Why Does Hair Turn Grey as We Get Older?
One day you look in the mirror and notice it — a grey hair. Just one. Then a few more follow. It makes many of us wonder: Why does black hair turn grey with age? The answer is actually simple, and kind of fascinating. How Hair Gets Its Color Every strand of hair grows from a tiny pocket in the skin called a hair follicle . Inside it are special cells that give hair its color. These cells produce melanin , the natural pigment that makes hair black, brown, or blonde. When you’re young, your body makes plenty of melanin. That’s why hair looks dark and healthy. What Changes as We Age As the years pass, those color-making cells slowly get tired. They produce less melanin, and sometimes stop working completely. Less melanin → hair looks grey No melanin → hair looks white So grey hair isn’t really “grey” at all. It’s just hair without color. Why It Happens to Everyone (Sooner or Later) Getting grey hair is a normal part of aging — just like wrinkles or laugh lines. But the ...
