One of the most common questions we hear from patients is: “Will my transplanted hair turn grey?” Since transplanted hair behaves like the rest of your hair, whether it turns grey over time depends on the individual as well as the characteristics of their hair.

What Causes Grey Hair?

Hair color is determined by melanin while individual genetic makeup determines how much melanin is present in hair follicles, thereby determining our hair color. As we get older, melanin production slows down – or altogether stops. This results in the hair shafts losing their color and eventually turning grey.

Hair usually starts to go grey around the age of 40, but some people may notice their first grey hairs as early as their twenties. About 25% of people will have some grey hair by the age of 35, and almost half of the world’s population will have some grey hair by the age of 50. People with darker hair will start to show the effects of grey hair sooner than people who have fairer hair because the contrast will show up faster, resulting in a “salt and pepper” look.

Will My Transplanted Hair Turn Grey?

Like your natural hair, transplanted hair is susceptible to the aging process. Since the transplanted hair continues to share the same genetic make-up as hair from the donor area, it will lose its color once melanin production slows or stops.

Can Grey Hair Be Transplanted?

Grey hair can be just as healthy and strong as pigmented hair. As such, it can be successfully transplanted and deliver natural results. In fact, many of our patients have already started to see signs of greying. What a hair transplant cannot do is reverse the greying process. If hair is predetermined to turn grey at a given age, it will do so whether transplanted or not.

Lesson learned: don’t let your age or those grey hairs stop you from contacting DiStefano Hair Restoration Center for a free consultation. We help people of all ages and hair colors look and feel better about themselves.