Gray Hair And Senescence

Gray hair is considered a sign of senescence. However, it is false statement. Gray hair is a sign of hair aging and rarely is a sign of whole body aging. Hair canities with age is a normal thing.

First singular gray hairs appear at 35 – 40 years old. After 40 years the number of gray hair increases and in males hair canities on temples is followed with canities of hair on beard and mustache. At the later stage eyebrows hair turns gray.

Declinations from specified hair canities order occur rarely, instead age-related declinations occur quite often. There are many eldery people with no gray har at all.

Hair canities depends on the hair color. As a rule, brunets turn gray earlier than blond people. Causes of hair canities are not known yet. Discoloring or pigment loss along with appearing or severe increase of air bubbles in hair is possible cause.

Japanese scientist Kukkawa claims that hair color depends on metals it contains. He found iron, copper and nickel in hair of all colors. Thus in light hair is prevalent nickel and titanium, in dark hair – copper, iron and cobalt, in brown hair – iron and molybdenum. Gray hair contains only nickel.