Vanity and Aging As Linked By The Same Chemical, Really.

What does styling one’s hair have in common with aging white hair? Plenty much!

We tend to associate white hair on a person as a sign of longevity. It makes them look dignified and respectable.

One question, though. How did their hair colour change from black/brown/red/whatever to white? What was the biochemical mechanism behind all that?

It’s interesting to note that whatever affects the older generation in the development of white hair and aging is something that the younger generation uses as a vanity tool.

Let’s look at it.

Have we seen or heard of the term “peroxide blonde” before? The Free Dictionary suggests that it’s a term that is derogatory in nature, and reserved mainly for women who choose to use unnatural methods to obtain a head full of blonde hair.

The word “peroxide” in the term refers to hydrogen peroxide, which is a commonly used substance for bleaching. People who have used hydrogen peroxide before for hair colouring purposes would know that it can bleach one’s hair really well, and that’s how the term “peroxide blonde” comes about. Someone who resorts to using hydrogen peroxide to obtain an unnatural hair colour.

Our “natural” hair colour is determined by the melanocyte cells at the root of each hair follicle on our head. These melanocytes are responsible for producing melanin that contributes to our hair colour. We are born with melanocytes that are programmed with DNA information that is contributed from our father’s sperm cell and our mother’s egg cell to colour our hair accordingly.

However, if one day we choose to want to bleach our hair for vanity’s sake, we use a solution of hydrogen peroxide for bleaching. What hydrogen peroxide does is that it reacts chemically with the melanin in our hair and causes it to turn colourless.

So now, you may be wondering — how does that equate to people getting white hair when they age?

Unfortunately, as we age, the power plants in our cells, or the mitochondria (which are the energy generators that power a cell), tend to face higher levels of mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction results in the production of a greater amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are highly reactive and pro-oxidation.

One of these ROS agents happens to be hydrogen peroxide.

In essence, the culprit for white hair production as we age is the EXACT same thing that people use for vanity purposes in their younger years. More of that can be found in this article.

So next, you may wonder: how is hydrogen peroxide produced in the body?

Our cells actively signal the production of hydrogen peroxide, or hydrogen peroxide can be produced as a by-product of some other biochemical reaction. It is stated in this research article that:

Hydrogen peroxide is generated in vivo by the dismutation of superoxide radical, both non-enzymatically and catalyzed by superoxide dismutase enzymes. Hydrogen peroxide is also directly produced by a range of oxidase enzymes including glycollate and monoamine oxidases as well as by the peroxisomal pathway for β-oxidation of fatty acids.

The interesting statement here is that hydrogen peroxide is produced from the dismutation of the superoxide radical, which is a more reactive substance than hydrogen peroxide on its own. In a way, hydrogen peroxide is produced as a protective measure against the buildup of superoxide in the blood, which is more highly damaging.

The next problem is: where on earth does superoxide come from?

Our lifestyle (or rather, events in our life not within our control sometimes) can contribute to the production of superoxide. When we face periods of chronic stress, for instance, whether it be the case of unbearable workloads or post-traumatic stress disorder, the increased stress contributes to higher levels of superoxide and other ROS agents in our body, as highlighted in this article, which progressively worsens the oxidative stress and inflammation levels in our body.

As I have mentioned in this other article, Four Ways That Our Lifestyle Affects Our Immune System, sleep deprivation and poor stress management can contribute to higher levels of inflammation in the body. It would be the case that the increased level of superoxide radicals is one of the precipitating factors behind a poorer immune system as well, because of the problematic inflammatory signaling process that is accompanied by the oxidative stress that is involved.

That’s why we see stressed people developing white hair earlier on in life, you reckon? Also, the ROS that is produced in the body can attack skin collagen structures and force them to lose their mechanical structure/collapse unnecessarily, which results in the development of skin wrinkles (and accelerated by overexposure to ultraviolet rays.

Aging isn’t necessarily a “natural” process. It’s a biochemical cascade of reactions that is triggered by our lifestyle choices. It can be accelerated because of poor lifestyle choices.

Now, if we don’t address the problem of oxidative stress, further health problems can develop down the line.

I do cover how Alzheimer’s is an inflammation issue in this other article: Brain Degeneration Ain’t All That It’s Cracked Up To Be.

I also do cover how oxidative stress contributes to the development of heart disease in this article: Now Seriously, What’s So Tricky About Cholesterol?

Is it surprising, then, that the elderly are more susceptible to such degenerative problems, but at the same time, the younger generation can accelerate the development of these same issues within their bodies based on the lifestyle choices that they make?

Surprisingly, what the younger generation uses as vanity is what causes the same phenomenon in older people. If only they knew!

Joel Yong, PhD, is a biochemical engineer/scientist, an educator and a writer. He has authored 4 ebooks (available on Amazon.com in Kindle format) and co-authored 6 journal articles in internationally peer-reviewed scientific journals. His main focus is on finding out the fundamentals of biochemical mechanisms in the body that the doctors don’t educate the lay people about, and will then proceed to deconstruct them for your understanding — as an educator should.

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