I found a weird short gray strand in my brown hair; I'm a 20 years old woman!

[sara273]

Ever since I've seen it, I've been so depressed and I can't think about anything else.

My normal hair colors are: brown, red, orange, and gold. I also have A LOT of hair.

When I was 18, my hairdresser said she found a white hair near the back of my head but I denied it and said it was gold hair. I never saw the hair strand so I don't know if it's still there, but I have never seen it

When I was 19, a random white hair (??? Idk if it was actually hair; it felt like a super long strand of dental floss) fell from my head when I was sitting. That's the last I saw of it.

And now I have found this short white hair and my obsessive anxiety is acting up :(. I plucked it out last night and I realized the reason why it was so hard for me to find was that the ROOT and the END of the hair was BROWN. Only the MIDDLE was white (super light gold maybe????) :(.

Today I also found a short teeny little white (or is it gold or light yellow???) baby hair under my bangs while I was trying to check all my roots at the front. It looks gold if someone just looks at it (it's so hard to find) but I think its white idk I'm freaking out and I haven't been able to concentrate on anything for days. The tiny strand kinda curls in itself.

My mom said she started getting gray hair at 18 or 20. Idk about my dad but his family barely has any grey (he has gray hair tho). I don't want gray hair before my friends and I don't want to dye it and worry about it because it's embarrassing that I have to do this.

One of my friends at 18 had 2 super long white hairs and 1 of her friends plucked it out 1 day and I've never seen them come again.

Does coconut oil help to reverse gray hair? I've read numerous articles these days about massaging it on your scalp cuz it has melonin. I bought some today and put it on my hair and waited and then went to shower. My diet is good (I eat a lot of protein and good carbs and brown bread and sometimes I eat a tiny bit of sweets or sometimes a few chips).

:( I'm feeling really anxious. Please don't make fun of me; this forum seems really nice. This year I was also starting to think I was kinda pretty too :(.

[Decoy24601]

I wouldn't worry too much. I've had a few white hairs since I was about 15/16. Just because you have a few white hairs doesn't mean you are going grey/white at an early age. It's perfectly normal.

And be careful about "articles" online. Many of them are not real scientific articles that quite actual studies.

[sara273]

Sorry idk how to edit my post (I'm on my phone and itfoesn't show edit for me), but I also exercise a lot too and I don't smoke. I don't think I have a B12 deficiency :(.

[sara273]

I wouldn't worry too much. I've had a few white hairs since I was about 15/16. Just because you have a few white hairs doesn't mean you are going grey/white at an early age. It's perfectly normal.

And be careful about "articles" online. Many of them are not real scientific articles that quite actual studies.

Thank u so much for replying to me. Does your white hair annoy u or do people notice it? ♡ Do the same strands still grow?

[Decoy24601]

I honestly can't even see my white strands unless I look closely for them. No one ever notices either (they might be a lot more obvious on someone with dark brown/black hair though). My white strands are some of the longest ones that I have, so I'm fairly certain they still grow.

I haven't seen any increase in the amount of white strands I have either over the last few years.

[Hurven]

I wouldn't worry about it. I'm 24 and since I stopped dying my hair, I have noticed a few (maybe five) white hairs. I don't know how long they've been there, but they don't bother me at all. In fact, I think they are pretty. :) I can only see them if I really examine my hair, and no one has ever made a comment about them.

[lapushka]

I got my first gray hair (white actually) when I was in my early 20s too, just about 20 I think. I'm 44 now, and have a tiny sprinkling of gray throughout. I think I'm 2-3% "gray". It takes *decades* from that first hair, so don't panic. We've had threads like this before, and all we can say is not to worry and/or panic.

It'll be fine! And please don't go plucking them.

[furnival]

By what you've said, if your hair is naturally many different shades, you've probably just found one of the lightest ones. :)

I think though, rather than looking for solutions for finding a grey hair, you really need to get some treatment for your anxiety (if you aren't already revieving any). :grouphug: Not to sound like a sanctimonious old git here (or to belittle your anxiety; I have suffered with it myself) but life is going to throw things at you that are much more complicated than a grey hair, and it's really important to learn how to cope with things that are beyond your control without spiralling into anxiety and obsession, as this will make life very difficult for you. :flower:

[HairPlease]

Many people get their first grays in their late teens/early 20s. I was one of those people. I have a lot of grays now. There's a high chance that the hair you found wasn't even a gray - just a very light hair with very little pigment. Gray hairs are usually very coarse and even wiry (mine sure are, but I'm a M/C in general anyway).
Don't panic. You're not "going gray" if you find just one or two whites. You have many years. :)

[Anje]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I found my first gray at 12. It was past shoulder length, too, so it had to have been growing for at least 2 years, since I was 10?!?!

That was 22 years ago. I've got a few grays, several of which I blame on grad school. I don't have many, though. I'm like 0.01% gray. Not enough for anyone to notice who isn't up close and personal in my hair. My hair was deep red then, probably with a mix of shades like yours, but tending to dark red. These days it's a bit darker and more of a medium brown-auburn if I don't henna.

Point of all that is that early grays don't necessarily mean you're going to end up with white hair in the next few years. It just means that you've got a couple scattered grays that someone who's styling your hair might eventually notice. And that's pretty livable.

[littlestarface]

I got my first white hair when I was 11 no big deal, i'm now 30s and still only have a few that are hidden. I use henna and instead of white they're red.

[vampyyri]

It's nothing to worry over, long silver hair is stunningly gorgeous! I most likely won't find my first one until I'm much older due to my genes (my mother passed at 58 and never had a single one, and my father is 70 and doesn't have one either!). It's not something to fret over, it's something to look forward to! Perspective is key!

[Phoe]

I got my first grey hair around 22. Now I've got maybe 6 or 7 that I can see. I'm 27

I would strongly recommend not pulling it out... because then once it starts to grow back in, you'll have a shiny silver hair poking straight out from your scalp until it's long enough to lay flat.

[LongCurlyTress]

Aw Hon!!! Congratulations on finding your first grey hair!! It means you have lived!! Be proud of those-- Do not be depressed!! It happens to everyone.. sooner or later!! :magic: Welcome to life...:happydance: Grey hairs are beautiful! :applause

[Kajzh]

I's totally normal to have a few grays. It doesn't mean that your hair is going completely gray anytime soon. It's not really reversible, so just relax and accept it for what it is! :)

[Crystawni]

Mayhaps it's time to embrace your uniqueness. It's just another colour on your head, and nothing to be prejudiced about.

[sarahthegemini]

Ever since I've seen it, I've been so depressed and I can't think about anything else.

My normal hair colors are: brown, red, orange, and gold. I also have A LOT of hair.

When I was 18, my hairdresser said she found a white hair near the back of my head but I denied it and said it was gold hair. I never saw the hair strand so I don't know if it's still there, but I have never seen it

When I was 19, a random white hair (??? Idk if it was actually hair; it felt like a super long strand of dental floss) fell from my head when I was sitting. That's the last I saw of it.

And now I have found this short white hair and my obsessive anxiety is acting up :(. I plucked it out last night and I realized the reason why it was so hard for me to find was that the ROOT and the END of the hair was BROWN. Only the MIDDLE was white (super light gold maybe????) :(.

Today I also found a short teeny little white (or is it gold or light yellow???) baby hair under my bangs while I was trying to check all my roots at the front. It looks gold if someone just looks at it (it's so hard to find) but I think its white idk I'm freaking out and I haven't been able to concentrate on anything for days. The tiny strand kinda curls in itself.

My mom said she started getting gray hair at 18 or 20. Idk about my dad but his family barely has any grey (he has gray hair tho). I don't want gray hair before my friends and I don't want to dye it and worry about it because it's embarrassing that I have to do this.

One of my friends at 18 had 2 super long white hairs and 1 of her friends plucked it out 1 day and I've never seen them come again.

Does coconut oil help to reverse gray hair? I've read numerous articles these days about massaging it on your scalp cuz it has melonin. I bought some today and put it on my hair and waited and then went to shower. My diet is good (I eat a lot of protein and good carbs and brown bread and sometimes I eat a tiny bit of sweets or sometimes a few chips).

:( I'm feeling really anxious. Please don't make fun of me; this forum seems really nice. This year I was also starting to think I was kinda pretty too :(.

So having a few grey hairs means you're not pretty now??? Don't be silly!

[RebekahE]

I don't have any yet but my dad grayed early (20s- early 30s) He is upper 50s now and completely gray. My Mom started graying in her late 30s (but she dyes her hair). I do not have any gray yet and when i do start I don't think I will dye my hair unless I decide to go red with henna. My sister-in-law has three strand of gray hair she has had since she was 13, she has never gotten anymore and they aren't very noticeable unless you are actually close to her and looking for them. I doubt if many people pay enough attention to hair to notice a few gray strands.

[Kaya]

Well, I can't say much that others before me haven't already said.

DH noted this awhile back and it kinda puts the whole natural greying/silvering into perspective. There are young ladies (and gentlemen) out there that are dying their hair grey and/or silver. On purpose. And they can look pretty darn attractive! :o Personally, I can't wait to get a nice sprinkling of whites or silvers. They'll be nice little sparklies among my dark hair!

So my advice: don't panic. Either accept the greys/silvers and learn to live with/ignore them, or embrace the beauty!!

[embee]

I found my first gray hair when I was in college. It was short and coarse and curly, and my hair is straight and fine/medium. I yanked it out.

Now I'm in my 70s and people sometimes ask if I'm even going to "go gray" - although I've got quite a few gray/silvery hairs they don't show much because most of my hair is dark.

[enting]

The fact that your hair has many shades in it will just help any silvers hide better and be unnoticeable! I have a few grays and whites. I have several shades of brown and blonde on my head, and I have all sorts of highlights from ash blonde to red. I don't think anyone has ever noticed the grays and whites unless I explicitly pointed them out and shifted my hair to make them more visible. My first white hairs were found by my best friend when she was checking my head for lice, and that is thorough, up close work. Until then I had no idea and nobody had seen them.

I'll echo the others who said please don't pull the hairs out, it will only make your hair thinner and/or damage the roots. There are vinegar rinses and tea rinses you can use to tint the hairs so they don't look white or gray, you don't even have to use dye to mask them. Cassia can make white hairs look golden as well, and then they would just blend in to the rest of your mix of colors :)

I used to think that white hairs meant I was getting old and it was bad, but then I read this thread and had a change of perspective:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=16951

Even if you do get more silvers, and you may not for a long time, you do not *need* to dye your hair unless *you* want to. They can be awesome highlights. There are several people on this forum who are young and have quite a lot of silver and *still* look young :). Just focus on keeping yourself (and your hair) as healthy as you can and try not to worry about the color too much. :flowers: