My hair is becoming white, what might be causing this?
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Lemley (
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July 9th, 2016
First of all, I’m only 19 years old, so this is all too weird to me. Earlier today, I noticed that my hair is now growing white (!?), something that has never happened before. It’s not all my hair, but there is a noticeable amount of hairs that just stop being brown (my natural color) and yup, there we go, they’re white. Silver-like, really light white. At first I was shocked, then decided it would be pretty cool if all of it turned white, so I’m not really trying to fix it, rather than wondering what might have caused it. I have bleached my hair a few times in the past (but I haven’t messed with the roots or anything) and I was actually thinking of maybe bleaching it again (which I haven’t, and probably won’t anytime soon, since I’d like to keep track of the change). But can that cause hair to grow white? I also have a close relative whose hair became white earlier than it was supposed to, but he was in his late twenties, a decade older than me.
Any ideas?
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13 Answers
It is not unusual to get a white hair or two in your 20s. I had a few at age 29. It happens to everybody if you wait long enough.
Extreme stress can cause white hair. I’m 38 and I haven’t had any white hairs just yet.
@SmartAZ The thing is, they’re not just one or two.. I just hadn’t noticed until today because the white part is still a bit too short to be seen if you’re not looking for it.
@RedDeerGuy1 Well I have been going through some stressful circumstances over the last couple months but I wouldn’t call it extreme stress… (like I age rapidly or something?)
”... For most, this begins after age 35. But the age at which hair starts to turn gray varies widely. Perfectly healthy people can start to turn gray well before age 35. Others make into advanced age without turning gray at all.
In addition to age, there are a number of factors that contribute to the age at which hair becomes gray. These include:
Heredity. Premature graying is common in some families.
Gender. Men tend to get gray hair at an earlier age than women.
Certain diseases. Examples include vitamin B12 deficiency, thyroid disease and vitiligo (an autoimmune skin disease). Skin conditions, such as eczema or scalp infections, may also cause graying. And these causes may be reversible once the skin disease is treated.
Smoking. Those who smoke are more likely to turn gray at a young age.
Medications. Certain drugs, such as lithium and methotrexate, can cause hair to fall out, making the remaining gray hair more noticeable.
A common misconception is that stress turns hair gray. There are rare examples of people suddenly losing pigmented (darker) hair, which makes their gray hair more noticeable. But everyday stress or worry does not change hair color.”
http://answers.webmd.com/answers/2022161/im-only-19-but-my-hair-is-about-40-gray-why-is-this-and-what-can-i-do-about-it
My hair started turning white when I was 26.
I started spotting the occasional grey hair when I was 18 or 19. It always blended into the many colours my hair naturally has (and the highlights I always put in). They were random til I was about 30 when 1 streak formed on one side. Then nothing else til I was in my mid-50’s when it really started to go silver/grey. My mother was fully grey at about 35. My dad didn’t really start to go grey til he was closer to 80. It seems pretty random.
Your are very young, but it’s not uncommon for it to happen in your 20’s. People usually start in their 20’s (because of genetics) or it doesn’t start until the 40’s or later.
Probably, there is nothing you can do except dye your hair, but you certainly could see a doctor if you want to make sure. Do you have any other weird things going on?
My father and my sister started going grey in their teens.
I found my first grey hair when I was 15. I was nit combing my 9 year old daughter’s hair recently and saw a few hairs that looked a lot paler than her naturally dark brown hair. My mum and my aunt went grey at a young age. It’s normal for some people to grey early, just like some people hardly have any grey at 70.
I started dyeing my hair in my mid 20s. I am not that adventurous so I dyed it as close to my natural dark brown colour as possible. Now it’s more than 60% grey in my mid 40s and I dye it a light brown or dark blonde. The regrowth is less noticeable this way and the greys look like blonde highlights.
Julian Asange’s hair turned white after he was placed under house arrest after a long trial by the Australian government for hacking into it’s DOD and central banking system computers when he was twelve.
I had a friend who’s father’s hair turned white after his wife told him she wanted a divorce.
I knew a guy who came back from Nam with white hair.
It happens. But you might just be developing a “Jay Leno” cowlick. It might look kinda cool. If not, you can always dye it.
I think I was 24 when I found my first grey hair. Although stress definitely causes it, I am getting quite a few now and my hair is falling out quite dramatically. The hair falling out does frighten me a little
Just today an employee of mine told me he started going grey in his teens. He has a great head of hair though.
@LBM Have you seen a doctor about it?
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