Stress-related graying is the reversible kind. Here's how to tell if your grays are stress, and what gets your color, thickness, and shine growing back in.
Not all gray hair is actually caused by aging. A surprising amount of graying is stress-related.
Your hair gets its color at the root as each strand grows.
Which means a strand that grows in gray now can potentially grow in with pigment later.
Long-term stress affects the follicle at three levels
Each strand of hair grows from a follicle underneath your scalp. Long-term stress can affect that follicle at multiple levels:
Every one of those happens at the root. And the root is where each new strand gets its color.
What stress-related graying looks like
all of which are stress-induced graying, which is the kind that can reduce or even reverse
The research
In a 2021 study, researchers at Columbia University mapped individual strands of hair against what was happening in people's lives. They found gray sections that returned to their natural color when life stress came down.
Gray hair is one of the only signs of aging that works this way. Your hair records what your nervous system has been through, and it can change when that changes.
Source: Rosenberg AM, et al. "Quantitative mapping of human hair greying and reversal in relation to life stress." eLife, June 22, 2021. Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Read the study.
The fix is the same at 25, 35, or 45
Whether your first gray showed up at 25, after the worst year of your life, or around age 35, the fix is the same: somatic exercises that get circulation back up to your head and re-stimulate your scalp to reduce or even reverse your gray hair.
Somatic exercises are tiny, gentle movements that release stress from the body. Scalp release, neck and jaw release, circulation work at the base of the skull. 10 minutes or less, done in bed or on the floor.
So you can get your color, thickness, and shine back (and the hardest years of your life don't have to keep showing up in your hair).
Get 30 days of gray hair somatic exercises
The FIRST EVER 30-Day Gray Hair Challenge gives you daily somatic exercises to:
- support your hair's natural repair process to reverse grays
- boost circulation for richer, healthier-looking color
- stimulate the growth cycle for thicker, fuller hair
- release scalp and neck tension for stronger, shinier hair
Immediate access in the app (no subscription needed). Price may increase soon.
Your next strands can grow back with color
Every strand your scalp grows from here on gets its color at the root. Give your nervous system 30 days of daily resets and watch what grows in.
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Questions about reversing gray hair
Can gray hair be reversed?
Stress-related gray hair can reduce or even reverse. Hair gets its color at the root as each strand grows, so a strand that grows in gray now can potentially grow in with pigment later. Researchers at Columbia University tracked individual human hairs and found gray sections that returned to their natural color when life stress came down.
Is gray hair always a sign of aging?
No. A surprising amount of graying is stress-related. Long-term stress affects the follicle at multiple levels: it can reduce blood flow to the follicle, deplete the cells involved in making hair pigment, and raise oxidative stress that damages pigment-producing cells.
Why does the same gray hair grow back white every time I pull it?
Pulling a strand removes the hair, and the follicle underneath stays the same. That follicle keeps growing gray until blood flow and pigment production at the root recover, which is why one white strand that keeps growing back white is a common sign of stress-related graying.
Can gray hair grow back dark after 35?
Yes. Your follicles keep cycling your whole life, so every new strand is another chance for pigment to come back. Whether your first gray showed up at 25, after the worst year of your life, or around 35, the approach is the same: somatic exercises that get circulation back up to your head and re-stimulate your scalp.
What if my gray is genetic, not stress?
Most women have both genetic and stress-driven graying. Genetics decide when you start going gray. Stress decides how fast it spreads. This work addresses the stress-related graying with somatic exercises that support your hair's natural pigmentation.
How long does it take to see a difference?
You'll feel your scalp, neck, and jaw loosen in the first week. Most women notice less shedding and a calmer scalp around 14 to 21 days. Because hair grows about half an inch a month, any change in pigment shows up at the root first, and keeps going as long as you keep the practice up.
Do I have to stop coloring my hair?
No. You can keep coloring while you do the challenge. The work happens at the follicle, so it changes what grows in regardless of what you are doing on the surface.
Liz Tenuto, The Workout Witch
Liz is a somatic exercise instructor with 15+ years of teaching experience and a degree in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara. She has guided 250,000+ students out of survival mode with somatic exercise, the tiny, gentle movements that release stress from the body. She got a thick streak of gray at 32 during a high-stress marriage. At 41 she has a few strands, and she teaches the exercises she used to get there.