Graying Hair - How To Subdue It?

Hair graying is an inevitable process that you cannot escape. It will strike you at some point in your lifetime. Graying hair was once believed to be a sign of aging process. But not anymore! In the last decade or two, there has been a U-turn in this trend. You will often come across young people, including teenagers, with gray hair. The pigment that mainly contributes to the natural hair color is Melanin. The absence of melanin is what triggers hair graying. Stress, certain medical conditions, genetics, and a host of other factors may interfere with the melanin production resulting in premature hair graying. As serious as the situation may sound, the following tips and remedies can go a long way to alleviate and slow down the premature graying of hair.

1. Follow a healthy hair care routine: No matter how busy you are, you cannot afford to neglect your hair. The basic hair care routines can work wonders to arrest and slow down the premature hair graying. Indulge in a hot oil hair massage at least twice a week. Curry leaves not only promote hair growth but also prevent hair graying. You can boil few curry leaves in coconut oil and filter the mixture. Massage your hair and scalp with the healthy oil mixture (warm the mixture before use), keep it for 30-45 minutes and wash off with a mild shampoo.
2. Delete stress from your life: Stress, anxiety and depression can trigger a hormonal imbalance. As a result, there may be a significant decrease in melanin production with premature hair graying being an obvious consequence. There can be only one solution to the problem- keep yourself stress-free. In addition to this, make sure that you complete your full quota of sleep (at least 6-8). Nothing works more like a sound sleep to beat the stress.
3. A healthy diet: Ensure that your diet is nutritionally balanced and enriched. Green leafy vegetables, berries, walnuts, meat, mushrooms (Reishi), oysters, almonds, eggs, walnuts, salmon, tuna, dairy products (cheese, butter) can go a long way to slow down the premature graying.
4. For chocolate lovers, there is a reason to celebrate. Research suggests chocolate (a rich source of zinc) can elevate the production of melanin, thereby preventing your hair to gray untimely.
5. Smoking can spell doom for your hair and is best left untouched.
6. Indian Gooseberry or Amla, a rich source of Vitamin C is excellent for your hair. You can have the amla raw, drink its juice. Further, you may also use Amla powder in hair packs to slow down the graying process.
7. Some people also benefit from homeopathy and homeopathic medicines such as Acid Phos, Lycopodium Clavatum, Lycopodium, and Phosphoricum Acidum, to name a few.