Hello,

I'am curious. Does anyone know of any famous people, especially women with gray hair. I think my 4 favorite gray haired people are Richard Gere, Bonnie Raitt (got to love her small stripe in the front), Michael McDonald, and of course Lily Munster  

Hello,

I'am curious. Does anyone know of any famous people, especially women with gray hair. I think my 4 favorite gray haired people are Richard Gere, Bonnie Raitt (got to love her small stripe in the front), Michael McDonald, and of course Lily Munster  

Hi SpecialKitty,

I completely forgot about Steve Martin! I couldn't imagine him with any other color of hair but white. Wouldn't he look odd with auburn colored hair  Do you have a web site address where I might be able to view a photo of this model for J.Jill Catalogue I'am VERY curious to see her hair.

Hi Sugaree,

Thank you so very much for posting and showing the model in question. She look's absolutly GORGEOUS! The gray hair in her photo's compliments her look's. 

hello again Sugaree,

your so informative....Thank You so very much! George Clooney and Tom Cruise. Don't they both make the idea of going gray appealing?  Jamie Lee Curtis look's WONDERFUL with gray hair. She is such an awesome lady and definantly a role model for women. I love the idea that more famous people have chosen not to color their hair and let it gray naturally. I checked out the link you posted http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip10011.htm they have a really interesting inexpensive book there "Going Gray, Looking Great: The Modern Woman's Guide To Unfading Glory by Diana Lewis Jewell. I will definantly be purchseing that book!  BIG  to you Sugaree for all of your help.

According to a European study, scientists have discovered the trick to fighting the cause of gray hair rather than the symptom itself.

The new research, published in The FASEB Journal http://www.faseb.org/News-and-Publications/The-FASEB-Journal.aspx#sthash.eFyrndMv.gSLd1evd.dpbs" rel="nofollow - , focuses on the root of going gray (get it?) by narrowing it down to a depletion of an enzyme called catalase that breaks down hydrogen peroxide.

When one has a buildup of hydrogen peroxide in his or her hair, the oxidative stress causes graying (the younger you are, the more catalase you produce). So how did the researchers combat this natural occurrence?

They applied a topical, ultraviolet B-activated pseudo-catalase called PC-KUS.

Strangely enough, the 2,411-person study was conducted to find a treatment for vitiligo, a condition that causes depigmentation of sections of skin.

While finding a new method to treat vitiligo, however, researchers stumbled upon the the pseudo-catalase's ability to halt the process of graying, too. Two birds, one stone.

"For generations, numerous remedies have been concocted to hide gray hair," Gerald Weissmann, M.D. Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, said "But now, for the first time, an actual treatment that gets to the root of the problem has been developed."

No word yet on whether or not this treatment will be available to the public, but we can already imagine hair colorists shaking in their aprons.

Would you try this new cure for gray hair?

Naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide can also build up in the hair, bleaching the color.

According to Dr. Benabio, Caucasian people typically start going gray in their mid-30s, Asians in their late 30s, and African-Americans in their mid-40s.

Half of all people have a significant amount of gray hair by the time they turn 50.

A Caucasion person is considered to be prematurely gray if his or her hair turns gray by age 20; gray before 30 is early for African-Americans.

Dr. Benabio says that going gray, by itself, does not mean you have a medical problem, except in rare cases.

Contrary to popular belief, stress has not been shown to cause gray hair. Scientists don’t know exactly why some people go gray early, but genes play a large role.

Also, a vitamin B-12 deficiency or problems with your pituitary or thyroid gland can cause premature graying that’s reversible if the problem is corrected, Benabio says.

Some research has suggested a connection between premature graying and lower bone density later in life. But in 2007, a study of about 1,200 California men and women showed no such link.

"Your level of bone density is related to activity level, your weight, your height, your ethnicity. It’s not related to your hair or the things controlling the color of your hair," says researcher Deborah J. Morton, PhD, of the University of California, San Diego.

So why does our hair turn gray or white?

Dr. Desmond Tobin, professor of cell biology from the University of Bradford in England, suggests that the hair follicle has a “melanogentic clock” which slows down or stops melanocyte activity, thus decreasing the pigment our hair receives. This occurs just before the hair is preparing to fall out or shed, so the roots always look pale.

Moreover, Dr. Tobin suggests that hair turns gray because of age and genetics, in that genes regulate the exhaustion of the pigmentary potential of each individual hair follicle.

This occurs at different rates in different hair follicles. For some people it occurs rapidly, while in others it occurs slowly over several decades.

In a February 2005 Science article (Nishimura, et al.) Harvard scientists proposed that a failure of melanocyte stem cells (MSC) to maintain the production of melanocytes could cause the graying of hair. This failure of MSC maintenance may result in the breakdown of signals that produce hair color.

There are other factors that can change the pigmentation of hair, making it lighter or darker. Scientists have divided them by intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) factors:

Intrinsic factors:
Genetic defects
Hormones
Body distribution
Age
Extrinsic factors:
Climate
Pollutants
Toxins
Chemical exposure

In 2009, scientists in Europe described how hair follicles produce small amounts of hydrogen peroxide.

This chemical builds on the hair shafts, which can lead to a gradual loss of hair color. (Wood, J.M et al. Senile hair graying: H2O2 mediated oxidative stress affect human hair color by blunting methionine sulfoxide repair. FASEB Journal, v. 23, July 2009: 2065-2075).