Why does hair bleached?

2000/06/07 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Anatomia/Fisiologia

As the hair ages, little or more, it whitens; there is no doubt about it. It starts slowly, but once started there is no turning back. Thus, wrinkles and hair bleaching are signs that we are not so young.

The pigment that gives the hair a typical color is melanin; the same pigment that gives color to the skin; and the typical color of the hair, more or less melanin, will be lighter or darker. Melanin is formed by cells located at the root of the hair. As a young man, the cells produce a lot of melanin, but as these cells age they die and the hair loses its color as a young man.

The hair bleaching process is usually long, between 10 and 20 years, depending on its genetic characteristics. Some begin to peel their hair very young and others in old age or none.

However, there are human groups that do not lose hair color, among other things because their hair has never had color: they are albino people and are people without cells to create melanin. Due to a genetic mutation, they do not have the ability to produce melanin and therefore always have white hair.