood & even consumed amla in many forms in our houses. But amla is a good conditioner for hairs and that is only reason amla has been used in many hair products.So, for greying of hairs amla also helps to prevent further.
Apply amla juice at night like 3/wk along with few drops of lemon juice along with almond oil.

i) Potato Skin
  Potato skin is rich source of starch & also acts as a natural colourant & makes your hair darker.
It also at the same time improves your hair growth.

Frequently Asked Questions:
1) Can premature grey hair reverse? 
 Ans: As we have seen now that PMG has a lot of reason at different levels.So,basically it depends on the causal factor like what factor is involved in you case.Like its related to genetic also, like its related to some diseases also, like its related to some nutritional factors also.
Basically on general level grey hair can not be converted to black especially cause is pathological or genetics.Yes,we can revers if its diagnosis on the basis of some health issues or some deficiency factors.But its a also very true that most of cases are not truly diagnosed on the nutritional basis.

2) Can greying of hairs be stopped further?
 Ans: Yes,greying of hairs can be stopped further definitely.But for that physician first needs to measure the percentage of greying a patient have now then only we can make a mark for its further spreading. And for the same you can read above in Prevention & Management.



                                              *HaveGoodHair & LiveGoodLife*