gray hair

mdksk98 · 06-23-2004, 04:03 PM

Hi, I am new to this site and was just wondering if anyone noticed an onset of gray hair when they started having problems related to pcos? I got of b/c in july 2001 and by aug I stopped having my period and that lasted over 6 months, anyway I started going to the dr in sept 2001 and within one month one of the nurses made the comment that my hair had so much gray, and she asked me what I was so stressed about. Although I do believe stress is related to gray hair, I know many people who are/were way more stressed than I was and they have absolutely no gray! I am just curious if anyone else has noticed this or heard anything about a connection between pcos and hair color. thank you for letting me vent!!

ChelNY · 06-23-2004, 06:31 PM

i am unaware of a connection between pcos and gray hair. that's the first i've even heard anyone ask about it.

i've heard that stress can make someone gray prematurely. also, people with dark brown/black hair have a greater likelihood of graying prematurely than people with lighter hair. that's not to say that everyone with dark hair grays early. but i knew a girl in her late 20s with seriously salt-n-pepper hair.

i guess it's a case of "everyone's different". makes me wonder if there is a link between early-onset menopause and premature gray hair. do (or can) your hormones make your hair gray? i wonder.

StarMaiden · 06-24-2004, 02:10 AM

MDKSK98,

Hi, and welcome! What about your Mom or any sisters or aunts or anyone else in your family? Are there any other's greying early? You'll probably find you're following a family pattern in this regard.

I started seriously greying in my early 20s, but I don't think it has anything to do with PCOS. This has happened to all my sisters too, and I can't even remember knowing my Mom without grey hair. Gosh, I haven't even seen my own hair uncolored in about 16 years, but I can tell from the roots it's over 50% grey. Thank goodness for L'Oreal!

kwannabee · 06-24-2004, 02:34 PM

i dont remember how old my mom was but she went snowy white quite a few years ago and right now she's only 60! I started around my late 20's and have only put maybe 2 color rinses in my hair...well maybe 3.

I never thought that pcos could have anything to do with it but maybe it does...if its stress related well that fits the bill!

are your greys hard and wiry compared to the rest of your hair? Mine are like spring coils and feel double thick...easy to yank!

StarMaiden · 06-25-2004, 03:55 AM

Yeah, it's normal for greys to be coarser/wirier than your regular hair.

tornadodancer · 06-25-2004, 04:52 AM

I have never considered gray hair having to do anything with PCOS, but who knows. Premature gray hair runs on my Mom's side of the family, but I'm also convinced my Mom had PCOS and just didn't know. Maybe there wasn't much known about it when my Mom was younger. My grandpa was almost totally gray headed by the time he was 21. I started to get gray in my early 20's. I am now 34 and have no clue how much gray I have because I keep my hair colored. I do know when the roots start showing it's pretty much all gray. Mine is just like the rest of my hair though. Not wiry or coarse, but just like my other hairs. Mine is more white and have actually been told it's quite pretty. (Yeah right

) I mainly have the gray down the sides of my hair and in the front. Was told once it looked like Elvira.

Anyway, that's an interesting question you have asked and just thought I would share.

coffeequeen · 06-26-2004, 03:54 AM

I am not sure if it is related to PCOS or not but I have grey on the top and it blends in with the rest of my hair, my hairdresser commented that it looks like I purposely put white highlights there. My dad's whole family started graying early. He was a complete salt and pepper by the time he was 32.
On my moms side they didn' t have this issue.

SheTiger68 · 06-26-2004, 11:25 PM

I, too, started graying in my late 20's, and I'm 35 now. I thought it was because of my genes, as most of the women in my mom's family all were prematurely gray, but they all also had varying degrees of hormonal problems, and when I started going gray coincendentally was when I first started noticing a symptom here and there of PCOS, though I did not know at that time they were symptoms of anything. When I was 29, pregnant with my youngest daughter, and my hormonal balances were horrible, my hair turned gray even faster, very noticeable. So I, too, think there might be some correlation here.

mdksk98 · 07-02-2004, 10:39 PM

My mom did not get any gray until she was over 40, that is partly why I feel like something else may be wrong. I am trying not to let this bother me too bad, overall I am in good health! I just go through days when I don't want to look in the mirror or even go outside! thanks for the info and letting me vent.

squidge63 · 07-03-2004, 12:30 AM

I started getting the odd grey hair or two about the age of 16, then over the years it conquered my head bit by bit, and now at 40 i am more or less 100% grey.. altho i dye it blonde... my beard is also grey now, it used to be dark black hair, i grew it recently for 5 days to give my face a rest from shaving, and alot of the black hairs were pure white, its the white i would like my hair to go..lol and when i shaved the blak came off easily, but the white ones were buggers, they hung in there for grim death...

audio_girl · 07-04-2004, 08:18 PM

Many thanks for starting this thread mdksk98. Been going gray since 19, which is when PCOS started slamming me hard. I have always felt there was a definite link... in addition, based on reading here n' there, I believe there has been too many cyster cases like mine to dismiss a connection.

mdksk98 · 07-05-2004, 12:25 AM

Do you mind if I ask how old are you now? How are you dealing with the gray? Do you color and if so do you do it yourself or professional? I have finally broken down and started getting mine done about every 6 weeks, which is not cheap but it helps a little when I don't think about what is under the color!!

audio_girl · 07-05-2004, 01:00 AM

No problem. I'm 30 now. Been dying my hair ever since it came on. For a while did it professionally, about once a month. But for years I've been doing it myself at home. Btw I just emailed you through your profile in case you want to talk about it further.

Dubby · 07-06-2004, 03:57 AM

Just a thought ...

Premature gray hair sometimes can be due to hypothyroidism. Have you been checked for that?

lisadukk · 07-06-2004, 02:20 PM

very interesting topic.....
i found my first gray hair when i was 7, and now at 35 i have a lot of silver with my dark hair that is all thinning....sniff. i used to tell my hairdresser that as long as my hair didn't fall out i didn't care if it was all gray/white/silver whatever, then of course about 5 years ago my hair started thinning. unfortunatly the hair on my face is still dark and thick......not fair.
my hand dr told me years ago that a link had been found between brittle bones or osteoporois and premature gray. (i wish i could spell)
my grandfather was white headed by the time he was 25 or so the story goes-all the pictures are black and white, and my mom started dyeing her hair with the hard stuff at 26-she went to her natural (white) hair color after my nephew was born 10 months ago. i colored my hair for about 5 years every 3-4 weeks either at the salon or at the beauty school, and when i quit it took almost 2 years for all of the roots to grow out.
i like my gray, but sometimes when i look in the mirror it shocks me to see so much of it.....