“Braids bloomed with smoke…” Appearance of gray hair due to stress. How to prevent gray hair?

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Gray hair due to stress is considered one of the common consequences of excessive excitement. Cases of graying due to stress were described several centuries ago. There is a version that Queen Marie Antoinette of France’s chestnut locks turned white in a flash the night before her execution in 1793. It is believed that the condition was caused by a reaction to the death sentence. Can gray hair really occur from nerves? Is gray hair at a young age a consequence of stressful events? Let’s consider how the loss of hair pigmentation occurs due to stress. Pathophysiologist and geneticist Professor Viktor Dosenko commented on the effect of stress on graying. The effect of stress on hair graying. Photo: TheVisualsYouNeed/Depositphotos What is the connection between gray hair and stress? A study by scientists from the Department of Stem Cells and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University, published in Nature, shows that severe stress can cause the appearance of gray hair. In order to understand how nerves and gray strands in braids are connected, let’s get acquainted with melanocytes – cells that are located in the upper layer of the skin and produce melanin. It is a pigment that colors human skin and hair. The type and amount of melanin determines the color of our hair. Slowing down of melanin production is part of the natural aging process. Research has shown that most people start to experience gray or white hair before the age of 50. Read also: Gray hair is not only about old age. 4 factors that affect hair color Before melanocytes become mature and capable of producing melanin, they must be formed from stem cells – their predecessors. That is, they are the so-called reservoir of future melanocytes. It was the melanocyte stem cells (MCSC) that aroused the interest of scientists. Harvard University researchers reported that stress-induced graying of mice is associated with rapid depletion of melanocyte stem cells. An infographic showing how stem cells are depleted in response to stress, causing mice to turn gray. Photo: Judy Blomquist/Harvard University They examined the sympathetic nerves that are present in every hair follicle on the skin. Under conditions of stress, sympathetic nerve fibers are activated and release certain substances, called neurotransmitters, according to the “fight or flight” mechanism. Activity occurs when a person is stressed, in danger, or engaged in physical activity. It helps to increase heart rate and breathing, improve vision and slow down digestion. The neurotransmitters are norepinephrine and adrenaline. “Acute stress, especially the fight-or-flight response, is traditionally thought to be beneficial for animal survival. But in this case, the stress causes permanent depletion of stem cells,” said scientist B. Zhang, lead author of the study. Norepinephrine affects stem cells and makes them divide and develop rapidly, that is, these cells are used excessively rapidly and exhausted – the reservoir of future melanocytes becomes empty prematurely. As precursor cells become fewer and fewer, eventually there are simply no more “willing” ones left to form melanin and color hair – graying occurs due to stress. At the same time, new research has revealed that other cells outside the hair follicles (adipocytes – fat cells, immune cells) also play an important role in the regulation of melanocyte stem cells. This explains that not only stress, but also obesity and impaired functioning of the immune system due to certain diseases can cause premature graying. Hair follicles in the process of graying. Photo: edesignua/Depositphotos Read also: Can hair fall out due to COVID-19? Is it possible to restore gray hair? Since the stem cells disappear, the melanocytes that produce melanin also disappear – the hair can no longer acquire color. “When they disappear, melanin can no longer be formed. The damage is irreversible,” explained Harvard University professor J. Ciesu. The study helped to understand how harmful stress is not only on hair, but also on other organs. Read also: How to overcome prolonged stress: from the state of “survival” to “development”. Psychologist’s advice On the other hand, Dr. Qi Sun from New York University, who also researched melanocyte stem cells, says that perhaps graying is a partially reversible process, and this could be the impetus for finding new methods to prevent the process of graying hair. In fact, hair does not turn gray in the literal sense – it grows gray immediately. One hair grows from one to three years, then it falls out – and a new one grows. With age, the new hairs will most likely be white, because melanin becomes less and less. Dr. R. Schmerling of Harvard Medical School shared his thoughts: “Typically, graying in people is not related to stress. In fact, the hair does not ‘gray’ at all. When it grows out of the hair follicle, that’s when the color is established. If one strand is initially brown (whether red, or black, or blond), it will never change it (unless you use dye).” As we age, less pigment is produced, so as hair goes through its natural cycle of dying and regenerating, it is more likely to start graying after age 35. Genetics play a role in exactly when this process begins. Although stress can’t change the color of individual hair strands, it can trigger a general condition called “telogen shedding.” In this case, after some critical event (excessive prolonged stress, etc.), hair falls out about three times faster than usual. “But if you’re middle-aged and a stressful event causes your hair to fall out and regrow much faster than normal, it’s possible that the hair that grows back will be gray. A study in mice showed how stress can lead to gray fur. Does this apply to humans? and how often it affects graying of hair is unclear,” adds Dr. R. Shmerling. Read also: “Before” and “after”: how women return their gray hair after years of dyeing. PHOTO Graying of hair due to stressful events. Photo: thelivephotos/Depositphotos Gray hair appeared due to stress: what to do? At what age and how much your hair turns gray is mostly influenced by the genes you inherit from your parents. Undoubtedly, stress, nutrition, and lifestyle play a role in this process. Also, certain medicines can affect the change in hair color, although they are not intended for this at all, but for the treatment of tumors, for example. “Imatinib is an anticancer drug that showed a strange side effect during clinical trials: patients’ hair underwent repigmentation, i.e. gray hair disappeared and the original color returned. The explanation for this effect has not yet been found, and the use of this drug to overcome gray hair is unlikely,” explains pathophysiologist Viktor Dosenko Reducing the amount of stress in your life is the best solution, but it won’t help you get your hair back to its normal color. Prevent graying – yes. “The prevention of graying of hair consists in understanding the main factors of its occurrence, which are external factors – ultraviolet radiation, smoking, air pollution, industrial factors, and others,” says pathophysiologist and geneticist Viktor Dosenko. The appearance of gray hair depends on many factors, and only by influencing it in a complex manner, it is possible to help graying. But it is worth remembering that in most cases it is a genetically programmed process, and the color of already gray hair can be influenced only with paint. And to predict when gray strands will appear in your hair, it is easier to find out when your parents and their parents went gray. 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