Stress Causes Grey Hair

[mrchibbs]

I am already taking a systemic approach with my diet...Just asking if this is something I could use along side?

I wouldn't expect much from topical cypro on your scalp. I think if you want to reverse you may want to look at pro-dopamine agents like adamantine. Some dopamine agonist drugs have been shown to return hair color to white hair in elderly patient. The minerals copper/zinc/selenium in abundant quantities from shellfish are probably the best prevention.

 

[pro marker]

my dads hair is completely white, which he attributes to the stress of having three mentally messed up kids. meanwhile his brother who is 10 years older still has pitch black hair

 

[mrchibbs]

my dads hair is completely white, which he attributes to the stress of having three mentally messed up kids. meanwhile his brother who is 10 years older still has pitch black hair

I don’t know If I should but your depiction made me laugh out loud

 

[TheCalciumCad]

I for absolutely no reason stopped salting my coffee/OJ 6mo ago, had a notable increase in greys since. Turns out I was getting little over 1g of sodium daily via cronometer. Got back to adding a pinch of sea salt to my coffee/OJ and immediately had warmer hands/cheeks, leaner (sign of lower aldosterone the water retaining hormone) and less need to urinate. All signs of increased metabolism and lower adrenaline. So, I think elevated noradrenaline/serotonin from a sodium deficiency was the culprit in my grey hair increase which would backup the original post.

Also found this on sodium deficiency

Results: During the low-salt diet, 24-h urinary excretion of serotonin increased by 42%, accompanied by a 52% rise in the excretion of 5-HIAA. Salt restriction also increased noradrenaline excretion by 77%

Effect of dietary salt restriction on urinary serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid excretion in man - PubMed

Salt restriction stimulates the serotonergic system in man. Stimulation of this system, in conjunction with the sympathetic nervous system, may contribute to renal sodium conservation during dietary salt restriction in man.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[valdz]

Wow. Interesting read. I can attribute my early gray hairs from stress b/c I started getting them when I was 15yo and being the oldest of 4 kids. The rest of my siblings however have no gray hairs. I have to be the lucky one.. I will try taking more copper amongst other Vit and minerals... Good post by @Lorof .. Wish I knew this info back then.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Not exactly news for most of my readers, but it is a popular topic for many people and, as usual, the response of most doctors is that the premature greying is genetically influenced and not much can be done about it. While the study below conclusively links greying to stress, I think the mechanism provided in the article is not the major one, even though the link to noradrenaline excess makes sense as a mediator of stress. Older studies who looked at the issue before it became so controversial discovered that greying is due to elevated tryptophan/serotonin in the blood (and thus hairs) and serotonin antagonists and/or dopamine agonists can reverse it. Topical solution of copper may also work but it can also encourage the appearance of moles on the skin. So, something like Benadryl, cyproheptadine or even bromocriptine may be better options and their effects make perfect sense considering they mitigate the effects of stress. Avoiding stress would be ideal of course but that is not really an option for most people these days. And if the sympathetic system does play a major role then adding a bit of extra salt to the diet may also be helpful, especially considering salt increase serotonin uptake/deactivation.

Hyperactivation of sympathetic nerves drives depletion of melanocyte stem cells | Nature
How stress causes gray hair

"...Stress can have a variety of negative effects on the body. The idea that acute stress can cause hair to turn gray is a popular belief. But until now, that link wasn’t scientifically proven. Hair color is determined by cells called melanocytes, which produce the pigment melanin. New melanocytes are made from melanocyte stem cells that live within the hair follicle at the base of the hair strand. As we age, these stem cells gradually disappear. The hair that regrows from hair follicles that have lost melanocyte stem cells has less pigment and appears gray. Researchers set out to determine if stress could also cause hair to gray, and if so, how. The study was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and other NIH components. The findings appeared in Nature on January 22, 2020. The research team, led by Dr. Ya-Chieh Hsu of Harvard University, used mice to examine stress and hair graying. The mice were exposed to three types of stress involving mild, short-term pain, psychological stress, and restricted movement. All caused noticeable loss of melanocyte stem cells and hair graying. Having established a link between stress and graying, the scientists then explored several potential causes. They first tested whether immune attack might be responsible for depleting melanocyte stem cells. But stressing mice with compromised immune systems still led to hair graying. The team then investigated the role of the stress hormone corticosterone, but altering its levels didn’t affect stress-related graying. The researchers eventually turned to the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, which, along with corticosterone, was elevated in the stressed mice. They found that noradrenaline, also known as norepinephrine, was key to stress-induced hair graying. By injecting noradrenaline under the skin of unstressed mice, the researchers were able to cause melanocyte stem cell loss and hair graying. Noradrenaline is produced mostly by the adrenal glands. However, mice without adrenal glands still showed stress-related graying. Noradrenaline is also the main neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “fight-or-flight” reaction in response to stress. The team ultimately discovered that signaling from the sympathetic nervous system plays a critical role in stress-induced graying. Sympathetic nerves extend into each hair follicle and release noradrenaline in response to stress. Normally, the melanocyte stem cells in the follicle are dormant until a new hair is grown. Noradrenaline causes the stem cells to activate."

I would think Progest-E would be something to reduce stress also, helping to reverse gray hair.

 

[Sapien]

Peat actually spoke favorably of norepinephrine “
Ray Peat said:
It increases oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production, with many protective effects. Noradrenalin is a central part of brain functioning, and integrates energy metabolism throughout the body, releasing glucose from stored glycogen; it isn't a stress hormone. Sugar protects against increased cortisol/cortisone. The cultists say it's addictive and causes stress, but that's their problem.”

Perhaps if the rats got sufficient sucrose the results would have been different

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

I think I was happier when I knew this was an old wive's tale, and with enough gelatine/glycine, copper, and low tryptophan I'd be set

Hey I still have stress, but cutting out most of my meat and egg whites, eating bone broth and gelatin, and cycling in more chocolate on my non-shellfish days has kept my gray at bay, and my hair healthy. So keep staying blissfully happy!

 

[Peater]

Hey I still have stress, but cutting out most of my meat and egg whites, eating bone broth and gelatin, and cycling in more chocolate on my non-shellfish days has kept my gray at bay, and my hair healthy. So keep staying blissfully happy!

That's funny you should post now rinse as I recently noticed a few greys coming through in my chin stubble. Nothing too bad but I will see if anything in particular helps. I thought of exactly what you mentioned - quality dark choc and lose the egg whites. I wonder if it could be anything to do with dental X-rays growing up, it's been many many years since then of course. Head hair seems fine.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

That's funny you should post now rinse as I recently noticed a few greys coming through in my chin stubble. Nothing too bad but I will see if anything in particular helps. I thought of exactly what you mentioned - quality dark choc and lose the egg whites. I wonder if it could be anything to do with dental X-rays growing up, it's been many many years since then of course. Head hair seems fine.

Ray Peat had the same thing happen, he grew a patch of gray hairs on his chin after dental x-rays. Interestingly, thinking back, I remember commenting on some concentrated gray patches in my husband’s facial hair, and now realize they were from many dental x-rays he had had. I would think that it would take more to rejuvenate those kind of grays, like maybe red light therapy or possibly progest-e, even possibly aspirin?

 

[Peater]

Ray Peat had the same thing happen, he grew a patch of gray hairs on his chin after dental x-rays. Interestingly, thinking back, I remember commenting on some concentrated gray patches in my husband’s facial hair, and now realize they were from many dental x-rays he had had. I would think that it would take more to rejuvenate those kind of grays, like maybe red light therapy or possibly progest-e, even possibly aspirin?

I thought I remembered reading that, thanks for confirming. I looked around and no one tried the topical copper solution after it gave Ray a mole!

I'll try a few topical things, I have SolBan which has good ingredients to try, and also some TyroMix. I might try some topical Lugols too, applied with a cotton bud.

 

[catan]

I've been under a lot of stress, so am thinking the weekly liver and occasional oysters are helping keep my hair black. I've also reduced muscle meat consumption by a lot and upping broth intake.

My hair is still falling out though.... (But not the few white ones, they stay on stubbornly....)

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

I thought I remembered reading that, thanks for confirming. I looked around and no one tried the topical copper solution after it gave Ray a mole!

I'll try a few topical things, I have SolBan which has good ingredients to try, and also some TyroMix. I might try some topical Lugols too, applied with a cotton bud.

I get excited when someone decides to be the Guinea pig on these things. I would volunteer, but fortunately I have no gray patches in my beard

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

I've been under a lot of stress, so am thinking the weekly liver and occasional oysters are helping keep my hair black. I've also reduced muscle meat consumption by a lot and upping broth intake.

My hair is still falling out though.... (But not the few white ones, they stay on stubbornly....)

I wonder if some red light therapy might be something to experiment with, for the hair falling out? I have been using red light more lately on various spots and it does seem to make hair grow faster in thise areas, but I haven’t experimented with that angle. I could shave a couple of spots and red light only one of them and see, but I don’t really have any hairy spots.

 

[Peater]

I would volunteer, but fortunately I have no gray patches in my beard

Cool - what's your secret?

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Cool - what's your secret?

Saying no to dentist x-rays!

 

[Peater]

Saying no to dentist x-rays!

 

[catan]

I wonder if some red light therapy might be something to experiment with, for the hair falling out? I have been using red light more lately on various spots and it does seem to make hair grow faster in thise areas, but I haven’t experimented with that angle. I could shave a couple of spots and red light only one of them and see, but I don’t really have any hairy spots.

I have been trying this, shining a red light on my scalp for a couple minutes. I have not noticed any change-- I seem to be shedding as much as ever. But perhaps I just need to give it more time and be more consistent. Admittedly I am not great at remembering red light when it's sunny out, but now that it's getting cold with shorter days I want the red light. How long do use red light for?

 

[Sparks]

@Rinse & rePeat May I please ask why you don't eat egg whites? Sorry if you have already explained this else where... I thought that bone broth was a no go because of the risk of lead [maybe you make it yourself and don't cook it for too long]. I am on the fence regarding gelatin as I think it is an ultra processed product. What brand are you using please? Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 5487]

Not exactly news for most of my readers, but it is a popular topic for many people and, as usual, the response of most doctors is that the premature greying is genetically influenced and not much can be done about it. While the study below conclusively links greying to stress, I think the mechanism provided in the article is not the major one, even though the link to noradrenaline excess makes sense as a mediator of stress. Older studies who looked at the issue before it became so controversial discovered that greying is due to elevated tryptophan/serotonin in the blood (and thus hairs) and serotonin antagonists and/or dopamine agonists can reverse it. Topical solution of copper may also work but it can also encourage the appearance of moles on the skin. So, something like Benadryl, cyproheptadine or even bromocriptine may be better options and their effects make perfect sense considering they mitigate the effects of stress. Avoiding stress would be ideal of course but that is not really an option for most people these days. And if the sympathetic system does play a major role then adding a bit of extra salt to the diet may also be helpful, especially considering salt increase serotonin uptake/deactivation.

Hyperactivation of sympathetic nerves drives depletion of melanocyte stem cells | Nature
How stress causes gray hair

"...Stress can have a variety of negative effects on the body. The idea that acute stress can cause hair to turn gray is a popular belief. But until now, that link wasn’t scientifically proven. Hair color is determined by cells called melanocytes, which produce the pigment melanin. New melanocytes are made from melanocyte stem cells that live within the hair follicle at the base of the hair strand. As we age, these stem cells gradually disappear. The hair that regrows from hair follicles that have lost melanocyte stem cells has less pigment and appears gray. Researchers set out to determine if stress could also cause hair to gray, and if so, how. The study was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and other NIH components. The findings appeared in Nature on January 22, 2020. The research team, led by Dr. Ya-Chieh Hsu of Harvard University, used mice to examine stress and hair graying. The mice were exposed to three types of stress involving mild, short-term pain, psychological stress, and restricted movement. All caused noticeable loss of melanocyte stem cells and hair graying. Having established a link between stress and graying, the scientists then explored several potential causes. They first tested whether immune attack might be responsible for depleting melanocyte stem cells. But stressing mice with compromised immune systems still led to hair graying. The team then investigated the role of the stress hormone corticosterone, but altering its levels didn’t affect stress-related graying. The researchers eventually turned to the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, which, along with corticosterone, was elevated in the stressed mice. They found that noradrenaline, also known as norepinephrine, was key to stress-induced hair graying. By injecting noradrenaline under the skin of unstressed mice, the researchers were able to cause melanocyte stem cell loss and hair graying. Noradrenaline is produced mostly by the adrenal glands. However, mice without adrenal glands still showed stress-related graying. Noradrenaline is also the main neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “fight-or-flight” reaction in response to stress. The team ultimately discovered that signaling from the sympathetic nervous system plays a critical role in stress-induced graying. Sympathetic nerves extend into each hair follicle and release noradrenaline in response to stress. Normally, the melanocyte stem cells in the follicle are dormant until a new hair is grown. Noradrenaline causes the stem cells to activate."

Now is there a way to reverse graying hair?

The only thing I have found with strong anecdotal evidence would be NR or NMN over a period of many months that raise NAD levels significantly.

I am 28 with a handful of greys, fortunately dirty blonde/reddish hair has a strong affinity against greying, as well as much less contrast.