Most people must understand that the appearance of gray hair is one of the signs of aging because, generally, gray hair grows in people aged 30 to 40 years, and continuous aging will affect hair pigment production. Gray hair will occur if melanocytes do not produce pigment or melatonin, making hair grow more transparent, gray, or white.
Have you ever found a gray hair in your little one's hair? Don't panic, mom, because gray hair that grows in children is normal and does not have a negative impact on health. Let's learn what can cause a child's hair to turn gray.
Causes of white hair in children
One that can cause a child's hair to turn gray is alopecia areata, namely baldness or hair loss caused by an autoimmune disease. When the hair grows back, it may turn white like gray hair. Other factors that cause are as follows:
1. Heredity and genetic factors
Don't panic too much, moms. If your child has gray hair from an early age, remember whether your father and mother experienced gray hair at a young age because heredity or genetics is the most common cause. Family members with a history of premature gray hair will also impact children so that the risk of gray hair growing at an early age will be higher than normal children of their age.
2. Lack of vitamin B12 intake
A lack of vitamin B12 intake can also cause the growth of gray hair in your little one's hair. The reason is that vitamin B12 has an essential role in the body's metabolism in producing red blood cells and cell division, which is helpful for body health and hair quality.
3. Certain medical conditions
Several medical conditions can cause hair to change color. Disrupted melanin production can lead to gray hair at an earlier age. These diseases are:
- Vitiligo: A disease that disrupts the production of melanin in the skin.
- Graves or Hashimoto: Diseases that cause the thyroid to work abnormally, namely, over-active or under-active.
- Waardenburg tuberous sclerosis syndrome and neurofibromatosis: Diseases that cause loss of pigmentation in the hair.
4. Use of shampoo
If the shampoo and soap used on children are made of harsh chemicals, they can dry out the hair so that the melanin pigment will disappear and cause the hair to change color. You can use a special children's shampoo made from natural ingredients to overcome this.
How to overcome white hair in children
Until now, no way can really overcome the growth of gray hair in children's hair. However, because gray hair grows due to the weak work of melanocytes in the hair follicles, you can try to overcome it by reactivating these melanocytes. Mothers can use local products such as candlenut oil which is rubbed on the child's hair. The use of candlenut oil for hair is a hereditary tradition in Indonesia which is believed to have good benefits for hair growth and blackening. You can also use other products that have almost the same benefits.