Researchers Think They Know Why Our Hair Turns Gray

About the episode

Scientists believe they have discovered the mechanism behind graying hair. Knowledge, they say, could form the basis of a treatment that reverses the process.

Not everyone has gray hair because of having gray hair. Culture and the spirit of the times also play a role in this regard. Yet there are still enough people in the world who start working with paint as soon as possible when their own hair color slowly gives way to shades of gray.

A new study in mice has investigated what actually happens at the cellular level when hair turns gray. The findings suggest that stem cells, which can move between different hair follicle compartments in younger years, are trapped as hair ages. This ensures that they no longer receive the correct signals to mature and that the proteins needed to make the pigment are no longer produced.

Although the type of stem cell studied here also exists in humans, namely melanocytes: the cells that make and store pigment in hair and skin, this has not yet been studied in humans. Nevertheless, the researchers hope to be able to use this knowledge to develop a treatment in which the blocked stem cells can be released again.

But it might be even better if the gray hair don’t care-the movement that got an extra boost during the hairless covid lockdowns is going strong. Because our fear of visible aging is ultimately a bigger problem than a few gray hairs. If you ask me.

Read more about research here: Scientists may have discovered why hair turns gray.