Apart from people with albinism who do not produce it, every human being produces a natural pigment:melanin. This molecule produced by the melanocytes (cells of the epidermis) intervenes to color more or less the skin, the hair or the eyes. Individuals with black skin, brown eyes and dark hair thus produce a greater amount of melanin. The appearance of white hair is explained by the drop in production of this pigment:an irreversible phenomenon, once the hair is bleached, it cannot regain its natural color.
It has been proven that white hair can more easily affect Europeans of the Caucasian type:we can therefore consider that the most likely to present white hair early are people with white skin and dark hair. Redheads and blondes with lighter hair can have a canities problem just as much as brunettes. On the other hand, white hair will be more easily visible on dark hair. An injustice, certainly, but know that the white hair of a brunette will have a more frank color with silver reflections, while bleaching in a blonde will eventually present a more unsightly yellowness.
No need to look far:the premature appearance of white hair could well be caused by your parents. Numerous studies have demonstrated the presence of a common and hereditary recessive gene for the appearance of white hair. The IRF4 is a filial bond between parents and children which can explain canities:it is enough to know the age at which your parents saw their first white hair appear to give you a good estimate of your own graying. Already known for its involvement in the storage and distribution of melanin, the offending gene could now allow researchers to modify its structure and perhaps, in the long term, stem the problem of white hair from birth.
Many preconceived ideas circulate about the early appearance of gray hair:poor hair care, pregnancy and childbirth, prolonged exposure to the sun... However, not everything is to be thrown away and many factors other than heredity or the origins may explain this premature bleaching. First of all, stress can block melanocytes and cause rapid graying of the hair:it is not even uncommon for some individuals to show partial or total bleaching after a major trauma (death, divorce, accident, etc.). Daily stress can also cause you to profoundly change your metabolism and cause your first gray hairs. An approximate lifestyle could also explain this phenomenon:alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, lack of sleep... these factors affect many physiological functions altering, among other things, the production of melanin.
