We get a lot of questions about gray hair—what’s the best way to take care of it, is it okay to color it, etc. However, there are several misconceptions about gray hair in general. First of all, gray hair is not really gray, but instead white!

The hair is white because it no longer contains melanin. Because the white hairs are surrounded by other strands that still have pigment, the hair appears gray—salt and pepper is a much more accurate term.

Second, gray is neither more coarse nor more wiry than pigmented hair. It appears that way because we see the white hair in contrast to the (many more) pigmented hairs around it. The pigmented hair would look coarser if there were only a few against a background of white hairs.

In general, proper hair care techniques are imperative no matter how old you are or what color your hair is. Some people find their hair thinning as they age in which case, Full Thickening Cream has been very successful for those with thin, fine strands. If you color your hair to hide the grays, then you might want to consider using the Living Proof Leave-In Conditioner to keep it as healthy as possible.

Now that you know the truth behind “gray” hair, what other hair myths would you like us to tackle?