How To Delay The Onset Of Grey Hair
“Multivitamin supplements prevent the hair from becoming lifeless and dry and also delays greying”
Sporting silver grey hair that is silky, shiny and short is in trend. It is also cool to experiment with hair colours like silver and grey to make a style statement. However, it may be alarming to get grey hair in your late 20s and 30s or even before that! And though there may be genetic or heredity issues responsible for this, you need to take heed, as it could also be a sign of other factors disturbing a natural process in your body.
How The Hair Turns Grey
The roots of our hair strands are encircled by the tube of a hair tissue called the hair follicle, that contains pigment cells. These cells generate a chemical called melanin that gives the hair strands its colour that may be brown, blond, silver and black. There are dark and light melanins that create different hair colours as they blend together. However, as we age, these cells begin to diminish and eventually die. Thereby, the production of melanin reduces and stops, changing the hair colour from black to white or silver.
How To Curb Greying Of Hair
Get Rid Of A Sedentary Lifestyle
An erratic and unhealthy lifestyle plays a notorious role in early greying. Unhealthy lifestyle changes can be detected by the way you eat, sleep or feel. Hence, you must pay attention and make the necessary changes in your lifestyle.
Keep Stress At Bay
If you think stress is normal, know that it aggravates the problem of grey hair. Stress topped with depression and anxiety, ensures that you join the club of people who look like their grandparents, before their time.
Quit Smoking
Smoking fastens the ageing process and propels your body to invite many serious diseases like cancer and heart problems. The habit is also injurious to your skin and hair, as it is to your overall health.
Exercise Regularly
Exercise could be in the form of yoga, running, gymming, dancing, swimming or walking. The idea is to promote blood circulation, by making certain changes in your regular meal plan and having a routine that is active and happy. Thus, you can delay the greying of your hair and boost melanin production.
Watch What You Eat
A diet rich in vitamin A, B12, iron, copper, green leafy vegetables, yellow fruits, protein (keratin) essential amino acids and omega 3 fatty acids should be consumed.
Likewise, copper-rich foods like turnip seeds, spinach, beef, liver, sunflower seeds, lentils, almonds, egg yolks, mushrooms, iodine-rich foods like bananas, carrots, spinach, wheat, soybeans, walnut, Brazil nuts and sunflower seeds and fishes like tuna and salmon should be eaten copiously.
Multivitamin supplements prevent hair from becoming lifeless and dry. They also boost melanin production and delay greying. Also, avoid excess intake of alcohol and caffeine.
Helpful Homemade Hair Packs
Here are a few effective home remedies to delay the process of greying hair:
- A combination of coconut and curry leaves juice is widely used to strengthen the roots of the hair and to reduce dandruff. It also boosts the growth of black hair.
- Amla juice, lemon juice and an almond oil pack is another effective remedy that aids the growth of black hair.
- You can apply this pack once a week for good results.
- Amla has an abundance of tannins, acids, vitamin C and is a rich source of antioxidants like flavonoids that help enhance hair texture.
- A mix of buttermilk and curry leaves is a powerful hair pack. Apply this pack straight onto your hair and make it a regular part of your diet too.
- A mixture of carrot juice, methi seeds powder and sesame oil is also quite popular.
- Application of onion juice too delays greying.
- Ashwagandha, an Ayurvedic herb is known for having properties of ginseng and thus increases melanin production in the hair follicles.
- A massage with castor oil boosts the growth of black hair, as the oil is known for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
- A high protein, antioxidant and minerals hair pack is made with black sesame seeds. It also contains omega fatty acids and prevents greying. Use it with egg yolks to make an excellent protein pack.
- Consume sesame seeds in your diet with curd or dessert. It is nutritious and an excellent flavour enhancer. If you have less time, simply mix sesame seeds powder in the amla juice pack or in the other hair packs.