Gray Hair Treatment

Scientists have no clear answer to the question of whether stress can cause early gray hair. This widely accepted assumption is based on stories such as that of Marie Antoinette who is said to have turned gray within days as her decapitation was announced. However, this has a different cause called telogen effluvium. A sudden shock can trigger telogen effluvium, a sudden loss of hair which mainly causes the loss of healthy pigmented hair whereas the gray hair remains. Paradoxically, the gay hair has been shown to be more resistant to sudden shocks and mistreatment such as that caused by stress than healthy hair. A person affected by telogen effluvium can lose a significant portion of one’s hair within two to three weeks, and since it is mainly the healthy pigmented hair that goes, it gives one an impression of turning suddenly gray. However, to this day scientists have not being able to find a clear link between stress and turning white. Even the US president Barack Obama has stated recently that his premature gray hair is not due to extreme pressure that he is undoubtedly exposed to but heredity. Despite that some smaller studies make claims that people who suffered from extreme stress for two to three years started turning gray prematurely but that is impossible to verify.

It has been discussed in previous posts that lead acetate, which used to be the main component of many gray hair colorants favored mainly by men to reduce the amount of their gray, may no longer be sold in most countries of the world. This is for health reasons since lead acetate is a poisonous substance, which if used inappropriately, could become potentially harmful. The problem is that popular products such as Grecian formula, Youthair or GreyBan that were based on this poisonous compound had to be reformulated so that they could continue selling but their efficacy in covering gray hair is lot worse than with old banned lead based products. This situation leaves many gray hair sufferers with no easy solution to their problem.

The new formulas are using silver acetate, copper acetate and bismuth citrate, which are believed to have similar properties to lead acetate but unfortunately they work much slower and much less effectively and cannot be used by people who have significant amount of gray hair. This is mainly because of their low efficacy and because they change color when exposed to direct sunlight, often leaving the white hair red. In addition, once you wash your hair most of the color is gone. So you only make yourself a fool, a red hair clown, for a few hours. Do not believe in pills that can bring back your original hair color, they will only make your urine and the seller rich.

The only option now, for gray haired men, is to color their hair as women have done for ages. There are subtle options such as Touch of Gray or Men Perfect but they contain aggressive chemicals and are thus not suitable for everyone. In addition, they do not change your hair color gradually as lead based products did. And remember: women who dye their hair look cool, men look colored. So it might be the right time to show the world you are a mature gentleman.

It is a known fact that the lack of certain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients can cause early white hair. Additionally, smokers are likely to accelerate their hair graying processes. But the biggest single factor affecting the onset of gray hair is genetics. However, reversing gray hair is in the most conditions practically impossible and the only remaining option is covering gray hair. Gray hair is caused by the loss of the pigment producing cells called melanocytes and this loss is considered as irreversible.

Gene therapy might be one of the possible future methods of reversing gray hair naturally though. It was found out that repairing genes in the hair follicles of albino mice can temporarily, for about three months, change their hair colour by starting to produce pigmented hair. One weakness of this finding in relation to possible application for reversing gray hair is the fact that albinism is caused by the inability of existing melanocytes (the hair colour producing cells) to produce pigment rather than by their decay. Albinos keep their melanocytes (though damaged) whereas gray haired people lose them so that they cannot be repaired. Therefore, gene therapy looks at the moment more as a demonstration that defective genes in the hair follicle can be repaired rather than a potential treatment for gray hair.

Japanese scientists have recently discovered a link between gray hair and cancer protection. Their latest research shows that hair in mice turned grey as a result of harmful ionizing radiation, leading to the formation of free radicals, which are known to cause cancer. This radiation caused premature maturing of cells in hair follicles and disabled them from producing melanin, the pigment which gives color to our hair. The cells exposed to the radiation turned themselves into other types of cells instead and prohibited further multiplication of damaged cells and thus prevented processes that could possibly lead to developing cancerous tumors. It is a known fact that ionizing radiation can cause uncontrollable cell multiplication and so induce the growth of cancers. Therefore, prohibiting this uncontrollable growth is the key to preventing cancer. Graying is the process that mainly occurs in older people as the sell damage accumulates with age, which is an argument that could support this theory. This was just a primary research and lot more studies will be needed to further support or refute this theory.

Lead acetate is one of the longest used substances in hair colorants. This chemical compound, which has been in the past used not only to cover gray hair but also to sweeten wine, contains lead and it is therefore poisonous and sometimes even suspected of being carcinogenic. The best known products for covering grey hair that used to employ this compound (some of them still do) are Grecian formula, Greyban, Youthair and Restoria. They all work slowly and gradually, as their greatest benefit is that people do not notice you are covering your grey but their disadvantage is that you have to use them quite often to achieve satisfactory coverage. However, using them often increases your chances of poisoning.

Although lead acetate cannot be absorbed through the skin, one should avoid one’s fingers coming in contact with one’s lips after you touched your hair. Although there aren’t any documented cases of lead poisoning caused by hair colorants, lead acetate was suspended from cosmetics products first in Canada and some European countries about 10 years ago and now since the beginning of this year this ban applies to the whole European Union and it may only be a question of time when lead acetate has been banned also in the US. Although producers of the aforementioned hair colorants reformulated their products and are now using similar compounds based on bismuth, copper or even silver, these products are not very much liked by consumers due to their lower efficacy when compared with the traditional lead acetate based formula.

Reminex is one of numerous anti-grey hair pills that derives its potential for reversing grey hair largely from using Fo-Ti extract, also known as He shou wu, a Chinese youth tonic that is rumoured to help people with premature white hair restore their former hair colour naturally from within. Other “powerful” components of its magic formula include two vitamins from the group of B vitamins – PABA and folic acid. Deficiency of these two vitamins is being associated with greying of hair, especially in people suffering from Vitamin B deficiency. The remaining ingredients include minerals such as zinc, associated with healthy hair growth and some other agents mainly used in hair cosmetics, which role is to make hair appear fuller, healthier and shinier. Although it is undisputable that a chronic deficiency in Vitamin B can cause white hair it is unlikely that its oral administration to a normal healthy and well nourished individual can help reverse grey hair. As far as Fo-Ti goes there is no proof, clinical or empirical, that it can reverse grey hair. So if you wish to try Reminex you are welcome to do so but the likelihood that it would reverse the grey colour of your hair is minimal.

Using color to cover grey hair is an ancient method of hiding your true age. Hundreds of millions people on earth dye their hair regularly. However, a more elegant way of dealing with grey hair is to reverse it and grow back hair of original color. But is it really possible? There are a couple of products such as Reminex, Melancor or Shou Wu Pill that promise to bring back your former hair color permanently if you continue using them. So let us have a look at their main ingredients. The first that catches ones attention is a famous Chinese plant Fo-Ti or He Shou Wu also dubbed Mr. Black Hair. Its story goes back many centuries ago to China where a local man by the name of Mr. He brought back color to his hair and vitality to his aging body by daily consuming large quantities of this plant. Fo-Ti thus became one of the main youth tonics used in the Chinese folk medicine. Unfortunately, no serious scientific proof exists that this plant would really be helpful in reversing grey hair although many consumers say it makes their regular pigmented hair darker, which makes an impression of giving color also to the white hair.

Other common ingredients that can be found in such products include B vitamins, mainly PABA and folic acid and minerals such as Zinc. Some of these products also contain extracts from various other healing plants used in traditional Chinese or Indian medicine. The aforementioned vitamins B are often associated with reversing grey hair but this only applies to people suffering from chronic vitamin B deficiency, which is a relatively rare condition and missing vitamins are being administered through injections rater than orally. Zinc and other vital minerals are needed for a healthy hair growth but they are not known to be able to reverse the color of white hair either. And as for other healing plants, there is none that would be proven, either alone or in combination with other factors, to reverse grey hair. This said, however, applies only to premature and age related grey hair. In some people having discolored hair due to certain chemical processes some of these products might help as they could rejuvenate their hair and bring back its lost color and shine.

The other days I have had a look at consumer reviews of the once-so-popular anti-grey hair lotion - Grecian Formula at folica.com and they show that people are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the new formulation as it is almost impossible to find a positive consumer review recently. This must have to do with the fact that lead has been banned from cosmetic products altogether it the most countries in the world. Therefore, Grecian Formula had to be redesigned and lead acetate replaced with some other, less harmful chemical – bismuth citrate or in some cases with certain silver based salts.

These chemicals seem to be less efficient when it comes to coloring grey hair and they also appear to be more expensive. Therefore, the makers of Grecian Formula are using lower concentration of these chemicals than would be needed to give it efficacy that consumers expect. This statement also applies to other similar anti-grey hair products such as Restoria and others. So if you wish to continue using Grecian Formula to cover you white hair you should be looking for a cream rather than liquid because it seems to work better as it covers your hair more efficiently. Or you need to start using some semi-permanent or demi-permanent hair dye which, unfortunately, will not give you the same gradual and unnoticeable change in hair color as Grecian Formula once did.

Female hair loss is not a rare condition. It may sound surprising, but hereditary form of hair loss affects about 25% of the adult female population in the world. It may not seem so, since the female form of hair loss is diffuse and, therefore, less noticeable to the naked eye than men’s form. In addition, women are more likely to cover their thin areas with hair systems than men. Women also happen to have far fewer treatment options as they cannot use the best male hair loss pill Propecia (finasteride) and most of them do not make a suitable candidate for hair transplant surgery. This is because they lack the hair density in the back of their scalp as their hair loss is diffuse and if their hair from the back got transplanted to another area of the scalp it would not necessarily stay there as it is the case with men who usually have hair loss-resistant hair at the back and on the sides of their scalp.

As far as female hair loss treatments go, apart from Rogaine and herbal hair loss treatments, there is one pill that can be viewed as a female substitute for Propecia. This pill is called Aldactone and spironolactone is its sole active ingredient. Thus, you will often hear people mentioning generic Aldactone when talking about spironolactone. Spironolactone is a diuretic that prevents your body from absorbing too much salt and retain too much water and keeps your potassium levels from getting too low. Hence, spironolactone is used to treat low potassium levels in your blood (hypokalemia), fluid retention in the body, high blood pressure and heart failure. In addition, some doctors apply it to treat excess body hair and acne in women. However, many doctors have never heard of spironolactone’s hair growth promoting qualities despite the fact that it is probably the most powerful weapon in the fight against female pattern hair loss. Altactone (spironolactone) is only available at doctor’s prescription and should only be used by female patients. Some male hair loss sufferers are also experimenting with the use of this drug but they should only apply it topically as oral spironolactone can have strong feminizing effects on the male body as transvestites use it successfully because of this ability.

The current medical science does not know any therapy or medication that could reverse the gray hair. Once gray always gray. The graying of hair is cased by dying out of pigment producing cells – melanocytes – in hair follicles and it can not be reversed. In some people this process starts earlier and in some later but it has nothing to do with their overall aging. However, white hair makes the person look much older than one’s age. And this is the reason why so many people are seeking treatments that could reverse their gray and fall for gray hair scams. They do not want to realize that the only way to reverse their gray hair is through coloring no matter how it is called. No medicine, vitamin, mineral, nutritional supplement, herb or therapy has been shown to reverse gray hair naturally and no such thing is going to hit the market any time soon. Take it for granted that there is no such miracle cure available at the moment that could do the impossible and that is rejuvenating the dead pigment producing cells in your hair follicles and do not fall for scam.