Grey Hair Linked to Stress Is Reversible

Although several experts had linked grey hair to stress, its appearance was thought to be irreversible, something debunked in the study.

The study is the first to provide quantitative evidence of the link between stress and grey hair. 

Researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons found that stress does play a significant role in the development of grey hair and these are reversible, a milestone discovery to understand the process of aging.

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The study is the first to provide quantitative evidence of the link between stress and grey hair. In particular, the researches demonstrated that hair color can be restored once the stress has been reduced. This, after comparing small variations of color in hair samples and the volunteer´s stress levels during a period o time.

“Understanding the mechanisms that allow ‘old’ gray hairs to return to their ‘young’ pigmented states could yield new clues about the malleability of human aging in general and how it is influenced by stress,” Senior Author Martin Picard explained.

Although several experts had linked grey hair to stress, its appearance was thought to be irreversible, something debunked in the study. “Our data add to a growing body of evidence demonstrating that human aging is not a linear, fixed biological process but may, at least in part, be halted or even temporarily reversed,” Picard added. 

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