Grey Hair

I found my first grey hair on Saturday, December 30, 2006. My first grey hair! GACK!

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I always aid ‘Oh no. I’ll grow old gracefully’. But come on, I’ve only just turned 30. Who knew I was ‘old’? I mean, what the f*$k?!

I saved it. I’m serious! It’s in a plastic bag under my jewelry box. I’m thinking of sending it away for analysis…

To dye or not to dye, that is the question. But no, I think not. At least not yet…

My first grey hair!

I’m rambling. I know. I must be in shock. ;-)

So tell me, when did you find your first grey hair? Click the comment button and let me know. I’m curious – were you under 19; between 20 and 29; between 30 and 39; or over 40?

So, what is grey hair?
Every strand of hair is surrounded by a hair follicle that contains pigment cells, which produce melanin that gives the hair its colour.

As we get older the pigment cells in our hair follicles gradually die, hair no longer contains melanin and becomes more transparent – grey, silver, white.

Why does this happen?
Heredity. Yes, grey hair is yet another thing you can blame on your parents! However, before you start sending your ever-increasing therapy bills to Mom and Dad, there are also a few medical conditions to consider.

A deficiency in B-12, an imbalanced thyroid and anemia can all cause premature grey hair. And if you’re a smoker, you are four times more likely to go grey earlier than your non-smoking counterpart. Yet another reason to ‘butt-out’!

Can I reverse grey hair?
Not really. All of us at some point, if we live long enough, will go grey. But you can prolong the inevitable.

Diet and health play a huge part in grey hair. Start eating ‘superfoods! Superfoods include such things as broccoli sprouts, fresh veggies and berries. Garlic, ginger and other culinary/medicinal herbs and spices have been proven to enhance health and delay ageing. Also be sure your diet includes healthy oils like omega-3 and fish oils; be sure to get plenty of sunshine (but be sure to slather on the sunscreen); breathe fresh air everyday; drink plenty of fresh, clean water; and exercise.

The biggest reason why people age prematurely is because they don’t look after themselves. So for goodness sake, take care of yourself! (Obviously, considering I found my first grey hair, I should take my own advice. ;-D)

If taking care of yourself doesn’t seem to make the grey stay away, you can always dye your hair or a more extreme measure would be to take Melancor – a tablet that triggers melanocytes ‘increasing your body’s ability to produce melanin pigments thereby increasing the number and size of the hair strands and pigments in your natural hair [colour]’.

Since I’ve only just found one grey hair I don’t think I’ll be popping Melancor or dyeing my hair (except for a highlight here or there) anytime soon. My best course of action is to take better care of myself by exercising and taking a look-see at my diet.

As I am anemic (a common condition after having a baboonsky) perhaps my one lone grey hair is a fluke…? If not, I’ll be sending my beauty salon bills to my mom! ;-)

Thanks for reading!