Why Does Hair Turn Gray? Scientists Know.

A recent study finds explanation for why human hair turns gray with age. The insight to grey hair could lead to development of advanced products for anti-aging.

Gray Hair Explained
We all know that grey hair is a sign of aging and have know this for some time, but the reason as to why hair goes grey has been a mystery to us all.

According to WebMD, scientists answered the question in late February.

A chemical chain reaction is believed to be behind the reason for grey hair. Naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide in the hair can not be broken down when an enzyme called catalase starts to drop in levels.

“Not only blondes change their hair color with hydrogen peroxide,” Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief and research professor of The FASEB Journal said in a press release. “All of our hair cells make a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide, but as we get older, this little bit becomes a lot. We bleach our hair pigment from within, and our hair turns gray and then white.”

According to WebMD, this discovery as to why grey hair hits us all could help with development of “new anti-graying strategies”.

“Chemistry is so well-understood that there are ways of overcoming (graying), by making chemicals to rub on their scalp,” Weissmann said in a FOX News article. “That’s in the future.”