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While most people your age already have a lot of gray hair, if not all over their head, you wonder. why you don't have gray hair at 60? Although few answers exist on this subject, some studies have nonetheless produced results. And others are still in progress. In this article, we will first see causes of hair turning white. Then, in a second step we will approach the reasons that may explain that you have a total absence of gray hair at 60 years old.

Why does the hair turn white?

The mechanism of hair bleaching

Before finding out why you have no gray hair at 60, it is important to quickly remind yourself of the phenomenon of canities to understand the mechanisms involved. Gray hair almost everyone ends up having it, it's inevitable. This process is called the canities. It is a natural mechanism that occurs when melanocytes, the cells which are responsible for coloring the hair, decrease or stop their production of melanin. To explain it another way, your hair continues to grow, but without being pigmented and therefore without coloring. Your hair will then gradually turn white.

The arrival of the first gray hairs is around 35 years old for Europeans and can vary by more or less 10 years. This data is of course an average, the individual reality is quite different. The development of canities varies from one individual to another and depends on the genetic, But also endogenous or exogenous causes.

The various causes leading to hair bleaching

Several factors are responsible for the appearance of gray hair. Depending on the age at which they appear, certain factors are more likely than others to be involved in the development of canities. Here they are :

• The natural aging of the body and melanocytes.
• The genetic makeup. That is to say that as a general rule your hair will turn white at the same age as that of your parents.
• Nutritional deficiencies. When you lack certain essential nutrients like zinc, copper, iron, amino acids, gray hair tends to come on prematurely. The same applies if you are deficient in vitamins, especially group A and B.
• A poor hygiene of life. Stress, smoking, a bad diet, extreme fatigue ...
• An emotional shock. A death, an accident, a traumatic event ...
• An autoimmune disease, a physiological disorder or a specific pathology: thyroid disorder, vitiligo, Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome or even certain cancers.

Having said that, it sometimes happens that some people do not have gray hair all their life or until old age like 60 years old.

Why don't you have gray hair at 60?

There are big differences in the development of canities between individuals. Indeed, while some already see the development of gray hair at 20 years, others do not have it until much later. And it happens that some lucky ones never see their hair turn white. So where does this particularity come from? To date, there is no official response to this phenomenon. Nevertheless, some explanations on this subject have been provided by the scientific community. Find out below the hypotheses that would explain why you do not have gray hair at 60 years old.

You have no gray hair at 60 thanks to genetics

Our genetic coding is an essential role in bleaching hair sooner or later. Three reasons can explain why you don't have gray hair at 60:

• Scientists have identified the gene that activates hair bleaching: the IRF4 gene. A team of researchers studied more than 6 people from Latin America with very different origins and therefore very different hair. They concluded that this discomfort is involved in triggering the mechanism of canities. It would be likely to trigger in different ways in individuals and never act on others. As a result, no white hair would appear in such people. However, this study is still in its early stages. Other problems and many other factors could also be involved in the disparities in the appearance of white hair between individuals.

• Cellular and melanocyte aging is not the same in individuals. Therefore, in some people, the melanocytes never die or at a very old age. In other words, the process of canities is delayed or nonexistent. The melanocytes produce the color of the hair eternally and therefore you have a complete absence of gray hair even at 60 years old.

• The ethnicity acts on the more or less rapid onset of hair bleaching. On average, the development of white hair in Europeans is at 35 years old. While for Asians it is around 40 years old. And finally, among Africans, white hair appears around 45 years old. Therefore, if you are of African origin, the probability that you will have gray hair late and therefore over 60 years old is greater. 

You do not have gray hair at 60 thanks to your lifestyle

We have just seen that there are internal factors that can explain a delayed or non-existent canities. But there are also external factors that play a major role in this phenome.

Indeed, lifestyle has long been a factor studied to discover the origin of hair bleaching. It has long been proven that there is a correlation between a poor lifestyle and the premature aging of cells and hair. Accordingly, the fact that some people have no gray hair, even at 60, may be due to a healthy and harmonious lifestyle. In addition, melanocytes are said to have a high sensitivity to oxidative stress. Poor diet, tobacco and chronic stress all have harmful effects on the body. These activate the oxidation of cells and can sometimes cause inflammation which lowers the production of melanin. 

In short, if you have a balanced and healthy lifestyle, you increase your chances of slowing down the phenomenon of cell aging and therefore the appearance of gray hair even at 60 years old.

Tips and tricks to keep your hair looking beautiful at 60

Even if you don't no gray hair at 60, the maintenance of your hair is essential for keep healthy.

• Eat a balanced diet and favor the consumption of foods rich in trace elements, antioxidants, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins.
• Avoid fast food and processed foods filled with toxins that saturate the liver as much as possible.
• Regularly massage the scalp in order to activate blood circulation. You can make them using a vegetable oil. Coconut, jojoba and almond oils rich in vitamin E help keep hair healthy.
• Avoid doing too frequent and harmful stains such as those containing ammonia. If possible, favor natural colors. Use natural masks with antioxidant ingredients on the scalp. Sage or curry leaves, avocado, and onion are renowned for their antioxidant characteristics. And so to avoid gray hair even at 60 years old.
• Avoid using shampoos that are too aggressive (sulfate, silicone, quats) for the hair and try to limit their application as much as possible (if possible, no more than twice a week). Prefer the purchase of natural shampoo.
• Be careful not to expose your hair to excessively high heat sources such as the straightener, the sun or the hair dryer at too high a temperature.