Hair graying is a common symptom of aging, and normally occurs in people whose bodies show other signs of aging as well, such as sagging skin and wrinkles. If you are, however, in your teens or 20s and yet facing salt and pepper hair, that only indicates one thing; your hair is aging prematurely. Read on to find out some common reasons for premature aging and their possible solutions.
Stress
If you didn’t know this already, this might come as a surprise to you that stress does not only affect your physical/mental health, but also your hair health. Chronic stress can lead to anxiety, irregular sleep patterns, eating disorders, hairfall, and gray hair. If you’re experiencing gray hair along with other said symptoms, it’s best to consult your doctor for stress. Several things, such as regular exercise, meditation, therapy, and mindfulness can help deal with stress and prevent its consequences.
Vitamin Deficiency
Just like proteins, vitamins have a big role to play in healthy hair growth and pigmentation. When your diet doesn’t contain enough vitamins, particularly vitamin B-12, your body begins to feel lethargic, and your hair starts losing color and nourishment. To be more specific, there’s a pigment called melanin, which is responsible for hair color. When our body experiences vitamin B-12 deficiency, the hair cells get weakened and the production of melanin gets affected. To prevent this, maintain a diet that contains vitamins in abundance, such as meat, fish, eggs, low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese, and cereals.
Sun Exposure
The harmful sun rays that you keep hearing about aren’t harmful only to your skin, but to your hair as well. Frequent hair exposure to UV rays can cause several hair problems, including dryness, frizz, split-ends, hair breakage, loss of moisture, discoloration and premature aging of hair. To protect your hair it’s important to shield it from harmful rays. A quality shampoo such as Shield Shampoo helps greatly in preventing UV damage and maintaining the health of your hair. Pair it up with Shield Conditioner for an incredible experience of smooth, healthy, protected hair.