Tag Archives: Melanin

Straight, No Chaser: Why You Get Grey Hair

General Health and Wellness, Skin/Dermatology, , , , , , , ,

grey barack-obama-hair-460x276

This is a lot simpler than people make it.  Gray hair is a happenstance of life.  At the end of the day, genetic, racial and chemical considerations determine when you go gray.  Let’s briefly look at each and dispel a myth or two along the way.
Chemical: Your hair consists of two parts, a shaft (the visible part above the skin line) and the root (the portion located below the surface). The root contains hair follicles, which contain color-producing cells called melanin (yes, the same melanin that contributes to skin color). Any disruption in melanin production or damage to the hair follicles, such as folliculitis and especially the normal effects of aging, can cause graying. This graying may be physiologic and timely, or it can be premature. An additional consideration to graying can be the physiologic build up of hydrogen peroxide. This naturally occurring chemical actually bleaches the hair.
grey cooperRacial: Bet you didn’t know that on average, different racial and ethnic groups go gray at different rates. Whites start graying in their mid-30s. Asians begin graying in their late 30s. African-Americans seem to begin graying in their mid to late 40s. Most people will have noticeable and significant graying by age 50.
gray-hair
Genetic: Simply put, graying is predetermined based on your genetic composition. You should already have a good idea if and when you’re going gray by looking at your parents and grandparents.

And now… two questions rolled into one.

Doesn’t stress make you gray?  Isn’t that why Presidents go gray while in office?

  • Presidents go gray in office because they’re at the age when people go gray while in office.
  • The stress you’re thinking of (‘freaking out’) isn’t the same as physiologic stress, which is a disruption of the body’s normal functions. Such biological stresses can cause disruption of any bodily function. This is why so much confusion exists around ‘stress’. When scientists or your physicians are describing the effects of stress, it’s much deeper than your anxiety attack, which isn’t going to turn you gray overnight.

Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2017 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Why You Get Grey Hair

Skin/Dermatology, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , ,

grey barack-obama-hair-460x276

This is a lot simpler than people make it.  Gray hair is a happenstance of life.  At the end of the day, genetic, racial and chemical considerations determine when you go gray.  Let’s briefly look at each and dispel a myth or two along the way.
Chemical: Your hair consists of two parts, a shaft (the visible part above the skin line) and the root (the portion located below the surface). The root contains hair follicles, which contain color-producing cells called melanin (yes, the same melanin that contributes to skin color). Any disruption in melanin production or damage to the hair follicles, such as folliculitis and especially the normal effects of aging, can cause graying. This graying may be physiologic and timely, or it can be premature. An additional consideration to graying can be the physiologic build up of hydrogen peroxide. This naturally occurring chemical actually bleaches the hair.
grey cooperRacial: Bet you didn’t know that on average, different racial and ethnic groups go gray at different rates. Whites start graying in their mid-30s. Asians begin graying in their late 30s. African-Americans seem to begin graying in their mid to late 40s. Most people will have noticeable and significant graying by age 50.
gray-hair
Genetic: Simply put, graying is predetermined based on your genetic composition. You should already have a good idea if and when you’re going gray by looking at your parents and grandparents.

And now… two questions rolled into one.

Doesn’t stress make you gray?  Isn’t that why Presidents go gray while in office?

  • Presidents go gray in office because they’re at the age when people go gray while in office.
  • The stress you’re thinking of (‘freaking out’) isn’t the same as physiologic stress, which is a disruption of the body’s normal functions. Such biological stresses can cause disruption of any bodily function. This is why so much confusion exists around ‘stress’. When scientists or your physicians are describing the effects of stress, it’s much deeper than your anxiety attack, which isn’t going to turn you gray overnight.

Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2016 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Why Those Hairs Go Gray

General Health and Wellness, Skin/Dermatology, , , , , , , ,

gray-hair

This is a lot simpler than people make it.  Gray hair is a happenstance of life.  At the end of the day, genetic, racial and chemical considerations determine when you go gray.  Let’s briefly look at each and dispel a myth or two along the way.
Chemical: Your hair consists of two parts, a shaft (the visible part above the skin line) and the root (the portion located below the surface). The root contains hair follicles, which contain color-producing cells called melanin (yes, the same melanin that contributes to skin color). Any disruption in melanin production or damage to the hair follicles, such as folliculitis and especially the normal effects of aging, can cause graying. This graying may be physiologic and timely, or it can be premature. An addition consideration to graying can be the physiologic build up of hydrogen peroxide. This naturally occurring chemical actually bleaches the hair.
Racial: Bet you didn’t know different racial and ethnic groups go gray at different rates on average. Whites start graying in their mid-30s. Asians begin graying in their late 30s. African-Americans seem to begin graying in their mid to late 40s. Most people will have noticeable and significant graying by age 50.
Genetic: Simply put, graying is predetermined based on your genetic composition. You should already have a good idea if and when you’re going gray by looking at your parents and grandparents.

And now… two questions rolled into one.

Doesn’t stress make you gray?  Isn’t that why Presidents go gray while in office?

  • Presidents go gray in office because they’re at the age when people go gray while in office.
  • The stress you’re thinking of (‘freaking out’) isn’t the same as physiologic stress, which is a disruption of the body’s normal functions. Such biological stresses can cause disruption of any bodily function. This is why so much confusion exists around ‘stress’. When scientists or your physicians are describing the effects of stress, it’s much deeper than your anxiety attack, which isn’t going to turn you gray overnight.

Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your Friends on WordPress, and we can be found on Facebook at SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.