Freaking out...I found one strand of white hair on my head!

[Snowflakey]

I'm only 21 and I found a single strand of white hair... The weird thing is, the top half of the hair (from roots downwards) is dark brown like the rest of my hair, and only the bottom half of the strand is white. The strand is also a very weird texture- thick and wavy (normally my hair is fine and straight).

I'm freaking out because I don't want to have to deal with grey hair yet. I'm too young for this! This is the first time I've had a white hair. Does this mean I'll gradually begin getting more? :'(

[Kathie]

There are a few threads like this :P Don't worry its very normal to have a few gray hairs- it doesnt mean "you're going gray"

[Sundial]

Put it against a white sheet of paper. Is it still white?? Sometimes I mistake a light colored hair for being white when it is just a really light brown. I get that too sometimes (darker hair near the roots and really light blond on the bottom) but that was probably damaged parts from previous bleach jobs

[Juneii]

Highly doubtful, imagine one single white strand of hair out of hundreds of thousands of strands on your head. You are not even close to going grey just yet. I've been finding white strands of hair on my head since I was 6. They come and go, I usually find strands where it starts out white but goes to black (and sometimes alternate between the two on the same strand). My hair is still dark and it's near impossible to see those few strands of white.

[Jing]

I had my first white hair at 16. I'm now 27 and have a grand total of four. Relax - it's not going to eat your head. My whites are coarse and wavy (well, more like squiggly), too, so we can start a club in 20 years when we actually have enough of them to notice without a searchlight. ;)

[christine1989]

It sounds like a freak incident to me. I get the same thing you described however the white hair will gradually darken as it grows and eventually matches the rest. Just keep an eye on it to see if it darkens.

[Mesmerise]

The fact that the hair is its normal colour at the roots is a good sign! Maybe the hair follicle was just a bit stressed for awhile (when it went white) and then it went back to normal!

[mrs_coffee]

You're not likely going prematurely gray. I found my first gray hair around your age and lots of years later I still only have a small number of them...maybe 10 or 12.

[vintage88]

I found my first one at 20 and I freaked out too. Now i have a few more and i've learnt to love them :)

[mellie]

Yes, it's perfectly normal. I found my first silver at age 19. I am now almost 40 and still only have about 10% silver. And yes, sometimes the color "sputters" and gives you partially colored hair and part white.

[xoerincolleen]

I'm 20 and have a small streak of white hair. I found my first one in high school, at first I freaked out but now I'm not bothered by them. Embrace it! :)

[Nae]

I'm freaking out because I don't want to have to deal with grey hair yet. I'm too young for this! This is the first time I've had a white hair. Does this mean I'll gradually begin getting more? :'(

Yeah, it does mean that you will gradually be getting more, aging happens to everybody. But it does NOT mean that you will be getting more tomorrow. The grey hair will eventually come, it is just part of life. But, keep in mind that you may not have a substantial amount of grey hair for decades yet. It is all genetics.

[hyettf16]

Embrace it! :)

Yeah, I would be glad to rock a few silver hairs. It shows maturity but it doesn't just mean you're aging, you might just be stressed.

[Celtic Morla]

:misskim:

sorry had to get that out of my system! Had my first grey at 13 my sis found it and ripped it out with abuot a dime's worth of hair to show it to me(yeah a bit of a sadist my sis ) It's normal, both my DD and DN have grey hair in the early 20's not enough to be seen at a normal distance but close up they're there. From the sound of it being half white then back to normal colour there was a bit of trama as the hair started to grow that sorted itself out.

You'll survive!! Lots worse than grey hairs that can happen to you!

[katsrevenge]

If you are Caucasian then that is kinda normal timing. I have had silver since I was 10-12. It is annoying but harmless ... and there is always hair dye!

[Tuna]

I'm 17 and i have some strands of gray hair, there are more and more of them. My natural color is dark brown and it's really noticable... well, maybe i will atleast be able to be platinum blonde without tons of bleach.
Dont worry. =) Your 20 and gray hair wont make you look old but special and unique.

[Anje]

Very normal. I found my first (full-length at that!) when I was 12. It took about 15 years and enrolling in grad school before it started to gather forces. Now I've got a couple dozen of them, mostly noticeable only to me.

Yes, this means you will eventually go gray. You're unlikely to have your dark hair into your 90s.

[Kyannah]

Both of my children have one strand only of white hair which they have had since birth. Strangely enough its in the same place on both of their heads, at the top left side.

[feralnature]

I got my first white hair when I was 18. Now I am really white in the front. I have always loved it.

[lapushka]

One strand does not equal your entire head. In most people, it takes many many years to get from one to the other. ;)

[dulce]

1 had a solid white streak in the exact center of my bangs in my early 30's[coloured it though].Going by that early white, at almost 60 1 should be pure white now- but only my bangs and temples are white,so far my back hair is still light brown.Just because you see a few whites early, does not mean your entire head will gray early.So don't panic!

[archel]

Yup, I've been finding silver strands since I was a teenager, but I have very little grey still even at 40 years old. (I do color them with henna so now they are strawberry blonde haha)

[loveandwaves]

This could also happen if you have a birth mark or mole on your scalp!

But as it's been said before, it's nothing to worry about- it happens!

-Love&Waves

[longcurlygirl<3]

It's normal :p, my dad started at 12, I got that genes as well. I am 15, and have found at least like 10 so it's normal.

[battles]

I made a thread like this too. :p

I've gotten quite a few new sparklies since then, and I like them.

[pepperminttea]

It's completely normal. :) I'm 23, I've found a few since my late teens, but I have no noticeable streak or anything yet. My mother went very silver at the front when her hair first became noticeably salt and peppery in her thirties. I'm hoping I get the same thing and end up with epic silver streaks at the front. :D

[Chetanlaiho]

I found one the other week and I haven't even turned 18 yet xD it was courser than the rest and it wasn't necessarily grey but more, clear somehow?

But as the others said, we're probably not going grey all over just yet ;)

Edit: Mine also went from dark brown to 'clear' at one precise point.

[ghilliegirl_an]

I've had that forever too, I think sometimes my hair just has a fluke and decides not to add any color for a month or so, I have random white spots in some parts of my hair but you have to look really hard to find them.

[Sunshineliz]

I found my first at 20, and for me--yes, they slowly multiplied so that I've got substantial streaks in the front and starting to get salt & peppery on the top. I would ask your parents and family when they first noticed theirs and when they actually got a noticeable amount. Some finding them young take forever to get any more. Some get a lot very early. Genetics plays a BIG role--and mine dictated I would be a premature grayer.

I also have a lot of hairs that are white, brown, white, etc. on down the strand. It's the sputter effect.

You can ignore it just fine at this stage. If they get noticeable you can embrace it or color it as you choose. The one thing you shouldn't do is pluck them out. You risk damaging follicles and possibly thinning your hair (I speak from experience--where I used to pluck the hair is thinner than in other places.)

Just don't stress out about it--it's likely unnoticeable to anyone but you and even if it DOES multiply it could end up very beautiful!

[Medusa]

I found my first at 17 - I was so thankful I wasn't like my brother, he had a full streak at 17 and was nicknamed "skunk". Premature grey runs on both sides of my family and I'm pretty grey at 33. Just be glad it's one ;)

[Copasetic]

I totally freaked out the first time I found a white hair. But there is no need to worry. Lots of people have a handful of grey hairs, but they aren't going grey.

[dRummie]

How interesting.. I'm 24, and have a bunch (10-ish) white hairs that seem to have sprung up just over the past year. I just imagined I'd be going grey early. Good to learn something new every day :)

[Honestwitness]

I don't remember when my first white hair strand appeared, but I always WANTED white hair. I have a very lovely mother and she went from reddish brown to "frosted" to completly white over the period of years I was at home growing up. It was always the most beautiful hair of anyone I knew. I have mostly followed her pattern, just on a little slower time scale. I love my hair color and have never colored it with anything other than purple shampoo to tone down the yellow that white hair sometimes gets.

[pes3108]

oohh this happened to me tonight! it was a short little squiggly silver hair and i made my sister get it out for me. i'm only 21 (about to be 22) and it freaked me out! i've found a couple on my brother (hes 19) and my boyfriend (22) as well. i'm guessing its normal, judging by all of the posts on here but it still freaked me out!!

[Leena7]

I'm only 21 too and I have a couple white hairs. I first noticed them a few years ago. I used to get single white hairs once in a while in my teens but now behind my ears and near my part have quite a few whites. Too many to count at a glance actually. I don't worry about it though. They are not that noticeable to anyone other than me. Anyway, my point is that I think a couple white hairs is pretty normal in people who are only 20ish.