Science Of The Silver Fox: Why Hair Goes Gray

Exactly why hair turns gray remains one of life's little mysteries. But an important new discovery may help untangle the secrets behind the silvery strands.

Scientists may have found the root cause of what makes hair go gray. For the first time, researchers have identified the signaling protein that coordinates the process between hair follicle stem cells, which produce hair, and color-supplying stem cells, or melanocytes.

"We have shown that one specific molecular pathway is necessary in the regulation of melanocyte stem cells -- the Wnt pathway," says Mayumi Ito, PhD, an assistant professor of dermatology at the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York, and the study's lead researcher.

As Ito explains it, when the Wnt pathway is activated, melanocytes can produce pigments that color hair. When inactivate, melanocytes lose the ability to produce color, resulting in gray hair.

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