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When you first start seeing gray hairs emerging on your scalp, it can be quite concerning. However, you should never wait around once you see those grays start appearing. The longer you wait to begin treatment, the remedy will be less likely to work and take longer to see results.
Before you begin treatment, it is crucial to understand what make you go gray. Let’s take a look at some reasons why people go gray and what home remedies are best.
Causes Of Emerging Gray Hair
Generally speaking, there are four reasons why your hair might be graying. Each reason required a different remedy, so pay close attention!
- Genetics. Genetics plays a huge role in your supply of melanin, which gives your hair color. Although other factors can influence melanin production, genetics is the primary source.Â
- Disease. When your body is sick for prolonged periods, your hair can begin to lose color and turn gray. This process is often due to a lack of nutrients, but it can also be associated with a medication’s side effects.Â
- Nutrition. If your body is not getting proper fuel, it will pull from your hair for vitamins. Not only will your hair growth slow down, but your melanin supply will decrease.Â
- Stress. Stress can increase the amount of oxidation in your blood, which equates to a higher percentage of hydrogen peroxide. This increase in hydrogen peroxide will bleach your hair from the follicles before your hair even grows!
If you are going gray due to genetics, your treatment options are limited; however, there are some measures you can take to postpone the aging process. If you act quick enough, these treatments actually reverse some of your gray hairs!
Graying hair due to disease or nutrition deficiencies goes hand-in-hand in regards to treatment. Herbs are a great way to boost your immune system and give your hair back its color. These natural remedies also restore the nutrients that your hair and body need! Try consuming more fruits and vegetables to see the results.Â
Although stress seems impossible to deal with, there are many ways to deal with it. From topical to internal treatments, you must find something that feels good for your specific body.
Remedy #1. Ashwagandha
This first home remedy for gray has a wide variety of benefits. Ashwagandha is a plant, which has been used to postpone the aging process. This option is great for something with a genetic predisposition to gray hair.
As a plant, it also has various nutritional benefits, which boost your immune system. If you are fighting off something, adding ashwagandha to your diet is overall beneficial. Not to mention, this plant is great for balancing your hormones! From genetics to disease to nutrition to stress, ashwagandha has it all.
Overall, ashwagandha can help some with all of the different reasons why you might go gray. In addition to helping with your gray, it is known to prevent aging skin!
If you are interested in adding ashwagandha to your diet, you can add pill supplements to your daily routine. If you enjoy smoothies or energy juices, add some ashwagandha powder to your meals! Finally, ashwagandha can also be used topically. Mix some ashwagandha power into coconut oil and apply it directly to your hair.
Remedy #2. Black Sesame Seeds
When you want to increase the amount of melanin your body produces, black sesame seeds are the best way to go! Black sesame seeds are common in Chinese medicine for this reason alone. Although other types of sesame seeds are useful, black sesame seeds show the best results as they directly influence the nutrition needed for melanin.
How do you use these seeds for gray hair? Put some black sesame seeds in a food processor until they form a paste. If the paste is too thick, try adding some warm castor or coconut oil. Applying warm products to your scalp will help stimulate circulation and hair growth.
Incorporating black sesame seeds into your diet is also beneficial! You can find various snacks at your local grocery store (try the Asian market for the best results)!
Remedy #3. Catalase
Catalase is an essential enzyme that your body makes more of when you are younger. As you age, your body will make less and less of this enzyme. Catalase is vital to your hair for two reasons, both of which keep your hair from turning gray.
First, catalase breaks down hydrogen peroxide, which is naturally formed in your body (especially while you are stressed). Therefore, catalase is an excellent solution for both genetic and stress influences!
Catalase breaks the peroxide down into water and oxygen, which prevents it from bleaching your hair gray. Both oxygen and water are harmless and are even beneficial to your body.
Additionally, catalase is an excellent antioxidant. Antioxidants are beneficial when it comes to delaying the aging process and keeping you healthy. It is clear to see that all four reasons why you might be going gray can be dealt with by catalase.
You can get catalase in the form of a pill supplement, or you can choose to eat more foods that have catalase in them. Some of these foods are almonds, garlic, onions, foods from the cabbage family, kale, cucumbers, collards and many root vegetables.
Remedy #4. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is excellent for any problem that is hair or skin related from dandruff to oily hair. This includes emerging gray hair that you notice showing up. Coconut oil also has antioxidants that can help fight off any fungal infections that might affect your scalp.
On top of that benefit, coconut oil will bond with your hair. This bonding helps your hair to become stronger. When your hair is healthier and less likely to break, all while allowing your hair to grow thicker. The oily texture will make your hair shiny, too!
Coconut oil may make your hair seem oily at first, but this oil actually does a great job helping your scalp balance the natural oils. This means that whether your hair is too oily or too dry, coconut oil is perfect for your hair.
To use coconut oil for your emerging gray hairs, simply rub it right into your scalp. Warm up the oil to get the maximum benefits of it. Alternatively, you can also exchange coconut oil for other fats in your cooking so that you get it internally.
Remedy #5. Wheatgrass Juice
Countless benefits come with wheatgrass juice, so it should come as no surprise that it is excellent for people getting gray hairs. For starters, wheatgrass juice has a ton of nutrients in it.
Wheatgrass has Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, many of the B Vitamins, Iron, Copper, Calcium and a host of other vitamins! Wheatgrass juice even has some catalase in it, which, as mentioned, is a great thing.
Wheatgrass juice is relatively easy to find, and you can even make your own by using a juicer. Add this juice to smoothies or drink it straight all by itself. If either of those options sounds like too much trouble, you can buy wheatgrass powder and use that.
However, powdered wheatgrass will not give you as many benefits as the fresh juice does, so it is best to go with as fresh as possible. You can freeze this juice to help it last longer, and freezing it into ice cubes can let you easily take out only the amount you need at once.
Remedy #6. Bhringraj
Bhringraj is yet another plant that is great for your hair. However, bhringraj is used in Indian medicine instead of Chinese. It is sometimes referred to as the king of herbs for your hair, no matter what is wrong with your hair.
Sometimes called Eclipta Alba, this plant is both rejuvenating and nourishing for your hair. These things help your hair to grow thicker and softer, in addition to helping with your incoming grays. It is even used sometimes to help treat skin and scalp diseases too.
The easiest way to get bhringraj is in a powder form, which makes it easy to store. You can mix it with oil or something and put it on your scalp, or you can take it internally. If you are going with the internal option, you can add it to some honey to help with the flavor and drink it with warm water.
If you want to take bhringraj internally, it will also work as a liver tonic. A healthy liver benefits your hair by getting rid of toxins! Since an increase of toxins can easily make you sick, bhringraj helps you in various ways.
Remedy #7. Fo-ti
Fo-ti is a plant that is used fairly commonly in traditional Chinese medicine. Its scientific name is Polygonum multiflorum, and it can be found as either an extract or a pill supplement. It is used, once again, to help postpone aging.
The fo-ti root is most commonly used, though the leaves can be used as well. Besides slowing down aging signs such as gray hair, fo-ti also helps your body filter out free radicals.
When you take it in pill form, do not take more than the recommended about of 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams per day. While fo-ti helps filter out your blood, too much of it is not suitable for your liver.
The extract can be put on your hair as well. You do not need much fo-ti extract, however! Simply apply a few drops onto your scalp an hour before you shower. Give yourself a good head massage, and you are all set!
Remedy #8. Amaranth
There are two parts to the amaranth plant that is safe to use: the seeds and the leaves. For your hair, the leaves are what you want. These leaves are a little like collards, and you can eat them in salads or cook them in much the same way.
Amaranth is loaded with several different minerals and vitamins; these are great for both your hair and health! Antioxidants are also in these leaves to help your health. More than those things, amaranth also has a specific enzyme in it.
This particular enzyme improves the amount of melanin you make, which can restore your hair color. You can get this enzyme by eating the leaves or putting it on your hair and letting it set. Run the amaranth leaves through a juicer to put it on your hair, eat it fresh in salads, cook it like spinach or put some in your smoothie.
Remedy #9. Vitamins
Taking daily vitamins may not seem like much of a remedy for emerging gray hairs, but you might be surprised at exactly how much vitamins can for you. Daily vitamins are healthy for any age or gender!
We know that there are vitamins specifically for women and men, but did you know that there are vitamins for those who want to reverse their gray hairs? As mentioned, vitamin deficiencies can cause your hair to gray. What better way to treat gray hair than adding vitamins to your diet!
These vitamins support natural melanin production, and they help keep you healthy too. If you start taking daily vitamins before your hair starts to grow out gray, you stand even better chances of postponing their start.
Remedy #10. Hair Masks
There is quite a wide variety of hair masks with any number of different ingredients in them. Some hair masks have only one ingredient in them, while others have closer to a dozen different ingredients mixed together.
Hair masks are equally diverse in how they can affect your hair. There are hair masks that can be made to suit any and every problem that you might have with your hair. This includes remedies for gray hair.
Hair masks usually come in a paste or cream that is applied to your scalp and hair. After leaving the hair mask on for a set amount of time, you either rinse your hair out or wash your hair. Sometimes, this can be quite inconvenient, but anything you do for your hair will help your grays.
