# Question about gray hairs

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gray-hairs/360103>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 9, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gray-hairs/360103 "2006-06-09T19:30:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gray-hairs/360103/1 "2006-06-09T19:30:31Z")

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If you pull out a gray hair, what color will the next hair that grows from the same follicle be? Gray or normal? Always or sometimes?

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**Author:** ![seenidog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@seenidog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seenidog)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gray-hairs/360103/2 "2006-06-09T19:42:06Z")

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More important, will it grow back at all? (Sorry for the hijack, but I got a lot of grey showing up in my beard…)

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**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gray-hairs/360103/3 "2006-06-10T19:19:42Z")

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[When your hair goes grey it is due to the fact that the cells in the hair follicles called “Melanocytes” no longer generate pigment, the main one being melanin.](http://articles.pointshop.com/beauty/39457.php)

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**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gray-hairs/360103/4 "2006-06-10T20:22:11Z")

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**Will Repair** , The quoted statement you used in your link is correct, but the rest of the site is rather questionable.

> [@](#):
>
> If the shampoo contains Emu oils then you know that the product will work.

Emu oil hasn’t been proven to do anything. It probably won’t hurt you, but you’ll wait a long time for it to take away your gray hair.  
The only portion of the hair that is alive is the root or [follicle](http://dermatology.about.com/cs/hairanatomy/a/hairbiology.htm). There is no shampoo that can change the chemistry of the hair that’s already out. It’s not much different than your fingernails.  
Once you start losing melanin, it’s probably not coming back. That said, it’s possible vitamin B12 deficency may cause premature melanin loss, and correcting that deficency may bring some color back. But, it won’t be right away.

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**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gray-hairs/360103/5 "2006-06-10T20:35:42Z")

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So, **The Controvert** , the answer to your question is : it depends. If the hair is white ( they aren’t gray, they are actually white) because it time for it to be white, then the subsequent hairs will be white. If it’s white due to a reversible condition, and that condition is addressed, it might be whatever color it was before it was white.

[Here](http://www.drgreene.com/21_30.html) is a little information on some conditions that can cause premature loss of melanin.