Science Minute Script:

Download Quicktime to listen to the audio clip.

The Mystery of Gray Hair

This Science Minute was researched and written by Eli G., Ithaca.

Do you have any gray hair? If you do, do you know why it’s gray? If you are puzzled by any of these questions, I can answer them. When you start to grow older, like around thirty, your hair might be starting to turn gray.

Each of your hairs has roots under your scalp to hold them down. Above your scalp you see the hair color whether it’s brown, red, black, or blonde. Each strand of hair has a follicle; this follicle has a certain amount of pigment cells. These pigment cells make melanin that runs up the shaft of each strand of hair to produce the color of your hair.

Year by year while you’re aging, the pigment cells in each hair follicle die off leaving certain strands gray or silvery. Eventually, over time, your hair may become more noticeably gray. Some parents like to joke around, and they claim their children have caused their gray hair, but this is just an excuse for parents to get their kids off their back.