Our hair follicles contain a substance called melanocytes through which the cells produce the pigment that gives us the natural color of our hair. Over time, the production of this substance declines and the hair begins to turn gray and eventually turns white when we are very old.
The time when the hair starts to turn gray is also influenced by each individual's genetics, but the speed of graying is also related to external factors such as: smoking, malnutrition, anemia, vitamin B deficiency and thyroiditis.
Does stress affect gray hair?
The short answer to that is maybe. Researchers have found a link between stress and the effect it has on the nervous system causing gray hair, but not in the traditional way we explained above.
There are several theories that support the fact that stress hormones affect the survival of the substance that determines hair color, but there is no real evidence to link stress to gray hair.
It is certain that hair is affected by stress, but in other ways. Hair loss is one of the main problems, scientifically proven to be caused by stress. The good news is that in very few cases, hair loss will not grow back. So the damage is repairable.
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