Depending on ancestry, people tend to go grey at different stages in their lives, the study found. “The average age of hair greying for Caucasians is in the mid-30s”, Ruiz-Linares said.
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Genetics have always been to blame for gray hair (thanks mom and/or dad!), but scientists have now found the specific gene that leaves many looking more salt than pepper as they get older.
Many genes have already been identified as being associated with different hair colors, shapes and thickness – after all, it’s not as if one gene can produce red or blond hair on its own without fail.
In a separate report published by the UCL, Dr Kaustubh Adhikari, who led the UCL research team said their study was by far the first one to identify specific gene that’s responsible for several hair conditions.
Scientists are optimistic that this latest study and identification of the grey gene will help in slowing down the process whilst understanding ageing. “These findings have potential forensic and cosmetic applications as we increase our knowledge on how genes influence the way we look”, he said in a college news release. In their analysis, they also found genes associated with curly hair, beard thickness and unibrow.
The study is the first to identify genes associated with hair graying, unibrow, and eyebrow and beard thickness. This is the same gene that influences the color of an individual’s hair by regulating the amounts of melanin (our body’s pigment that influences the color of skin, eyes and hair). The diverse gene pool helped them find the IRF4 gene, the annoying culprit behind gray hair.
“It has always been speculated that hair features could have been influenced by some form of selection, such as natural or sexual selection, and we found statistical evidence in the genome supporting that view”, added Dr Adhikari. After an initial screen, a sample size of 6,357 was used, at 45 percent male and 55 percent female.
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“Standard hair products are applied after your hair has been created, but targeting the hair as it is being produced could result in greater consistency of colour, or longer-lasting effects”, Adhikari told Nature News. This group included individuals of mixed European (48 percent), Native American (46 percent) and African (6 percent) ancestry, giving a large variation in head hair appearance. By taking note of their intrinsic hair traits and comparing them to their genomes, they were able to weed out which genes were often correlated to the same traits.
