Hair is an important part of personal appearance. Black hair symbolizes youth and health, while white hair gives people an old or sick look. Many parents will be worried if their children are in the rising stage of their lives. If they have gray hair.
- Why do you have white hair?
Due to different genes, there are differences in hair color among races. The vast majority of Chinese people have black hair color. The black color of hair is determined by the melanin particles in the hair shaft, and the melanin particles come from the melanocytes in the hair follicles. If the melanocytes in the hair follicles cannot produce melanin particles or the melanin particles cannot be transported to the hair shaft normally, the hair will be damaged. May turn white.
The main reasons for gray hair in children are as follows:
(1) Gray hair caused by some diseases: such as albinism (whitening of skin and hair all over the body), Booker syndrome (white hair, palmoplantar hyperhidrosis, hypoplasia of molars), vitiligo (localized whitening of skin and hair), etc. These diseases can cause melanocyte dysfunction in hair follicles, causing all or part of the hair to become gray.
(2) Young whiteheads: Local white hairs on the scalp are found in childhood, but there are no other diseases except white hairs. This kind of gray hair may be related to family inheritance, or may be related to factors such as malnutrition and mental emotions.
- Is gray hair related to nutrient deficiency?
When children have gray hair, many parents will think that it is caused by a lack of nutrients or trace elements in the child’s body, and try to improve it by supplementing nutrients or supplements. The synthesis of melanin requires phenylalanine and tyrosine. If there is a long-term lack of animal protein in the food, it may lead to a lack of phenylalanine and tyrosine in the body, causing insufficient melanin synthesis in the body and causing gray hair.
Although malnutrition is a possible cause of gray hair in children, in fact, now that there is an abundance of nutrients, gray hair caused by insufficient intake of nutrients is very rare. Therefore, if you find that your child has gray hair, there is no need to supplement supplements with nutrients or trace elements unless the child has a serious eclipse, and supplementation will not improve the condition.
- Is it related to stress and trauma?
Although people usually talk about “sorrow turns gray hair”, and there are often plots in film and television dramas where the protagonist “grows his head overnight”, there is currently no definite conclusion on the relationship between stress trauma and gray hair.
Some people believe that emergencies such as college entrance examinations, divorce of parents, death of relatives, etc. will put children’s bodies in a state of oxidative stress, damage the normal function of melanocytes in hair follicles, and lead to gray hair in children. However, there is currently no definite conclusion. What everyone talks about as “growing old overnight” is unlikely to happen.
- Will the number of white hairs increase as you pull them out?
“You can’t pull out white hair, the more you pull it out, the more it will grow.” This is a popular saying among the people, but it has no basis.
If the function of melanocytes in the hair follicles has not been restored and the white hair is pulled out, the hair that grows back may still be white. The number of hair depends on the number of hair follicles in the scalp. If we pull out the grown white hair, It does not increase the number of hair follicles in the skin, so it is impossible to pluck out more and more. Of course, pulling out gray hair cannot fundamentally reduce the number of gray hairs, nor can it cure gray hairs.
- What should I do if my child has white hair?
If you find that your child has a lot of gray hair, you must first look for the cause of the gray hair. If the gray hair is accompanied by other diseases, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible. After a clear diagnosis, follow the doctor’s instructions to deal with the primary disease. Of course, if it is a hereditary disease, there may not be any Good treatment. If there are malnutrition or mental and emotional factors, we can try to achieve a balanced diet and adjust our mood.
As for the occasional gray hair in children, it usually disappears on its own and does not require special treatment or worry.
