PREMATURE GREYING OF HAIR The hair has a natural tendency to lose its natural colour with advancing age. It is therefore natural for the hair to turn grey with age. But premature greying of hair is a morbid condition & it makes even the young look older. This causes a great deal of concern to affected persons, especially women.
The hair is an appendage of the skin. It is composed of the same kind of cells as are found in the outer layer of the skin, known as epidermis. It grows from a hair follicle which is a deep recess in the epidermis. The sebaceous glands of the scalp secrete an oily substance called sebum, which is the source of nutrition, lustre & blackness of the hair. The hair cannot be fed externally, for such nourishment as the scalp requires must come to it from the bloodstream.
Causes of Greying 1. A faulty diet & mental worries are the two primary causes
of premature greying of hair. It is mainly due to the lack of some of the B vitamins, of iron, copper & iodine in the daily diet that this hair disorder is caused at a young age these days. Mental worries produce an extraordinary tension in the skin of the scalp which interferes with the supply of vital nutrition necessary for the health of the hair. Similarly, anxieties, fear, jealousy & failures have adverse effects on the hair. They dry out the scapular marrow, the vital sap at the root of the hair.
2. Other causes of premature greying of hair are unclean condition of the scalp which weakens the roots of the hair as the pores are blocked by the collected dirt;
3. Washing the hair with hot water & drying them in electric dryers which emits a blast of hot air;
4. The use of hair dyes in earlier stages when the hair has just started greying;
5. Diseases like chronic cold, sinusitis, anaemia, chronic constipation;
6. The use of factory made hair oils, which are generally cleaned with acids & some of the acids have the tendency to remain in the oil.
7. Heredity is another predisposing factor which gives rise to the ailment.
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