Why does hair turn gray?

All the hairs on our head contain pigment cells that contain melanin. Pigment cells in our hair follicles gradually die as we age. The decrease in melanin caused the hair to become a more transparent color like gray, silver, or white.

Premature gray hair is hereditary, but is has also been associated with smoking and vitamin deficiencies. Early onset of gray hair (from birth to puberty) can be associated with medical syndromes including dyslexia.

A more interesting question is why old ladies insist on trying to cover up their gray hair with bright blue hair dye.

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"Why does hair turn gray?" was posted on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 at 6:36 am.