Gray hair...?

i am a 26 year old woman, and i am noticing more and more gray hair by the day. this is disturbing on many levels! i can't believe that i am actually sprouting enough gray and silver hairs that people notice. 2. the hairs themselves are not just gray- they are wirey, they do not straighten under a blow dryer, and worst of all, break very easily. i'm worried that as the older and grayer i get- the less and less hair i will have. if all of my hair eventually turns gray (which i'm sure it will as my family is all gray) and if they all continue to break off into 4 inche spikes- i'll be bald!! what should i do? anyone else experience this?? i have tons of gray, wirey spikes sticking out of my head!!

Gray hair...?

Gray hair is typically a result of natural aging. Genetics likely play a strong role in graying. Pigment in the hair shaft comes from special cells at the root of the hair. These cells are genetically programmed to make a certain amount of pigment (melanin) at specific ages. At some point in the aging process, these cells make less and less pigment until the hair has very little pigment. White hair has no pigment, and gray hair has some but not as much as red, black or brown hair.

Not all hairs respond in the same way or at the same time. So the graying process usually is gradual. You can't prevent graying. Some people start graying in their 30s, and some not until their 60s.

People rarely go gray overnight. If they do, it's typically due to alopecia areata. This condition causes the thicker, darker hairs to stop growing before it affects the growth of gray hairs 閳?giving the impression of graying overnight. Alopecia areata eventually causes roundish patches of hair loss or complete loss of hair on the head or body. Its cause isn't known.

If I may give you some advice, go see a dermatologist about this. He can tell you whether you have alopecia, and perhaps can somehow decelerate the graying process.