The melanin pigment in hair follicles gives hair its black color. The production process of this pigment is disturbed, causing the hair to lose its original black color, causing gray hair. This condition often begins in middle age and can be accompanied by other problems such as hair loss, damage, and breakage.
Premature gray hair is not a dangerous disease that damages health, but it affects aesthetics, making patients lose confidence, especially young people with large amounts of gray hair. Some causes of premature gray hair in children are as follows:
Genetics
This is the most common cause. Hair melanin pigment is determined by genes. Gene mutations cause premature gray hair. Grandparents and parents who have premature gray hair can pass it on to their children.
Nutritional deficiencies
Vitamins A, E, group B, minerals such as folic acid, biotin, copper, zinc, iron... are essential nutrients to create strong hair. Deficiency of these nutrients makes hair weaker, more susceptible to aging, and more discolored.
Cigarette smoke
Toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke such as nicotine speed up the aging process of the body, including hair follicles. Active or passive smoking both have the risk of causing premature gray hair
Psychological stress
Prolonged stress and anxiety due to studying, family problems, and staying up late also cause premature aging. When stressed, the nervous system releases noradrenaline. This substance has the ability to damage the cells responsible for producing melanin from hair follicles, causing hair graying.
Chemicals
Hair is often exposed to dyes, bleaches, perms shampoos, or hair care products with high bleaching power, causing damage to hair and hair follicles and also affecting melanin pigment.
Some diseases
Diseases such as lipid disorders, obesity, and thyroid disease disrupt the melanin production process of hair. Vitiligo also destroys the melanocytes of hair follicles, causing children to go gray prematurely.
You should take your child to a hospital with a dermatology specialist to be examined, find the cause of gray hair, and then have appropriate treatment methods.
There is currently no effective treatment for gray hair, only to slow down and reduce this condition. Dyeing your hair black is an immediate but temporary solution. Plucking gray hairs does not help grow new black hair but can damage hair follicles and cause hair loss.
To prevent and reduce further gray hair, you should supplement nutrients and vitamins that are good for hair growth. Children need to sleep 8 hours a day, maintain a comfortable mood, avoid stress, do not smoke, and do not use alcoholic beverages. Avoid overusing hair dyes, choose age-appropriate shampoos, and exercise regularly to help blood circulate well to the scalp.