Can white hair regain their color?

It’s hard, accepting her white hair. Especially when they arrive early. Is there a way of slowing down the process, or even overthrowing it? A habit of life to change, a supplement, a treatment? A dermatologist and a psychobiology researcher take stock of what we know, and what we can do.

White … Brown

On the return from his holidays a few years ago, Martin Picard spotted a particular hair on his head: white at the end, pigmented at the root. “By examining myself in the mirror, I found four others, transplanted at the same time, while I was on vacation,” said the associate professor at Columbia University, in New York.

This discovery was not accidental: Martin Picard and his colleagues then led a study on the issue. After two and a half years of recruitment, they were able to recruit 14 participants, an average of 35 years old, and having all found, on their scalp, one or more transplant hair. It is documented a few times in scientific literature: a white hair has the potential to regain its youthful color. It’s rare, but it happens.

Genetics and environment

The color of the hair is held by a pigment called Mélanine, also responsible for skin pigmentation. When a hair whitewashed, it is because cells located in its follicle – melanocytes – no longer effectively produce melanin, explains dermatologist Elena Netchortouk.

“As in any aspect in medicine, we can speak of genetic and environmental factors,” explains the assistant professor at McGill University. In recent years, several genes have been identified as a risk factor for the premature arrival of white hair. For premature, we speak under the age of 20 among whites, 25 years old among Asians and 30 years in blacks.

Rayons UV

Among the factors that can be checked to delay the process, Elena Netchortouk thinks first of ultraviolet rays.

“UVA causes oxidative stress [une forme d’agression de la cellule]and this is something that melanocytes do not tolerate, ”sums up the dermatologist, who advises to cover her head in the sun.

This is probably the reason why people with dark skin keep their colored hair longer, she says: “They are better equipped to defend themselves against UV rays. Smoking and obesity are also associated with the early appearance of white hair.

Nutrition and thyroid

Anemia and autoimmune conditions (vitiligo, hypothyroidism) can also be the cause. “Vitamin D, vitamin B12, folic acid, iron, all of this is important,” sums up Elena Netchortouk. If you are in nutritional disabilities, it will predispose to premature gray hair. On social networks, influencers advise all kinds of supplements – iron, vitamin B₁₂copper – to delay, even overthrow the graying of hair. “If there is a deficiency, supplements can be offered, but there are not enough studies to say that we must take it without impairment,” says the D^re NetChiforouk. Researcher Martin Picard is of the same opinion: “If there is a deficiency, yes, but without that, I don’t think it’s worth it,” he said.

Emotional stress

We all know people whose hair was bleached after a stressful period … coincidence or a precipitating factor? “When we are stressed, our nervous system will secrete norepinephrine, which also has a harmful effect on the oxidative stress of melanocytes”, indicates the D^re Netchiftouk, who also advises to control his stressors, and better manage stress.

The link between emotional stress and white hair remains little documented. According to researcher Martin Picard, his study, published in 2021, is the first to measure him quantitatively. “We have seen really striking correlations,” says the researcher, who is interested in the bonds between body and mind. In some participants, he says, the moments when hair grayed or curled again corresponded to significant stress or relaxation periods: separation, holidays.

Consult the study (in English)

Energy

If we take a long vacation, if we leave a stressful job, how much can we hope to find some yesteryear? “I think that, for the hair that recently lost their pigmentation, there is potential, but for those who have been white for 20 years … I do not know if there is hope,” replies Martin Picard. It is as if it existed, for each strand of hair, a window of possibility, he says. “This is what our model predicts: this hair, it will be white, whatever, and the decrease in stress, physical activity or rest have been able to bring back the color,” he illustrates .

His team also compared the “molecular signature” of white hair and pigmented hair. At his laboratory, Martin Picard studies mitochondria, the energy portrait of the cell. Is the white hair a sleeping hair, a little loose? No, researchers have noticed that aging hair consumes more energy. It seems contradictory, but Martin Picard has an explanation.

The brain would in a way be the broker of the energy expenditure of the organism, according to the model of Martin Picard and his colleagues Evan D. Shaulson and Alan A. Cohen, published last fall in the scientific journal Nature Aging. As the cells that age cost it more, the brain would gradually remove what is not a priority. Thus by aging, muscle mass decreases, testosterone too, the senses swallowed, and the hair … whiten. “I think that hair whitening is a wise decision: the body is trying to save energy to allow me to live a good life,” sums up Martin Picard.

Treatments

Currently, there is no medical treatment to transplant the hair. Some products sold online or in pharmacy have this claim, but nothing scientifically proven. Therapies whose effectiveness is demonstrated above all increase the density of hair (such as minoxidil), which can be used as camouflage, explains the D^re Elena Netchortouk. “But I think that, in five years, this conversation would be completely different,” said the dermatologist.

Research progresses, she says, and the causes of hair whitening is becoming clearer. In the literature, there are also stories of patients, whose hair had whitewashed too early because of a disease, which found their color after treatment (immunotherapy, for example). “Once you learn that there are certain systemic things that can work, researchers can introduce these ingredients into topical formulations, therefore in lotion, in cream, vaporizer,” she illustrates.

Martin Picard, for his part, is not particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of a drug that would force cells to produce melanin. He refers us to the hypothesis of his team: when the body ages, the brain must manage a tighter energy budget. “Perhaps your hair will find their beautiful color, but … perhaps they would also fly energy to your brain,” he concludes.