I found my first grey hair at 16. Technically, I didn’t find it – the girls sitting behind me in French class did. ‘Oooh Susan, you’re going grey’, they squealed. I felt bemused, and slightly embarrassed. Surely it was just an anomaly in my dark chestnut locks? But no, by the time I was at university I had more grey hairs than I could pluck out. And when, later, a male friend said, ‘Susan, you’re 25, but your hair is 45’, I started dying it.
For a long time, I worried that my prematurely grey locks could be a sign of ill-health. Auto-immune conditions, thyroid disorders, vitamin B12 deficiency and heart issues may all play a role in fading hair colour. Smoking can also be to blame, and I was a keen partaker of that particular vice in my late teens and early twenties. A 2020 study by Harvard University linked grey hair (in mice) to stress, revealing that activation of the sympathetic nervous system – ‘fight or flight’ mode – turned their fur from brown to silver. These nerves reach into the hair follicle and impact the production of the pigment-producing stem cells, called melanocytes, response for hair colour. But while I experienced the usual stresses of exam-taking followed by career-building, I don’t think I was more stressed than anyone else my age. A more likely cause is simple genetics. My paternal grandmother was completely grey by 30, and the gene passed down the male line. Or maybe I was just unlucky.
WHY DO WE GO GREY?
We don’t actually ‘go’ grey at all. What happens is that we gradually lose pigmentation in the hair follicle, and light bouncing off what is actually a translucent strand makes it appear white. Our hair colour is determined by melanin, produced in the hair follicles by melanocyte stem cells. An abundance of one type of melanin, eumelanin, gives people black or brown hair. Less eumelanin results in blonde hair, and very low levels allow another pigment, pheomelanin, to dominate, leading to red hair. As we age, melanin production slows, resulting in less pigment, so our hair becomes translucent. Research published last year found that melanin production declines, on average, 10-20% each decade after 30.
Now new research from New York University’s School of Medicine reveals why that might be. It seems that melanocyte stem cells travel between two sites in the hair follicle, from a site where they produce the pigment for hair colour to another where they produce stem cells. As we age, they get stuck in the stem cell ‘section’ of the follicle so produce less pigment. Clearly, my melanocytes got stuck earlier than most! This research may lead to treatments that help chivvy these stem cells back into the pigment-producing area of the follicle, so hair retains its natural colour for longer.
GLAD TO BE GREY
Any such treatments will be way too late for me and, honestly, I’m glad to be grey. The maintenance that came with regularly dying my hair was overwhelming – by my mid-40s I was having to touch up my roots every 10 days. I went blonde in an effort to save my hairdressing bills. But when lockdown came around, and salons shuttered, I decide it was time to embrace whatever lay beneath. And as someone with an increased genetic risk of Alzheimer’s, and a professional interest in reducing dementia risk, regularly pouring bleach directly onto my head didn’t seem like a great idea either. My hair still has a little help – I haven’t kicked the hairdresser habit completely – so it looks its best. But I’m enjoying the community of ‘silver sisters’ I’ve found on social media and have learned to love my sparkles! If you’re going grey, how do you feel about your hair? Let us know in the comments below.
DON’T PAUSE FOR MENOPAUSE SYMPOSIUM – July 1st
I’ll be speaking about post-menopausal health, and my new book The Power Decade: how to thrive after menopause, at the Don’t Pause for Menopause Symposium in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, on Saturday July 1st. Organised by the brilliant Meera Bhogal (who I interview in my book), it’s a full day of must-know information, lunch and meaningful conversations about menopause and peri-menopause. See you there!
Susan
ihave being going grey for over 10 years and am now at 75 very white and distinguished with thick shiny white hair
i have never dyed , permed, rolled tonged, hair dried my hair and seldom washed my hair more than once a week .
neglect and a good brush has kept it fit and a good diet
Your hair sounds very distinguished indeed! I think we’re encouraged to overwash our hair by shampoo manufacturers but a little benign neglect can be a good thing
One good thing about lockdown was no hairdresser or events for two years. I was able to let the grey shine, then appear post Covid with a totally new do – which has resulted in lots of positive comments. Suits my skin tone and is good for the budget too!
Absolutely! Grey is often more flattering to our skin tone and seems to make everyone’s eyes shine!
Thanks for your post Susan – always enjoyable. I love the colour of your hair – I’m pretty much grey now too – and have embraced it. Mine is a bit patchy still – some very white chunks and some still a bit darker – but I can’t be bothered with the hassle of colouring it and, like you, don’t like the idea of all the chemicals.
Anyway isn’t grey quite fashion all or nowadays?🤣
Yes definitely fashionable to be a ‘silver sister’! I have three darker patches left, which my hairdresser evens out with a few highlights (which don’t touch my scalp) a couple of times a year. But the patches are lightening fast, I imagine yours will too. Pippa.
I can’t understand why we can’t embrace going grey…at whatever age!
We are what we are and as long hair is cut nicely and washed regularly I refuse to join in with the need to dye my hair and to accept that by dyeing my hair I am saying that somehow I am not good enough…all part of women must look young…yes, must look healthy if possible, but won’t try to be what I’m not!
Hope this doesn’t sound too 😠
Absolutely Joan but each to their own of course. In hindsight I wish I’d embraced it earlier and not spent so long dying it!
I decided to go grey after I determined that by dying my hair, I was buying in to the ‘anti-ageing’ mantra that seemed to be ever prevalent in advertising and the media. I knew that my Dad had a magnificent head of steel grey hair from the age of 60 and so I took the plunge. With advice from my hairdresser, I went for it and it only took 3 appointments for my steel grey locks to reveal themselves and I was delighted! Following a re-style, I now have short, steel grey curls for which I receive a lot of compliments. It takes some management to keep them looking good but I never regretted my decision.
Your steel-grey curls sound stunning! Yes, it takes management but the idea that we’re ‘letting ourselves go’ by revealing the grey is so insulting. You’ve made a decision to curate your look and it’s paid off!
I am 67 and my normally brown hair is now a mixture of white, grey, dark grey and brown – streaky! I am happy with it as I don’t want to put chemicals on my head (apart from shampoo). My mother had red hair, never dyed it and when she died aged 93, it was still a sandy colour with a few white streaks, so hopefully it will be a long time before I am completely white. My husband had red hair and went white at 40 (like his mother); two of our children have red hair: eldest son is 40 and losing the colour fast; second son (38) has hair colour (brown) and a ginger beard and our daughter (32) has beautiful red hair with no sign of fading.
The most important thing is to be happy with it! And it sounds like all your family have beautiful hair!
I went grey in 2019 when I had cancer and due to chemotherapy. I was told that I wouldn’t lose my hair due to the type of chemo I had but they said not to dye it as it would really weaken my hair.
I decided to keep the grey and get a lot of compliments. I am 71 now
Your hair sounds lovely. It seems, anecdotally, that many women have have beautiful hair when it grows back, or returns to its natural colour, after chemo. A little gift after all the trauma, perhaps?
Mine started going grey in my twenties. Now it is pepper and salt with badger stripes I enjoy when I wear it up. Never dyed it. Don’t want those chemicals, on my skin, in the air I breathe at the hairdresser (health hazard for THEIR prolonged exposure), and then in the river to the sea. No, thank you.
Such a good point about hairdresser exposure to chemicals. I wonder if there’s any research on this? And your hair sounds lovely!