Stress Makes Hair White According To A Study
That stress makes hair white is a belief we have heard for years. Never before, however, has science verified this phenomenon. This is what happened thanks to a group of neurologists from Harvard, who made the myth a reality.
There are many legends told throughout history about the link between stress and white hair. One of the best known is that of Marie Antoinette, the queen of France beheaded during the French Revolution. It is said of her that her hair turned gray in a single night.
Another famous legend is that of Thomas More, who is credited with a sudden change in appearance which took place, also in this case, in just one night. There are not a few people who experience a phase of personal crisis and leave it feeling aged. Today we know it’s true: Stress makes hair white.
Stress makes hair white
A group of scientists from Harvard University (United States) led by Dr. Ya-Chieh Hsu, published a study in the journal Nature which indicates that following various tests and studies it was concluded that stress causes white hair.
The most interesting aspect is that the team of neurologists has not limited itself to proving the direct influence of stress on hair aging, but has also identified the mechanisms that cause this phenomenon. This is an incredible step forward.
Stress is a worldwide malaise that in recent times has aroused the interest of scholars who have conducted countless studies on it. It has been associated with various diseases and ailments. The impact of stress on our physical appearance already seemed evident, but now all the points have finally been joined.
A revealing experiment
To reach these conclusions, Harvard scientists first carried out an experiment on mice. The goal was to find the possible correlation between this factor and the appearance of white hair, also examining the different physiological changes related to anxiety states.
The researchers gradually introduced a state of stress into mice by injecting them with a compound called resiniferatoxin. This substance stimulates the production of cortisol, known as the stress hormone.
The experts ‘first hypothesis was that stress caused the animals’ immune systems to activate by stimulating the cells that produce pigments. Much to their surprise, however, this hypothesis was discarded after finding that some mice continued to have white hair even in the absence of a major immune reaction.
The scientists decided to remove the adrenal glands from some mice to eliminate the ability to produce cortisol. Then they subjected them to stressful situations by noticing something unexpected: white hairs kept appearing.
Why does stress make hair white?
The team of neurologists sifted through all options to focus on the sympathetic nervous system, which is in charge of regulating the fight-or-flight response in the body. The nerves that make it up are branched and are present in every single hair follicle of the skin.
After further research, the scientists observed that in the presence of stressful situations, the nerves released a chemical called norepinephrine. The same was then absorbed by stem cells near the nerves and responsible for regenerating hair pigments.
Norepinephrine causes excessive activation of these cells, which consequently produce more pigments than necessary, consuming all their reserves. When this happens, the cell is unable to regenerate and pigment the hair. Here comes the white hair.
What to expect
Scientists have reported that this is an irreversible condition. Once the stem cells are lost, there is no going back: the effect is permanent. The study confirmed that stress causes white hair and revealed how that mechanism works, but did not clarify why.
Thanks to this incredible breakthrough, the foundations have been laid for new research projects on the effects of stress on different tissues of the organism. Scientific research now has the way open to study stress and its effects in depth.
All this gives hope that methods aimed at reversing the effects of stress can be developed later on. For now, the director of the study has advised to take life more calmly: as we see, worrying too much has only negative effects.
