BBC says we might reverse grey hair. I will believe it when I see my own roots come back brown.

Posted by erin_rows in Research & News - 1 points, 3 comments.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/wellbeing/why-hair-greying-science-reverse

BBC Science Focus ran a piece on the science behind grey hair reversal, looking at stem cell and pigment research that might eventually restore hair colour. The idea is that melanocyte stem cells get stuck in the hair follicle and stop producing pigment, and some researchers think that process might be partly reversible.

Look, I have been watching my grey creep in since about 28 and I would love nothing more than to believe a pill or a peptide will sort it. But every few years someone claims grey hair reversal is around the corner and it never actually shows up in anything you can use. To be fair, the stem cell angle is more interesting than the usual "take this supplement" nonsense. I just think the jump from "we understand the mechanism" to "your hair goes brown again" is massive and nobody has crossed it yet.

Has anyone here actually tried anything for grey hair that did not involve a box of dye? Would love to hear if I am being too cynical.

Comments

• aspiringruby: Honestly i have tried a few things over the years, copper peptides topically for a few months, and i took a stack with ashwagandha and catalase for hair stuff in general. Nothing reversed grey for me, and i don't think catalase supplements really do much once the melanocytes are truly gone. The stuck stem cell thing makes sense from what i've read, those cells just stop migrating back into the matrix. I am not as cynical as you but only because the mechanism research is genuinely interesting. I
• tracker_jade: Yeah the catalase angle always felt thin to me too, hydrogen peroxide builds up in the follicle and yeah but supplementing one enzyme orally is not the same as fixing it locally. The melanocyte stem cell thing is the more interesting lead honestly. Have you looked into anything topical that targets that pathway, or is it all still too early?
• nomad_brandon: For what it is worth i tried ghk-cu topically for about three months last year just to see and my grey count did not budge at all, and i kinda expected that because like you said if the stem cells are stuck and not migrating back into the matrix then slapping copper on the surface is not gonna reach the actual problem. The catalase angle always seemed shaky to me too, like the oxidative stress theory is real but supplementing an enzyme and expecting it to land where you need it in the follicle i

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