Scientists have found a new reason why hair turns gray

Scientists at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine believe they have found the reason why human hair loses its color as we age. A new study has shown that stem cells can get "stuck" and become unable to maintain hair color, and it turns gray.

According to The Guardian, it turned out that some stem cells have the ability to move between growth areas in hair follicles, but when we get older, they can no longer move, meaning we get gray hair. The cells, called McSCs (melanocyte stem cells), get stuck in sections of the hair follicle, causing gray hair to grow.

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It is noted that during normal hair growth, these cells are constantly moving back and forth, traveling between sections of the developing hair follicle, and within these sections, McSCs are exposed to signals that affect maturity.

The findings show that as hair ages, falls out, and then grows back, an increasing number of McSCs get stuck in a section of the stem cells called the bulge of the hair follicle. They then fail to mature and cannot return to their original place in the compartment where they would be involved in regeneration into pigment cells (other colors).

So far, scientists have conducted research on mice and hope that when they experiment with humans, they will be able to come up with a potential way to eliminate graying hair or prevent it altogether.

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Lead researcher Qi Sun, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Langone Health in New York, said: "Our study adds to our basic understanding of how melanocyte stem cells color hair. The newly discovered mechanisms raise the possibility that the same fixed arrangement of melanocyte stem cells may exist in humans."

According to him, if stuck cells can be helped to move again between the sections of developing hair follicles, a potential way to restore or prevent graying of human hair can be found.

It's worth reminding you that in 2023, short haircuts will be especially relevant. Such hairstyles look spectacular and create an accent in the overall look.

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