Most hair graying is genetic, but a healthy lifestyle may have benefits
Your parents’ and grandparents’ history of graying hair may offer clues, says UCI Health dermatologist
IN THE NEWS: Graying hair is often genetic, but lifestyle choices might also make a difference. Researchers have also found that graying usually starts in the mid-30s for white populations, late 30s for Asian and mid-40s for Black ethnicities.
UCI Health board-certified dermatologist Dr. Jessica Shiu spoke with the New York Times about some of the reasons people experience graying hair.
“Your parents and grandparents offer the best insight. For most people, there’s not much you can do to prevent gray hair, but stacking small changes can help. It’s not anything crazy — it’s just living a healthy lifestyle.”
Shiu says lifestyle choices might also make a difference. The strongest evidence points to quitting cigarettes and reducing your stress levels. Getting enough sleep and eating a healthy diet — with lots of antioxidants — might also limit the damage to your pigment cells, but evidence is more indirect.
Shiu is a board-certified UCI Health dermatologist who specializes in vitiligo, inflammatory skin disorders, skin cancers and melanocytic neoplasms. Her research interests as an assistant professor of dermatology at the UC Irvine School of Medicine include tissue homeostasis mechanisms in melanocyte-related skin disorders.
To make an appointment with UCI Health Dermatology Services, call 949-824-0606 or 714-456-7070.
About UCI Health
UCI Health is one of California’s largest academic health systems and the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Established on July 1, 1976, UCI Health has grown into a 1,461-bed health system that includes UCI Health — Orange, UCI Health — Irvine, four Community Network hospitals and a growing network of ambulatory care centers across Orange and Los Angeles counties. As Orange County’s only academic health systems, UCI Health is home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center based in the county, the region’s only American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, American College of Emergency Physicians Gold Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department and a nationally recognized regional burn center verified by the American Burn Association. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people across Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County through excellence in patient care, research and medical education. Follow UCI Health on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.