Massive hydrogen peroxide build-up causes gray hair

International report

- Gray hair is caused by a massive build-up of hydrogen peroxide, due to “wear and tear” of hair follicles, which blocks the synthesis of melanin, according to a study published in the

FASEB Journal

.

Researchers examined cell cultures of human hair follicles, and found that the build-up of hydrogen peroxide was caused by a decrease in an enzyme responsible for breaking up hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

Hair follicles could not repair this damage due to low levels of enzymes MSR A and B, and the combination of these interrupted functions causes a disruption in the formation of tyrosinase, which then hinders the production of melanin in hair follicles, according to a press release from the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology.