Restoring Color to Gray or White Hair

[DoubleCrowned]

I have thought for a long time that sometimes graying hair might be a warning sign and wondered if it can be delayed or reversed. My theories for hair losing pigment included physical or emotional stress, poor diet or poor absorption of nutrients, illness, and pollution.

Today I inspected a white hair because it had fallen at just under 9" long, and I wondered if it had been broken. What I discovered was that two and a quarter inches of it is brown. The color is sharply defined, as if the hair had just decided to change color almost overnight. The shocking thing is, the brown part is the ROOT end! (The disappointing thing is that it fell out at only 9"...)

So, here is evidence that hair can return to its youthful color. Unfortunately, I don't know how fast my hair is growing, so I am uncertain what the change took place 2.25" ago. I am also unwilling to yank out a bunch of hair to see how many I can find that have also done the same thing!

However, here is an intriguing tid-bit: I started living with a high quality air filter on April 29. I bought it to remove volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde that were making me sick, and could tell the difference in the air quality in an hour. I have read that toxins can cause gray hair. Three months; 2.25" of growth....? I was thinking that might be what caused the sudden change on that strand of hair. Then a 19" hair shed -- brown on both ends and white in the middle. The root end was 4" of brown. Do hairs grow at different rates?

Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to start a thread about things people think turned their hair gray and any experience, research, or folklore about regaining its pigmentation.

[dulce]

My late mom told me both her mom and her, grayed late in life and in an uneven pattern[front white, back stays natural colour]1 am graying also later and in an uneven pattern the same as they had,so 1 believe it all hinges on genetics.

[Rini]

I think it's genetic. I don't think it's a sign of being unhealthy or having "toxins". I know some VERY unhealthy people without a single grey hair on their heads :shrug: Conversely, I have always been very healthy :)

I think it would be great if we could re-educate ourselves to view grey hair as natural, healthy and just another shade in the rainbow of beautiful hair colours......not something to be dreaded or "fixed". Just my :twocents:

[mellie]

I agree with everything you said, Rini!

Also I want to point out that actually many, many people start finding white hairs in their teens. It's perfectly normal. In fact, maybe it's more strange to NOT start finding silvers by then! So I don't think it means a person is unhealthy at all. It is just expected that everyone pluck them or dye over them, so we're not used to seeing natural silvers in younger people.

I started finding them when I was 19. I don't think anything "caused" them, it is just perfectly natural. I would not want to restore pigment in them, I find them beautiful and flattering and lightening to my hair as my skin ages. Also they are a sign of wisdom and I think have helped me gain respect because I am a business owner, and without the silvers I look too young to be the owner. I think I look MUCH better with them! See the "Going Renegray" article in my siggy for pics! Embrace your silvers! :cheer:

In regards to the hair that you found that was brown at the roots and white at the ends, there are a few folks in the Salt & Pepper thread who said they have had this happen.

[ericthegreat]

I think there is truth to both theories about grey/white hair.

I certainly agree with Rini, greying can be genetically inherited from your parents, and its also a natural part of the aging process. Over time, the hair cells underneath our scalps will produce less and less pigment as we get older, and eventually the loss of that pigment will result in turning out hair grey/white. However, the loss of our original natural hair color does not mean that we are sick or weaker in any way, its just a natural progression of our overall life cycle.

But, I have also heard from many credible anecdotal references that grey/white hair can also be prematurely induced when the body is put under severe stress. Marie Antoinette is said to have had her hair turn white overnight on the night before she was to be sent to the guillotine. Extreme starvation/famine has also be reported to temporarily turn hair white. And I also have a personal story to share. Another older hairstylist who I consider to be my mentor shared an old war story with me. When he was in the Army, he knew a fellow soldier who had temporarily died. They were able to rush him to the nearest hospital however and the doctors were able to revive him. He survived, but not unchanged. His hair was dark brown before. But from that day on, the roots of his hair literally grew back white.

So again I think that greying/whiting hair is both a natural occurrence, but it can also be traumatically induced to the body under stressful circumstances. I think the air filter is great for you regardless of whether or not it did anything to change your hair back to brown DoubleCrowned, certainly it will help with your health.

[rusika1]

Gray happens when the follicle stops producing pigment--the hair isn't gray or white, it's clear. It's usually due to genetics, but also caused by certain deficiencies (pernicious anemia, b12, hypothyroidism.) And evidently smoking.

I don't think there have been any scientifically verified cases of hair going white 'overnight'--how would that even be possible? Hair that's already grown doesn't change color without outside assistance.

Many people who have had certain types of chemotherapy find that their hair grows back with pigmentation, and often with a different
texture.

[DoubleCrowned]

Thank you all for your interest and comments.

There is no doubt that genes have much to do with how and when a person grays. I did not mean to imply that gray (white) hair is abnormal or that it is not a normal part of the aging process, and I hope I did not insult anyone who likes having or seeing silvers.

The purpose of the post was to explore other possible causes of pigmentation loss and maybe even learn of ways to maximize hair color naturally. I have been thinking about posting this topic for a long time. Finding dramatic color changes on single hairs prompted me to finally do it.


I think there is truth to both theories about grey/white hair.

I certainly agree with Rini, greying can be genetically inherited from your parents, and its also a natural part of the aging process. Over time, the hair cells underneath our scalps will produce less and less pigment as we get older, and eventually the loss of that pigment will result in turning out hair grey/white. However, the loss of our original natural hair color does not mean that we are sick or weaker in any way, its just a natural progression of our overall life cycle.

But, I have also heard from many credible anecdotal references that grey/white hair can also be prematurely induced when the body is put under severe stress. Marie Antoinette is said to have had her hair turn white overnight on the night before she was to be sent to the guillotine. Extreme starvation/famine has also be reported to temporarily turn hair white. And I also have a personal story to share. Another older hairstylist who I consider to be my mentor shared an old war story with me. When he was in the Army, he knew a fellow soldier who had temporarily died. They were able to rush him to the nearest hospital however and the doctors were able to revive him. He survived, but not unchanged. His hair was dark brown before. But from that day on, the roots of his hair literally grew back white.

So again I think that greying/whiting hair is both a natural occurrence, but it can also be traumatically induced to the body under stressful circumstances. I think the air filter is great for you regardless of whether or not it did anything to change your hair back to brown DoubleCrowned, certainly it will help with your health.

Thanks. What interesting stories. The B vitamins are used up in times of stress and are also known to play a part in maintaining hair color. Being water soluble, there would be no reserve of them during sudden stress. My mother, who was a nurse, also commented on hair going white overnight in people under severe physical and emotional stress. I think I have seen something similar in people who take on extremely stressful jobs, ending up with white hair in a year.

There is a possibility that the white in my hair was caused by living in a place where there was extreme, brutal, wall-shaking noise daily but no pattern to when it would start or stop. I moved in December to a quiet place. It will be interesting to see how fast my hair grows to see if that may have been the cause.

People who raise animals for their fur manipulate the diet of the animals to change the hair color. I think I read something about sheep farmers removing B vitamins to get white wool, but would have to google to confirm.

[Scarlet Rose]

Apparently some grey-haired folks who eat a raw food diet end up reversing their greying and the hairs start growing in with their old color again. Perhaps it has something to do with getting more B vitamins, like you said, or perhaps it's just the extremely nutritious healthy nature of the diet. I could never really find any scientific reasons behind why it brought back the hair pigment. :shrug:

[luluj]

I think it's genetic. I don't think it's a sign of being unhealthy or having "toxins". I know some VERY unhealthy people without a single grey hair on their heads :shrug: Conversely, I have always been very healthy :)

I think it would be great if we could re-educate ourselves to view grey hair as natural, healthy and just another shade in the rainbow of beautiful hair colours......not something to be dreaded or "fixed". Just my :twocents:

Rini, I was going to leave a comment, but you have said everything that I would have said! :p

[Mutinous]

Perhaps there is a difference then, between hair greying due to the natural aging process and hair that greys due to irregular circumstances. Let's say, for example, the correlation between pigmentation and stress which seems somewhat evidenced. If the factors that contribute towards the stress are removed, the body's hormone balance is restored re-activating the normal colour of the hair shaft? In other words, perhaps not all of our greys are due to genetics but some are a product of our envionment and health? And when those are re-balanced, the hair stops greying?

I have no idea (as you can probably tell!) of the scientific processes involved in hair greying, though it seems an interesting field. The day is coming, I believe, when there will be a preventative medication for grey hair. My Mum always says that they will invent a pill one day that will stop you from going grey. Not that I agree with it mind, but it is an interesting theory!

[ilovelonghair]

I have seen so often white/colored hairs that are alternating white and colored on a single hair, in many people. My own whites have become less that last couple of months. No idea how that is possible, maybe happyness :D

Going white overnight wouldnt be possible (http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/whiteovernight.htm) (more here (http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2008/07/09/2290688.htm))as the hair has already grown out, but the new growth can be white.

[spidermom]

I remember reading that increasing some nutrient in the diet was associated with increasing the amount of pigment produced and that one or all of the following are high in it: pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. I can't remember specifically now.

The Marie Antoinette story about her hair turning white overnight falls under the category of urban legend, I'm pretty sure.

[spidermom]

P.S. I found out that my hairs that appeared to be alternating between dark blonde and white were actually dark blonde hairs with damage. On some of them, I've discovered that the white area is actually a split in the middle of the hair shaft, and there can be 2 or 3 of them on one hair.

[DoubleCrowned]

Apparently some grey-haired folks who eat a raw food diet end up reversing their greying and the hairs start growing in with their old color again. Perhaps it has something to do with getting more B vitamins, like you said, or perhaps it's just the extremely nutritious healthy nature of the diet. I could never really find any scientific reasons behind why it brought back the hair pigment. :shrug:

Yes, I heard this from some people who ear only raw food. Perhaps they can supply some pictures. It make sense if you consider that some of the B vitamins can be manufactured in the body, provided the right enzymes are present. Raw food is full of enzymes. Cooking kills the enzymes.


Perhaps there is a difference then, between hair greying due to the natural aging process and hair that greys due to irregular circumstances. Let's say, for example, the correlation between pigmentation and stress which seems somewhat evidenced. If the factors that contribute towards the stress are removed, the body's hormone balance is restored re-activating the normal colour of the hair shaft? In other words, perhaps not all of our greys are due to genetics but some are a product of our envionment and health? And when those are re-balanced, the hair stops greying?


The body is always trying to correct itself. Even scar tissue is constantly hunting for a way to normalize, according to my vet. However, hair is the least of the body's worries--it must concentrate on little matters like keeping the heart beating--so hair would certainly be one of the first places stress or imbalance would take a toll. I agree with your theory, that, once the body is re-balanced, the hair color could return to normal--but only after the more important damage has been corrected.



I remember reading that increasing some nutrient in the diet was associated with increasing the amount of pigment produced and that one or all of the following are high in it: pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. I can't remember specifically now.

The Marie Antoinette story about her hair turning white overnight falls under the category of urban legend, I'm pretty sure.

Pumpkin seed is high in zinc, a nutrient that does have to do with hair color. It has to be balanced with copper, which is also important for hair color. Maybe seeds are rich in both. (off to google...) Thanks for the tip.

We will never know the truth about Marie Antoinette, but maybe ericthegreat's mentor has pictures of his army buddy.

[mellie]

DoubleCrowned, how is your overall health otherwise? Your skin, nails, digestion, mood? I think these might be a better judge of health and nutrition than getting white hairs, since it's quite normal to get white hairs. But it's not normal to have nail breakage, lots of hair fall, skin problems, bad digestion, etc. So if you do have those other issues, then I would agree that perhaps there's other issues at play. But if your health is otherwise excellent, then I wouldn't worry over the white hairs. I definitely don't want people to think that if they get white hairs that means they are ill. Or if they make some changes that their hair will change colors. Usually white hairs are just perfectly normal.

[Mesmerise]

Apparently some grey-haired folks who eat a raw food diet end up reversing their greying and the hairs start growing in with their old color again. Perhaps it has something to do with getting more B vitamins, like you said, or perhaps it's just the extremely nutritious healthy nature of the diet. I could never really find any scientific reasons behind why it brought back the hair pigment. :shrug:

This is what I was gonna say. I have seen pictures of people who were literally growing out the grey as their natural colour came back in! Sorta the opposite of those grey/white folks who grow out their dye!

For the raw fooders to get these results though, they tend to consume a LOT of greens (lots of green smoothies and green juices) and also wheatgrass juice is supposed to be good.

Not sure if you could get the same results on a cooked food diet that contains lots of green juices or not!!

Also there's a herb called He Shou Wu, which has reportedly been used to restore hair color and maintain it into old age.

Now, I fully support people growing their natural greys/silvers/whites if they want to :D but for those who aren't quite ready for it, there are other things you can certainly experiment with!!

I should probably try it myself :rolleyes:. I am no where near ready to be grey!! I have on again/off again tried going raw...it's hard to stick to though.

As for the "hair going white overnight" idea. I believe it's true and yet not quite true! I believe hair CAN turn white overnight, but ONLY at the roots. Obviously your entire head of hair can't change colour! However, a big shock, serious illness etc. could potentially cause someone to go white overnight but it would only start showing up gradually in the roots.

I also believe stress/illness can exacerbate greying, but I don't think it's the be all and end all answer. Many perfectly healthy people go grey prematurely, while some folks who are unhealthy, heavy smokers and drinkers etc. can maintain their natural colour well into middle age! Seems very unfair ;).

Still, I think maximising your health can only help! Even if it doesn't reverse your greying, you'll still be better off for it!

[proo]

My hair is much less grey now than it was a couple of years ago. My stress level is way down from what it was then.

[silverjen]

I've read that gray hair is caused by buildup of hydrogen peroxide in the hair bulb, which blocks melanin production. So, we're bleaching ourselves! There are several articles that explain this process; the NYT gives a pretty complete description: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/health/10well.html

Diet might be able to affect hydrogen peroxide levels, I guess. Not that I want to stop going gray, quite the opposite. But it's an interesting subject.

[DoubleCrowned]

DoubleCrowned, how is your overall health otherwise? Your skin, nails, digestion, mood? I think these might be a better judge of health and nutrition than getting white hairs, since it's quite normal to get white hairs. But it's not normal to have nail breakage, lots of hair fall, skin problems, bad digestion, etc. So if you do have those other issues, then I would agree that perhaps there's other issues at play. But if your health is otherwise excellent, then I wouldn't worry over the white hairs. I definitely don't want people to think that if they get white hairs that means they are ill. Or if they make some changes that their hair will change colors. Usually white hairs are just perfectly normal.

Thank you for your concern.

My original post says, "I bought (an air cleaner) to remove volatile organic compoundsand formaldehyde that were making me sick..." and, now that I had found white hairs that had become re-pigmented, remembered, "... that toxinscan cause gray hair."

The post was meant to be a musing on whether the toxins had contributed to causing the white hair and if the absence of them were allowing the hair to return to its normal color. After all, if it were aging and genetics that caused my hair to lose its color, why was it changing back?

[DoubleCrowned]

Mesmerize, how interesting that you have seen pictures of gray-haired people with natural color growing in after being on a a raw food diet. Is there a link to the pictures? I tried going all raw, but only made it to about 80%, then lost progress. It was too hard to learn all new recipes without a mentor.

As I understand it, He Shou Wu (also called Fo-Ti and Polygonum multiflorum) helps kidney function. This in turn corrects the hair loss and de-pigmentation in people whose general health improves from using the herb. Apparently, in the Orient, hair loss and graying is thought to be caused by poor circulation, inadequate kidney function and toxicity. Their treatment is to strengthen organs of elimination and to stimulate circulation.


My hair is much less grey now than it was a couple of years ago. My stress level is way down from what it was then.

That's interesting--and nice that your stress level is down. Could you see the colored roots growing in as it was happening?


I've read that gray hair is caused by buildup of hydrogen peroxide in the hair bulb, which blocks melanin production. So, we're bleaching ourselves! There are several articles that explain this process; the NYT gives a pretty complete description: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/health/10well.html

Diet might be able to affect hydrogen peroxide levels, I guess. Not that I want to stop going gray, quite the opposite. But it's an interesting subject.

Thanks for the link. The article mentions catalase as the enzyme that speeds the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Enzymes, again! Maybe that is why some of the raw food folks see more color in their hair.

[Sunshineliz]

First off I must say my gray hair doesn't bother me and I'm getting rather fond of it.

But I have a lot of hairs that do exactly what you've described. In fact, they're brown at the end, white, brown again, white again, etc. I don't think they're correlated to changes in my health however. I rather think that in most cases it's completely genetic since my Dad went gray so early and all of my siblings too--and I'm grayer than my sister who smokes and is generally a lot less healthy. I think of the hairs that do this, as a "sputtering out" of the follicle.

By all means, let's be as healthy as possible. I believe there are some cases where health conditions may speed up the process. But to me, silver is just another color.

ETA: Don't worry, I don't think any of us renegrays are upset at you--just letting it be known what we think.;)

ETA2: I used to think that it was related to stress as they really multiplied when I was really stressed out during and after my 2nd pregnancy. Now I just think I was 26 and it was bound to get more noticeable given my genetics. If you don't like the gray, it's fine to try to turn it back naturally though--all the more power to you.

[proo]

I didn't notice specific hairs becoming pigmented, it's just an allover thing. It's obvious. I didn't expect it so I didn't look for it.

[Sunshineliz]

I've read that gray hair is caused by buildup of hydrogen peroxide in the hair bulb, which blocks melanin production. So, we're bleaching ourselves! There are several articles that explain this process; the NYT gives a pretty complete description: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/health/10well.html

Diet might be able to affect hydrogen peroxide levels, I guess. Not that I want to stop going gray, quite the opposite. But it's an interesting subject.

I read that one too. It is certainly interesting. If I recall, it had some reversal ideas in it too. (Not that I'm reversing it, but interesting regardless.)

[DoubleCrowned]

I didn't notice specific hairs becoming pigmented, it's just an allover thing. It's obvious. I didn't expect it so I didn't look for it.

Someone told me her hair color seemed to drain away when she was under great stress. She worked on getting the color back--removed the stress certainly; but I think she did something like take blackstrap molasses, too. She claimed that the color seemed to run back into the hair as if it were hollow, that there was no demarcation line. Of course, that defies anything we know about hair. THink maybe she had lost hair from the stress and the new ones were coming in dark?

[Nae]

I don't know if having hair turn brown to grey then back to brown is absolutely proof that grey can be reversed. I think that your hair just sort of runs out of the color producing characteristics. I envision it like a engine sputtering just before it runs out of gas.

If you find a great way to turn back the clock, so to speak, more power to you. I too have heard interesting things about the raw food diet, but since I like cooked food so much (yummy) I am just going to have to pass.;)

[proo]

Come to think of it, I have been taking blackstrap molasses daily for a couple of years now
!!
lightbulb moment.

[IanB]

And what's so wrong with grey or white or any natural colour hair?

[HairStickler]

Someone told me her hair color seemed to drain away when she was under great stress. She worked on getting the color back--removed the stress certainly; but I think she did something like take blackstrap molasses, too.


Come to think of it, I have been taking blackstrap molasses daily for a couple of years now
!!
lightbulb moment.

This is so interesting!

How does one take blackstrap molasses? It is not really that tasty by itself.

[DoubleCrowned]

Come to think of it, I have been taking blackstrap molasses daily for a couple of years now
!!
lightbulb moment.

Wow, how about that! Now, to be scientific, we will have to put you under a lot of stress again...;)


And what's so wrong with grey or white or any natural colour hair?

Nothing at all. I much prefer the look of virgin hair, no matter what the color. Actually, people have complimented me on the white mixed into my brown hair.

What happened was that I found color change from white to brown on some shed hairs. The length of the brown at the root of the white hair could have coincided with the purchase of an air-cleaner, which I needed because air-borne toxins had made me extremely ill. Later I read that toxins in the body could cause hair to turn gray. It made me wonder about possible causes for hair turning white, other than genetics. Only time will tell if my white hair was from toxins and/or the stress of being ill, or if the color change is just the hair's last attempt at maintaining color.

There are threads here on making the hair grow faster, so I thought one on maintaining/restoring hair color would not be out of place.

[CherrySilver]

There are threads here on making the hair grow faster, so I thought one on maintaining/restoring hair color would not be out of place.

Agreed -- there *are* those of us who are interested in maintaining our natural hair color and delaying the inevitable greying process. I've been taking a truckload of supplements for years, eating healthy, green smoothies (avoiding white flour, sugar, processed foods, etc.), regularly exercise, do daily scalp massages, you get the idea.

The few whites I have are coming in at my hairline, but are not really that noticeable. I believe that everything I'm doing has a synergistic effect and has slowed the greying process down. I've also experienced the "sputtering" effect on individual hairs and can correlate that time to when I was slacking off on my supplements.

Interestingly, I've got two younger sisters who have many more whites (and similar hair/body attributes), and I know for a fact that they have crappy diets and don't take any supplements. This is not to say that if you do the above you'll reverse or prevent greying -- correlation simply does not imply causation here. But the coincidence in this case is too obvious to ignore.

While I can't isolate for sure which things are helping the most, I suspect that it's the CoQ10 (400-600mg), resveratrol (200-400mg), PABA (500mg), cayenne (450mg), astragalus root (450mg), super GliSODin (500mg), wheatgrass (5-10g), Sheng Fa Tang, Sang Bai Pi and Foti. Some of these are antioxidants which can help with the oxidation/peroxide buildup, others increase circulation and ATP.

That's what's working for me -- it may NOT work for you. As a footnote, I don't take these exclusively for my hair -- I take them for a variety of health reasons and haven't looked or felt better. And, no it doesn't bother me to pop a bunch of pills, but it doesn't even include all the stuff I dump into my daily green smoothie shake (yuck!).

[teela1978]

I think the brown to white to brown effect is less about any health/toxin/stress issue, and more about how hair grays. Mine seem to sorta sputter out. I've seen hairs with multiple bands of colored/not colored, and seen ones as you've described, colored to white and back to colored.

[Sunshineliz]

Agreed -- there *are* those of us who are interested in maintaining our natural hair color and delaying the inevitable greying process. I've been taking a truckload of supplements for years, eating healthy, green smoothies (avoiding white flour, sugar, processed foods, etc.), regularly exercise, do daily scalp massages, you get the idea.

The few whites I have are coming in at my hairline, but are not really that noticeable. I believe that everything I'm doing has a synergistic effect and has slowed the greying process down. I've also experienced the "sputtering" effect on individual hairs and can correlate that time to when I was slacking off on my supplements.

Interestingly, I've got two younger sisters who have many more whites (and similar hair/body attributes), and I know for a fact that they have crappy diets and don't take any supplements. This is not to say that if you do the above you'll reverse or prevent greying -- correlation simply does not imply causation here. But the coincidence in this case is too obvious to ignore.

While I can't isolate for sure which things are helping the most, I suspect that it's the CoQ10 (400-600mg), resveratrol (200-400mg), PABA (500mg), cayenne (450mg), astragalus root (450mg), super GliSODin (500mg), wheatgrass (5-10g), Sheng Fa Tang, Sang Bai Pi and Foti. Some of these are antioxidants which can help with the oxidation/peroxide buildup, others increase circulation and ATP.

That's what's working for me -- it may NOT work for you. As a footnote, I don't take these exclusively for my hair -- I take them for a variety of health reasons and haven't looked or felt better. And, no it doesn't bother me to pop a bunch of pills, but it doesn't even include all the stuff I dump into my daily green smoothie shake (yuck!).

It's great that you're working so hard to stay healthy. You obviously take very good care of yourself.

I just wanted to reiterate that although having very healthy habits can help very much in overall health it may not change or prevent gray hair when genetics is not on your side. To illustrate, here's more detail on me and my sister, who is 3 years younger than me but less gray (but still graying) than I was at her age.
Sister has smoked for 15 years and done marijuana for about the same period of time but is finally trying to quit the marijuana. She struggles with an eating disorder that nearly killed her. She's not really into her nutrition. She's extremely stressed out a lot too.
I don't have perfect health by any means, but I've never smoked, done drugs of any kind, and I've never drunk alcohol either. We take supplements at our house and I pay close attention to nutrition especially since my kids' have had eating issues and had to go on special diets. I need to lose weight that I never got fully off from the last baby, but other than that I feel I'm doing ok health-wise. I have stress like anyone though.

I've got full-on streaks of gray all over the hairline and scattered everywhere. Sis has told me she has them sprinkled randomly through her hair, but has less. BTW she's actually a little jealous of the stripes!

I just don't want anyone to get too frustrated if it doesn't work out. Be healthy, but if the genetics aren't in your favor, I doubt anything will help much.

[CherrySilver]

A simple google search will turn up tons of info on ways to *try* to naturally reverse grey hair. Below are a couple of forum that already have threads/suggestions on the subject. It would be great if we couple develop a compendium of the type of things to try to help with retaining our hair color.

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?21321-Has-anyone-been-able-to-reverse-grey-hair

http://forum.lef.org/default.aspx?f=35&m=22853

http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/45084-reversing-greying-hair/

[DoubleCrowned]

teela1978 So far I have not found any bands. The only changes have been on all-white hairs turning to brown. I marvel at my newly-found time-eater of inspecting long, fine hairs under a magnifying glass over both light and dark surfaces. Being too fine to feel between the fingers, it is quite a challenge to accomplish the inspection. Maybe I will just rely on monthly photos.

[DoubleCrowned]

CherrySilver Thank you for the post and the interesting list of supplements. I agree that my taking your supplements would probably do little good unless they happened address by body's challenges. However, it will be interesting to study your list.

My grandmother took a load of supplements every day and, like you, also ate a healthy diet fortified with super foods. At 100, her hair was white around her face, but the rest was a slate color. She was an expert on listening to her body and adjusting her diet and supplements to suit the situation.

[CherrySilver]

Sunshineliz, thanks for your comments -- I can definite appreciate what you're saying. Yes, it can be VERY frustrating for someone looking for a solution that's not going to work for them. Just look at all the balding forums for men out there! Lots of guys are willing to try anything to regrow their hair. On some it will work and will very much be worth the effort. On others, all the effort in the world won't do a damn thing. That's not to say that it's right to discourage yet others from even trying -- nothing ventured is nothing gained.

In my case, this is a personal lifestyle choice that works for me. Am I going to get all preachy and say everyone should try this? Nooooo. I simply want to put the information out there so that people can make their own decisions. That is what this thread is all about -- things people have tried to restore or maintain their hair color.

[CherrySilver]

CherrySilver I agree that my taking your supplements would probably do little good unless they happened address by body's challenges.

LOL, DoubleCrowned, I guess that my hair/body must be *very* challenged!

[proo]

I take molasses in my morning coffee - along with heavy cream and a dollop of coconut oil.
Just the one cup, I've come to adore it.

[Sunshineliz]

Sunshineliz, thanks for your comments -- I can definite appreciate what you're saying. Yes, it can be VERY frustrating for someone looking for a solution that's not going to work for them. Just look at all the balding forums for men out there! Lots of guys are willing to try anything to regrow their hair. On some it will work and will very much be worth the effort. On others, all the effort in the world won't do a damn thing. That's not to say that it's right to discourage yet others from even trying -- nothing ventured is nothing gained.

In my case, this is a personal lifestyle choice that works for me. Am I going to get all preachy and say everyone should try this? Nooooo. I simply want to put the information out there so that people can make their own decisions. That is what this thread is all about -- things people have tried to restore or maintain their hair color.

Oh by all means try! Like you said, nothing ventured, nothing gained. (Hmm...maybe nothing ventured, nothing changed because some might see losing the silver as a loss:D) I for one would be fascinated to see results either way (cause I'm curious like that.;))

I'm sure this thread will be fun to see if anything in particular helps someone.

[HairStickler]

Thanks, proo.