White hair: what if it was reversible?

If it is shown that stress has a link with the appearance of white hair, why would this phenomenon not be reversible? Well a study by scientists from Columbia University could demonstrate that one could recover the initial color of one’s hair… after periods of relaxation!

It is by creating a computer model that has made it possible to analyze very closely the way in which hair whitens due to aging but also under the effect of stressful events that these researchers have come up with what could be good news. , the ability to find your “before” hair: they studied 323 proteins through which they managed to trace the history of the evolution of the color of a hair. By cross-checking this information with the hair situation of 14 people, they realized that phases of absence of stress could have the effect of restoring the hair to its initial color by affecting the quality of the fibres. “I was surprised to see how much the holidays had a strong impact on reversing aging,” admits Ayelet Rosenberg, director of this study. And to cite the case of one of the participants who, following two weeks of relaxed life, free from the constraints and worries of daily life at work, had seen part of his hair regain color.

Possible reversal of the process

But beware, you should not expect to regain your youthful hair by sheltering yourself from stress for a while: only a few hairs from the participants show a possible reversal of the process that makes the hair white… and the panel of 14 people participating in this study is also very small. But the demonstration has however been made that a hair that has become white can regain its color.

Above all, according to Ayelet Rosenberg, this work could lead to a diagnostic use of hair pigment analysis. “If someone has a sudden onset of white hair, it may be worth worrying about their level of stress at this time in their life,” she says.