The greying of hair is as natural a process as the ageing of the human body. Other than old age, certain illnesses can trigger your hair to turn grey.
A chemical called melanin gives your hair its natural colour. Pheomelanin produces red and blonde colours.
Eumelanin gives your hair the darker colours of black and brown. A decrease in the melanin levels produced by the pigment cells under your scalp causes your hair to lose its natural colour.
Key Takeaways
- Gray hair results from a mixture of pigmented and unpigmented (white) strands, often occurring as hair loses its natural pigment over time.
- White hair is devoid of pigment, resulting from the complete loss of melanin in the hair strands.
- Both gray hair and white hair are associated with aging, but gray hair is a mixture of pigmented and unpigmented strands, while white hair has lost all pigment.
Gray Hair vs White Hair
The difference between Gray Hair and White Hair is that the former results from the natural loss of your hair’s original colour with age (or due to an illness). You are left with white hair when your hair completely loses its natural pigmentation (melanin).
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Grey hair is formed when hair strands still have some melanin content. White hair grows when pigment cells are unable to produce more melanin.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Grey Hair | White Hair |
|---|---|---|
| Description | It is a mixture of white and naturally coloured hair. Hair that begins to lose its natural colour and becomes partially white is called grey hair. | When your hair loses its entire natural colour, it becomes white. Hair that has lost all of its pigmentation (melanin content) is white. |
| Melanin (the chemical that lends our hair its natural colour) | Grey hair is formed at a stage where hair strands still have some melanin content left in them. | White hair grows when pigment cells are unable to produce more melanin. Hair strands lose their natural colour entirely. |
| Age of occurrence | People usually start seeing their hair turn grey in their 40s, mid-30s or, sometimes, even in their mid-20s. Other than a person’s age, certain illnesses trigger one’s hair to lose its natural colour. | It usually takes 10 years for grey hair to turn completely white. Certain medical conditions (Marie Antoinette syndrome) could quickly trigger hair to turn white. |
| Genetic causes | Genes are a significant determinant in knowing when a person’s hair greys. People with blonde hair have a higher tendency to turn grey. Such is not the case with people with naturally dark hair. | Once it starts to grey, your hair loses its natural colour and eventually turns white. |
| Other causes | As we age, hair loses its natural colour and turns grey. However, vitamin B-12 deficiency, thyroid disease, vitiligo, alopecia areata, neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis are some illnesses that can cause premature greying of hair. Greying of hair is also linked to smoking Tobacco and stress too. | Once it starts to grey (owing to the reasons mentioned in the column to the left), your hair loses its natural colour and eventually turns white. |
What is Gray Hair?
It is a mixture of white and naturally coloured hair. Hair that begins to lose its natural colour and becomes partially white is called grey hair.
The chemical melanin lends your hair its natural colour. Grey hair is formed at a stage where hair strands still have some melanin content left in them.
Primarily, a person’s genes determine when one gets grey hair. However, certain illnesses make this happen at a faster rate.
People usually start seeing their hair turn grey in their 40s, mid-30s or, sometimes, even in their mid-20s. Vitamin B-12 deficiency, thyroid disease, vitiligo, alopecia areata, neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis are some illnesses that can cause premature greying of hair. Greying of hair is also linked to smoking Tobacco and stress.
What is White Hair?
When your hair loses its entire natural colour, it becomes white. Hair that has lost all of its pigmentation (melanin content) is white.
White hair grows when pigment cells are unable to produce more melanin. Hair strands lose their natural colour entirely.
It usually takes 10 years for grey hair to turn completely white. Certain medical conditions (Marie Antoinette syndrome) could quickly trigger hair to turn white.
Once it becomes grey, your hair loses its natural colour and eventually turns white.
Main Differences Between Gray Hair and White Hair
- We call grey hair a mixture of white and naturally coloured hair. Hair that has lost all of its pigmentation (melanin content) is white.
- Grey hairs still have some melanin left in them. White hair grows when pigment cells are unable to produce more melanin. White hair strands have entirely lost their natural colour.
- Your genetics are the primary determinant of when you’re hair starts to grey. Certain illnesses trigger premature greying of hair. Hair eventually loses its full colour and becomes white.
- Usually, people in their 40s or mid-30s notice grey strands on their heads for the first time. Sometimes, one’s hair starts greying in his/her mid-20s. It usually takes 10 years for grey hair to turn completely white.
- B-12 deficiency, thyroid disease, vitiligo, and alopecia areata are some illnesses that can cause premature greying of hair. Hair eventually loses its full colour and becomes white.
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/547429
- https://www.amjmed.com/article/0002-9343(71)90232-4/pdf
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
