Why Does Hair Lose it's Color?

Shane johnson
Mar 27, 2021
4 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Are you starting to see it creep in? A few silver strands around the temples. Maybe one stubborn white hair in your beard. Eventually, for most of us, grey hair starts making an appearance—and no, I don’t mean little grey aliens looking for abductees. What you’re actually seeing is a change happening deep inside the hair follicle. As we age, the cells responsible for giving our hair its natural color gradually become less effective. Eventually, some of them stop producing pigment altogether. The result is hair that grows in grey, silver, or completely white. So Why Does Hair Lose it's Color?

It All Starts With Melanin

The natural color of your hair comes primarily from a pigment called melanin.

Melanin is produced by specialized cells called melanocytes. These cells are found throughout the body and are responsible for producing much of the pigment that gives color to our:

Hair
Skin
Eyes

Inside the hair follicle, melanocytes supply pigment as new hair is being formed.

As long as those pigment-producing cells continue doing their job, your hair keeps growing in with its natural color. Over time, however, the melanocytes and the stem cells responsible for maintaining them can decline or stop functioning properly. When less pigment is produced, the hair begins losing its original color. The result? Grey hair.

When pigment production stops almost completely, the hair may appear white.

Why Do We Have Melanin in the First Place?

Hair color is only one small part of what melanin does. Melanin also plays an important role in helping protect our bodies from ultraviolet radiation produced by the sun. Pigment in our skin helps absorb some UV radiation and provides a degree of natural protection. That is one reason these pigment-producing cells are found throughout the body rather than only inside our hair follicles. Humans aren’t the only ones with them either. Similar pigment systems exist throughout the animal kingdom. Dogs, cats, horses, and many other mammals can develop grey or white hair as they age as well.

If you’ve ever watched a dark-haired dog develop a white muzzle over the years, you’re seeing a very similar aging process.

Why Does Grey Hair Happen at Different Ages?

There isn’t one specific age when everyone starts going grey. Some people notice their first grey hairs relatively young, while others maintain most of their natural color much later in life. A large part of that difference comes down to genetics. If your parents or grandparents went grey early, there is a good chance you may follow a similar pattern.

Age is still the biggest factor, but biology isn’t identical from person to person. Your hair follicles are essentially running their own biological clock. For some people, that clock just runs a little faster.

Can You Stop Hair From Turning Grey?

Unfortunately, there currently isn’t a reliable way to permanently reverse normal age-related grey hair once a follicle has stopped producing pigment. There is plenty of marketing surrounding supplements and products claiming to restore natural hair color, but grey hair caused primarily by aging and genetics usually isn’t something that can simply be switched back on.

That said, your overall nutrition still matters to healthy hair growth. Deficiencies involving certain nutrients—including vitamin B12, iron, copper, zinc, and other vitamins and minerals—can sometimes affect the health or appearance of the hair. That doesn’t necessarily mean taking more vitamins will stop normal grey hair. If your body already has enough of a nutrient, adding more usually isn’t going to magically restart pigment production. Maintaining a balanced diet and addressing legitimate nutritional deficiencies is simply part of maintaining healthy hair in general.

So What Can You Actually Do About Grey Hair?

For now, the most practical solution is also the oldest one: Color it. Hair coloring has become a massive industry because millions of people would rather cover their grey than embrace it. Modern hair color also gives people far more options than simply covering every grey strand.

You can:

Completely cover grey hair
Blend grey into your natural color
Add highlights or lowlights
Tone down bright white areas
Gradually transition into a more natural salt-and-pepper appearance

For men especially, subtle grey blending can often look much more natural than completely eliminating every grey hair. Of course, there is another option: Leave it alone.

Grey hair doesn't necessarily mean your hair is unhealthy. In most cases, it simply means your follicles are producing less pigment than they used to.

Some people fight it.

Some people blend it.

Some people own it.

There really isn’t a wrong answer.

Could Grey Hair Be Reversed Someday?

Scientists continue studying melanocytes and the stem cells associated with hair pigmentation. Research has looked at how melanocyte stem cells behave inside hair follicles and how changes to these cells influence pigmentation. Studies in animals have even demonstrated changes in pigmentation after manipulating some of these biological processes. That doesn’t mean we currently have a treatment that can reliably restore everyone’s natural hair color, but understanding exactly why pigment disappears is an important first step.

As science and medicine continue advancing, treatments targeting the biological process behind greying may eventually become more realistic. Until then, we have hair color. Or you can embrace the silver and pretend every grey hair represents wisdom.

That sounds better anyway.