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Like wisdom and smile lines, gray hair is something that most people are graced with as the years go by. So if you’re noticing silver, you’re not alone: A study found that 74% of people between the ages of 45 and 65 had at least some gray hair. And while some embrace their grays, others turn to the trusted antidote, hair dye, to hide it.
But recently, there’s been buzz that gray hair may not be permanent after all, along with a slew of solutions claiming to reverse it, from hair products like shampoos to natural remedies such as foods and vitamins. Whether hair can actually change back to its original color again is up for debate. Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab and haircare experts reveal the truth — and science — about whether you can reverse gray hair.
First, what causes hair to turn gray?
Let’s start with how hair gets its color in the first place. “The color of hair is determined by melanocytes, which are the pigment-producing cells in the hair follicle,” says Christine M. Shaver, M.D., a dermatologist at Bernstein Medical Center for Hair Restoration in New York City. “There are two types of pigment (melanin) produced by these melanocytes, eumelanin, which creates dark hair pigments that make brown or black hair, and pheomelanin, which produces red or yellow hues.”
The many varieties of hair color are created with different proportions of eumelanin and pheomelanin, which are determined by genetics, she explains. “Graying occurs as the production of melanin by the melanocytes decreases over time,” Dr. Shaver says. “The total loss of melanin causes hair to become white.”
“Non-pigmented hair may have a different texture than naturally pigmented hair and often appears initially in areas like the front temples or around the hairline,” adds Kerry Yates, a trichologist and founder of Colour Collective in Dallas, Texas. While aging is the most common cause of hair turning gray, there are other factors that can contribute to premature graying, meaning those that start to see gray in their 20s and 30s, says GH Beauty Lab Director Sabina Wizemann. These include:
- Medical conditions. Autoimmune diseases like vitiligo, alopecia areata or thyroid disorders may lead to premature graying, Wizemann notes.
- Genetics. “Some people may inherit genes that may cause them to go gray prematurely and permanently,” Wizemann says.
- Oxidative stress. “The natural antioxidant defenses in our body decline as we age, which leads to increased oxidative stress that causes melanocytes to be impaired and produce less melanin, contributing to the loss of hair pigment,” Wizemann explains.”A lack of antioxidant-rich foods, regular exercise and sleep as well as smoking, excessive stress and alcohol consumption all increase oxidative stress.”
- Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Lack of certain essential vitamins and minerals can bring on gray hair, too. “Insufficient vitamin B12 can lead to anemia and neurological issues that can affect hair follicles and reduce melanin production,” Wizemann says. “The mineral copper is a key component of tyrosine, an enzyme that is involved in synthesis of melanin, so the lack of copper may lead to loss of hair pigment production, and deficiency in vitamin D, zinc and iron may also play a part in premature graying.”
- Stress. “Being chronically stressed or going through a stressful period can impact the nervous system, affecting the ability of melanocytes to regenerate or produce pigment,” Wizemann adds.
Not entirely. “It is not possible to completely halt graying, but there are steps you can take to help slow down the aging process of hair,” Dr. Shaver says. “Since certain nutritional deficiencies can lead to premature graying, maintaining a nutrient-rich diet can help maintain hair color.”
In addition, because chronic stress can lead to early graying, reducing daily stressors as well as physical stressors on the hair shaft itself such as heat and chemicals that cause damage is important, she notes. “Avoid smoking, which has been shown to lead to premature graying, and get regular health check-ups with a physician to help identify any underlying medical conditions that may impact the health of your hair and cause early graying,” Dr. Shaver advises.
When it comes to the category of shampoos, sprays, serums and treatments purporting to revert gray hair to its original color, it’s complicated. “Topical products that claim to reverse gray hair are normally targeting one of the processes that leads to hair aging and a decrease in melanin production which causes graying,” Dr. Shaver says. “One common ingredient used is antioxidants (such as vitamins C and E) which can lower oxidative stress on the follicle that can be involved in the aging, and thus graying, process.”
Additionally, the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair shaft during aging is also thought to lead to hair shaft bleaching, she adds. “To counteract this, an enzyme known as ‘catalase’ can help break down hydrogen peroxide, which could theoretically slow down graying,” Dr. Shaver explains. “And some products claim to increase the production of melanin pigment through ingredients such as certain peptides which are needed for effective melanin synthesis.”
Their efficacy is dubious, though: “These formulas are not well supported by scientific evidence as they fail to delve into the scientific rationale behind their ingredients or provide the backing of double-blind placebo-controlled trials to prove their effectiveness,” Wizemann says. “Instead, they rely on consumer perception studies.”
Other products aim to kickstart hair growth in order to tackle grays. “They promise to rejuvenate the hair follicle, pushing it from the resting phase into the active growth phase and as a result, hair restarts the melanin production process so any melanin still found in the follicle reappears,” Yates says. “I conducted a study on a hair loss treatment in which several participants had over 50% gray hair and daily application resulted in new hair growth that appeared pigmented, giving the overall looking of hair returning to its natural color.”
She notes, however, that “the percentage of participants that experienced those results was relatively small and I have not seen gray hair that is completely absent of pigment start to reproduce melanin and revert back to pigmented hair.” The primary causes of gray hair such as aging and genetics require addressing biological factors, which haircare products cannot do, Wizemann says.
Everything from coconut oil to onions and ginger is being touted as a gray hair panacea. But what’s in your pantry won’t help get your hair color back. “A diet rich in vitamins and nutrients can improve hair health and mitigate premature graying, but there is no data to suggest that food can reverse the graying process,” Dr. Shaver explains.
The same goes for natural remedies. “While there is a belief that some natural ingredients such as cumin, black tea, black sesame and coffee may slow the graying process by virtue of being high in antioxidants and polyphenols, and amla (Indian gooseberry) is thought to enhance hair melanin production, scientific evidence supporting these claims is limited,” Wizemann says. “These assertions are based on anecdotal evidence and lack scientific backing.”
Dr. Shaver adds: “These natural remedies often contain the vitamins discussed above or have antioxidant properties to reduce stress, and thus aging, on the hair follicle, but they will not reverse hair that has already grayed.”
“There are rare cases in which gray hair has been reported to reverse, in circumstances that often involve stopping a medication that has caused graying or treating an underlying health condition (such as a thyroid disorder or alopecia areata, which is an autoimmune attack on the hair follicle),” Dr. Shaver explains. “In these situations, hair color can be restored with treatment of the underlying cause and following reversal, hair would then slowly gray at the genetically determined pace for aging.” If you suspect an underlying health condition could be causing your hair to gray, visit a dermatologist for an evaluation, Dr. Shaver advises.
And know that there may be (multi-colored) light at the end of the tunnel: “While there is no true permanent reversal of gray hair yet, there are promising studies on stem cells that focus on manipulating melanocytes and reactivating genetic pathways for hair melanin production, so we may see it become reality in the future,” Wizemann says. In the meantime, embrace silver strands with haircare products created to treat and enhance gray hair or even dye your hair gray to ease the transition.
