Gray Hair Cure Allegedly Discovered by European Scientists

A team of European researchers writing in a recent issue of The FASEB Journal claim to have figured out why it is that some people's hair turns gray as they age.

The scientists also maintain that their findings will enable them to develop a cure for this condition.

Long story short, it appears that hair changes its color and turns gray as a result of a buildup of hydrogen peroxide in its follicles.

Said chemical compound causes the hair to experience oxidative stress, and this eventually translates into its graying.

The researchers explain that, unlike slightly older people, younger individuals do not get gray hair because of an enzyme known as catalase.

This enzyme breaks down the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen, thus making it impossible for it to impact on the hair.

As a person progresses in age, its hair becomes exposed to lower levels of both catalase and two other enzymes (i.e. MSR A and B), whose job is that of repairing whatever damage the hydrogen peroxide has caused.

Needless to say, this leads to the person's getting gray hair.

International Business Times informs us that, according to these researchers, a substance referred to as PC-KUS can act as a replacement for both catalase, and MSR A and B.

More precisely, it appears that, when applied to the hair, PC-KUS converts the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

“The traditional treatment of gray hair with hair dye is cosmetic and doesn't get to the root of the problem. A treatment that prevents or reverses the underlying graying process would revolutionize our approach to hair care,” Joshua Zeichner, M.D. reportedly argued.

The findings of this research are expected to also help people affected by vitiligo (i.e. a medical condition that causes the loss of one's skin pigment).

This research into the underlying causes of gray hair was carried out by specialists working with the Centre for Skin Sciences at England's University of Bradford and researchers at Germany's Institute for Pigmentary Disorders at E.M. Arndt University of Greifswald.