Gray hair and Stress

Does Stress Cause Gray Hair?

Gray hair has long since been explained away by old age and stress. Over the years, it is said that too much stress can lead to greyer hair, even early gray hair. Perhaps you should relax before your worries over your job, family, or home lead you to a world of gray.

Or will it?

Of course, even if you are stressing, you should seek ways to help your body relax. Stress is never helpful in any situation, but whether or not it truly does cause your hair to turn gray is up for grabs. Scientists are still debating the real relation between grey hair and stress. As of right now, stress is not going to turn your hair gray overnight. Nor is it going to turn your hair grey in just a few months. Consistent stress, both mentally and physically may lead to grey hair, and possibly more so in people who have genes that make you prone to grey hair at some point in time.

Grey hair is the cause of a loss of pigment in your hair. Essentially, the cells that create this hair pigment stop functioning. You still grow hair – just without the color. As your hair grows, pigment cells slowly break down in a natural manner. It is simply how your body functions. Cells are never going to last forever, and as you age, this will increase.

Stress can be a possible factor in grey hair because stress is already known to produce negative effects on the body, from emphasizing skin problems such as eczema to lowering your immune system. When you stress, you are not aggravating these particular cells in any way, but it can affect how quickly you shed hair. When you shed hair faster, it means more must grow in, and the pigment cells are at work more. This means they can break down more quickly, thus leading to gray hair. Genes are still a primary factor, though, so do not automatically attribute your grey hair to stress.