Hairstyle World Article for Women

When Hair Turns Gray

June 20th, 2006

Is there a remedy?
Provided By: Berkeley Wellness
Q: What causes gray hair, and is there anything I can do about it–besides coloring it?

A: Graying occurs as specialized cells in hair follicles called melanocytes lose their ability to produce pigment (melanin) over time.

It’s not that hair actually turns gray, but that new hair with less melanin grows in. White hair has virtually no melanin.
Genes play a large role in graying, and there’s wide variation among ethnic groups. Men tend to turn gray earlier than women. Smoking is linked to premature graying. In rare cases, gray hair may be a sign of illness.
Unfortunately, there are no proven remedies for gray or white hair other than coloring it, despite the claims made for some dietary supplements. Melancor-NH, for example, allegedly boosts melanin (and stops male pattern baldness to boot) with its blend of bromelain, collagen, biotin, inositol, and other ingredients. Its maker says the supplement is “clinically proven,” but cites no evidence aside from testimonials and did not provide us with any data despite repeated requests. There’s no reason to think any of these substances would affect hair color. What’s more, Melancor is supposed to take 6 to 12 months to work, by which time you’ve spent hundreds of dollars for extremely unlikely results.
Words to the wise: No vitamin, mineral, or nutritional supplement is known to prevent or reverse age-related gray hair. The same goes for human growth hormone, yoga, removing mercury fillings, or any other touted therapy. In lab research white hair follicle cells have been stimulated to produce pigment again, and some scientists are hopeful that eventually a “cure” for graying will be possible. In the meantime, hair coloring–or learning to love your gray–is the only option.

Hot/cold blow-dry your hair at the roots: Blow-drying will give you a good lift if used with a fairly large, round brush. The trick is to situate the brush as close to your scalp as you can, essentially pulling the hair straight up from the base of your head, and using bursts of heat from the blow-dryer, aimed at the brush, followed by cool air which “sets” the style.

Set with Velcro rollers: A few strategically placed Velcro rollers will give your hair terrific volume. After hair is washed and blow-dried, curve one-inch sections of the hair you want lifted around the roller (small rollers for a slight lift and large for a higher lift). Three or four rollers should do the trick. Leave rollers in for about five minutes, remove and arrange newly lifted hair with your fingers. It’s recommended you don’t brush at this point, as brushing could “deflate” the set.

Use a curling iron… the right way: Because of the intense heat generated, a curling iron will give an instant lift. Starting at the crown of the head, take hold of one-inch sections of hair and lift vertically, wrapping hair around the iron, as close to your scalp as you can. Then spray with a holding product such as Alterna Caviar Working Hairspray for a firm but still flexible hold.

Try some rats! Popular in theatre and TV,Hair Rats are forms that actually stay in your hair, providing lift. They come in two shapes, donut or cylindrical, and are made of foam or nylon mesh so they’re soft and malleable. Rats are attached to the underside of hair with hairpins, after which hair is brushed up and over to obscure them. Okay, so it’s like hiding an Easter egg in your hair ‑- but it works!

Get a haircut with shorter layers: If your hair has a little wave or some curl, layers offer a ready-made lift. Nikki Flaming of the Beehive Salon likes layers just at the crown of the head. If they’re cut very short, you’ll get a punkish-pixie look; if they’re cut in longer layers, you’ll get more of a graduated, subtle lift.

Try Do Dads: Damien Miano, owner of Miano Viel Salon raved about these miniature hairpieces called Do Dads, which are, in fact, simple hair combs with hair extensions attached. You choose the color to match your own, or a contrasting color if you’re feeling funky. To get the lift, you fasten it on just as you would a traditional hair comb by combing it in against the grain of your hair.

Go for carefully concealed pin curls: Vu Nguyen, stylist at Frederic Fekkai Salon and Spa, always keeps a few basic hairpins handy, which he recommends using to create lift on curly or coarse tresses with four or five tiny pin-curls buried under the top layers of hair, which are secured with pins. He then flips over the top sections of hair, concealing the pin curls, resulting in a lift.

Rubber band it: Nguyen came up with this idea when he ran out of hair pins, and it’s become one of his trademarks ever since. He makes miniature bushels of hair by tying off small segments and securing with rubber bands, then flipping top sections of hair over the bushels.
UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, November 2005

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