Scared of getting old and the consequent onslaught of grey hair? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that time may be sooner rather than later with a survey finding women are going grey much younger than expected.
A national survey of 1600 people conducted by Clairol on Femail.com.au found that 65 per cent of women of respondents under 35 years of age had grey hair. Puts a bit of a spanner in the traditional image of a grey haired grandma, don’t you think?!
When a couple of my early-30s friends admitted that they’ve already noticed a couple of grey hairs starting to appear I presumed they were the misfortunate rather than the norm. Not so.
The reason hair goes grey is because it has no pigment due to melanocytes (the cells that produce pigment) becoming damaged or dying, with scientists believing the age in which you grey is due to your genes.
‘The major risk factor for greying is age, with everyone succumbing with time,” says Nina Goad from the British Association of Dermatologists. Earlier onset of greying is usually genetically determined, with little in the way of environmental relevance. For the majority of people, greying hair is not down to something you’ve done, but to genetic factors beyond your control. Generally, lifestyle does not greatly impact on when your hair loses its colour.”
Being a long time hair dyer (and, if my mum’s any indicator, likely to continue long into my future), I could very well have a few grey hairs sprouting and never even know about them. A scary thought.
Next time someone is stressing me out, I’ll definitely be thinking twice when I say, You’ll make my hair turn grey…”
