Why does my hair turn grey at early age????

There are many reasons why a person starts to grow grey hair at early age. Hair goes grey when the color-producing cells stop producing pigment, says Jeffrey Benabio, MD, a dermatologist at kaiser permanente in San Diego. The color of the hair is maintained and controlled by the pigment called melanin. These pigments are produced by a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes. When these cells producing the pigment are damaged, they stop producing and grey hair start growing. Although scientist argue that the age at which greying starts is actually determine by person's gene,many external factors are believed to influence the growth of grey hair such as stress, lifestyle, hormonal imbalance. Dr. Sadhana Deshmukh cites hormonal imbalance such as those related thyroid malfunction, insufficient diet, anemia, regular use of hair color products and styling equipment like the dryer as the common cause of early greying of hair. Also a vitamin B-12 deficiency or problem with your pituitary or thyriod gland can cause premature grey that can be reversible if the problem is corrected, according to Beenbio. He also pointed out that naturally occuring hydrogen perioxide can also build up in the hair , thereby bleaching the color. In 2009, scientists in Europe found another contributing factor. They found that hair follicles produce small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Dr Sooual Shah, a trichologist, says that mental stress can produce a lot of physical stress or tension on the scalp as well. Dr.Roopal Kundu at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine is of the opinion that stress is directly associated with hair fall than graying of the hair. In 2011, the 2012 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Robert Lefkowitz, led a research group that discovered the mechanism that could explain why stress causes graying. Stress causes a release of numerous neurotransmitters involved in our fight or flight response. Long term production of these neurotransmitters, however, can cause DNA damage. This damage was shown by this group to promote aging, graying of hair, and other conditions. Other causes of hair greying may include habits like smoking, old age, and genetic factors Sources: Todayifoundout HealthSite WebMD