Grey Hair: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Grey hair refers to when your hair loses its natural pigmentation and starts to turn white or grey. It is a process that comes naturally with ageing and can begin anytime in your 30s to 40s. For some people, however, hair can lose its pigmentation prematurely as well. This can be caused to an imbalance in hormones, a problem with the melatonin in your body, or even psychological conditions like stress and grief. Though there are no medical treatments to reverse grey hair permanently, there are many things you can do to bring back the natural pigment.

One of the most common ways to treat grey hair is to color it. There are many hair coloring products that are available in the market and they can be used to alter the pigment of your hair to its natural shade or can even change it to a more glamorous shade if needed. There are many hair oils that are also used to preserve the overall shine and strength of the color of your hair and they can be paired with hair coloring treatments. Another way to ensure that you don’t have grey hair is to have a healthy diet so that all the nutrients that your hair needs to grow and be healthy reach it properly, preventing premature greying.

Once you have decided that your grey hair is not really something you want to live with, you can go to a special hair clinic to have it looked at. The specialists there will run a few tests to determine whether the change in color has been brought upon by any underlying medical condition or not. Once those are ruled out, you will be diagnosed with either premature greying or natural greying and depending on the type of hair you have, you will be given a treatment plan. The treatment plan varies from hair type to hair type as something that works very effectively for oily hair may not work well for dry and frizzy hair. This is why it is always better to ask all your questions and figure out how you should go about the treatment.

Depending on the pace at which your hair is greying and the reason behind it, your treatment plan will focus on preventing more hair from turning grey. This will include hair products like specific shampoos and conditioners, hair masks, hair oils, and hair serums that are designed to boost the health and vitality of your hair. Sometimes, the treatment will also include nutrition supplements to be taken with your food in case the lack of a certain nutrient is causing your hair to grey.

It is important to note that you don’t necessarily have to go to a special hair clinic. You can just go to your normal salon and visit your hair dresser to find out what you can do about your hair. Your hair dresser will recommend the right color for you, depending on your skin tone. The color is applied first to the roots and all the other areas that are greying, followed by the rest of the hair as you don’t want the color to appear uneven. It is then shampooed out and styled according to your preference. Hair colors usually last a month.

The minute you first start spotting grey hair, you are eligible for the treatment. Often, even people without grey hair use hair coloring products to change the natural pigment to something that brightens their face and suits their skin tone a bit more. Thus, from that point of view, everyone is eligible to get this treatment done.

For obvious reasons, you are not eligible to color your hair if you are bald. Furthermore, if you are highly prone to allergies or are allergic to one of the ingredients mentioned in the hair color’s product description, then you should avoid coloring your hair.

As is the case with many products, there are certain side effects to be vary of. Coloring your hair often damages it as it strips away all the natural moisture from the hair, leaving it dry and unhealthy looking. Often, it can also lead to hair fall if the chemicals in the color are very harsh. Stay away from hair coloring products that contain ammonia as that always damages the hair. The damage to your hair can also lead to split ends, the loss of volume, and even the loss of further length as split ends prevent your hair from growing.

Whenever you get any treatment for your hair, whether its coloring or straightening, the after care is vital. One of the most important things that you can do is oil your hair on a regular basis. This ensures that the natural oils that are stripped away from your hair are compensated for and you can control any damage that may occur to your hair. Furthermore, with specific products, come specific guidelines. You may not be allowed to wash your hair immediately after you’ve gotten it colored so that the color can be retained for longer. With colors that require bleach, you may be given specific products to use, such as serums, to take care of your hair once it’s colored.

The process of coloring your hair usually takes around an hour. It can take longer if you have to bleach your hair first before applying the color.

Getting your hair colored can be expensive if you are going in for the wackier colors that are so in vogue these days. Getting regular color in your hair can cost anywhere between Rs. 1000 – Rs 2,000, depending on the salon you go to and the city you live in. The crazier colors can range in price from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 3,000, again depending on the salon you go to and the city you live in.

Getting your hair colored lasts a month. Once a month is over, your roots will begin to show again and you’ll have to get your hair colored again. Thus, it is not a permanent treatment.

Many people use home remedies to color their hair. One of the most popular ones is to use mehendi or henna in your hair. The pack is applied all over the hair and allowed to sit in for a minimum of one hour. Then it is washed away with regular shampoo and conditioner. However, it is important to know as more and more of your hair turns white, the mehendi can leave an orange hue in your hair, making your head look unnatural. On the plus side, though, it is totally organic and does not damage your hair in any way.