If you’ve recently noticed your first gray hair, don’t panic! It doesn’t mean that a whole head of white hair is right around the corner.
Going gray can be gorgeous, but if you’re not yet ready to embrace the grays, you aren’t stuck waiting for nature to take its course.
There are many ways to naturally slow down the approach of gray hair, keeping your youthful color for as long as possible. Here are some of our favorites:
- Manage your stress
You’re probably stressed out by your new grays, but bad news: getting stressed out actually makes gray hair worse! Elevated levels of cortisol in your blood can cause premature graying and hair shed, so if you’re feeling tense your hair is likely showing the results. Melt stress away by adapting a daily meditation routine, using an appor online video, or simply sitting alone with your own thoughts. Other proven techniques for stress busting include low impact stretching like yoga, practicing gratitude, and staying away from screens as much as possible. Your hair, and your mental health, will definitely thank you!
- Eat your antioxidants
Aside from aging and genetics, oxidative stress is one of the leading causes of graying hair. New research suggests that it may be possible to help fight back against oxidative stress by making sure your body has a high level of antioxidants to draw on, and the best way to do that is by eating a diet high in these essential compounds. Fruits like blueberries and strawberries, leafy greens like spinach and kale, legumes, nuts, and even dark chocolate are all excellent sources of the compounds your body needs to fight off the grays. Consuming one or more each day will help you stay in living color for as long as possible.
- Use hair health products specifically designed for aging hair
Back in your mother’s time, the best remedies for graying hair were home brewed concoctions with little scientific support to back them up. These days? It's a whole new world! Using a hair health serum designed to support aging hair and help chase the grays away is one of the best things you can do to keep your strands colorful for longer. Active ingredients like caffeine to combat oxidative stress, peptides to boost color in new strands, and a vitamin blend designed to reduce the appearance of graying hair work together to get the job done.
- Stock up on anti gray nutrients
It’s not just antioxidants that your hair needs to thrive. In fact, there are a number of vitamins and minerals whose deficiency can cause your hair to go gray. If there are nutritional gaps in your diet, your hair may opt to shut down pigment production in response. Here are the nutritional deficiencies most closely linked to premature graying, and the foods you can consume to make sure your hair is getting a full dose:
- Vitamin B12, found in beef, liver, and chicken
- Folic acid, found in asparagus, broccoli, spinach, and brussel sprouts
- Biotin, found in eggs, sweet potatoes, and avocados
- Vitamin D, found in salmon, milk, yogurt, and oily fish
- Iron, found in lentils, beans, legumes, and leafy greens
- Zinc, found in cashews, chickpeas, and pumpkin seeds
- Vitamin B5, found in whole grains, potatoes, sunflower seeds, and cheese
By making sure to consume adequate doses of these essential vitamins, you can help your hair stay healthy and colorful for as long as possible.
- Stay away from harsh hair products
When your strands are stressed, they’re more likely to go gray—and that includes both internal, emotional stressors, and the physical stress caused by overly harsh hair products. Chemical laden products like hair dyes, straightening and curling treatments, and even something as simple as ordinary shampoo, can impact your hair’s natural melanin, leading to early graying. If you haven’t switched up your hair care routine in a while, now is the time to read those labels, scanning for any harsh ingredients that may be stressing out your strands. A more gentle approach based on natural ingredients will keep your hair just as clean, with no negative long term impact on it’s color or tone.
- Quit smoking
If you’re still a smoker, you know how hard it is to quit. But knowing you can reduce your risk of prematurely going gray can provide a helpful incentive! When you smoke tobacco, you restrict your blood vessle’s ability to carry oxygen and other essential nutrients to your follicles, leading to hair loss and earlier onset of graying as the aspects of your follicles that supply strands with pigment die off. By cutting out cigarettes entirely, you’re helping to support your stands—as well as eliminating other markers of aging like wrinkles. It's the best thing you can do for your hair, body, and health.
- Talk to your doctor
Last but not least, if your gray hair comes on suddenly, and is accompanied by other worrying symptoms, it could be a sign that you’re experiencing a medical issue outside of the normal changes aging can bring. There are a variety of ailments that can cause hair to lose its natural pigment, most commonly autoimmune conditions, thyroid disorders, and other less common medical issues that can result in the sudden graying of hair. So if you feel like something's wrong talk to your doctor. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
Chase the grays away...naturally!
Going gray is a natural part of aging, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen on your terms. By adhering to these all natural tips for slowing down the onset of gray hair, you’ll be able to keep your strands colorful for as long as possible.
