Why does hair turn gray as we age?
The Paint Shop Retires
Why does hair turn gray as we age?
Look closely at your hair. Right now, tiny factories inside each strand are busy painting it your color — brown, black, blonde, red, whatever shade is yours. But here's the thing about factories: they don't run forever.
Every hair on your head grows from a little pocket in your skin called a follicle. Down at the bottom of each follicle, special cells called melanocytes do one job all day long: make melanin, the pigment that colors your hair. It's like they're paint mixers in a never-ending art studio.
