• Question: When we age why does our hair grow grey or fall out and why do we get wrinkles?

    Asked by sebisepic to Jen, Mel, Stef on 21 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Stefan Piatek

      Stefan Piatek answered on 21 Mar 2013:


      Hmm really good question. It seems to be genetic as to when your hair turns grey. That means that if your parents got grey hair early you probably would. From memory, your hair grows from the base in a follicle, at some point your cells that make end up dying to make up the hair stop producing a protein that makes your hair coloured.

      For wrinkles there’s another protein called collagen among others, which acts like elastic glue that keeps our skin tight. Over time this decreases and doesn’t stick so well.

      As to why these things happen, it looks like it could be due to oxidation (so things like smoking make you age earlier, or getting sunburned!) and other parts are just a normal part of ageing which is really interesting but not much is known!

    • Photo: Jennifer Paxton

      Jennifer Paxton answered on 21 Mar 2013:


      Ok so each hair follicle ( the bit in your scalp) has cells in it called pigment cells. These pigment cells have a special chemical in them called melanin which is what gives hair it’s colour – black, brown, red etc. the amount of melanin will decide on the colour so the most melanin will be black hair! Over time the melanin starts to run out and the hairs turn lighter, grey or white!

      Hair loss is usually caused by hormones so things like men ageing (change in hormones levels) and even things like stress, pregnancy and shock can make hair fall out!!

      The reason we get wrinkles should be in my answer to another question here /healthm13-zone/2013/03/17/why-do-wrinkles-appear-when-you-are-old/

      Hope none of these things happen to me soon 😉

    • Photo: Melissa Brereton

      Melissa Brereton answered on 21 Mar 2013:


      We get wrinkles because as we get older, the elastic fibres in our skin get saggy and gravity drags it downwards.

      As for our hair, it is constantly falling out all throughout our life because the cells in our scalp don’t live very long. Hair loss is quite common in men and it is usually determined by their genes. I remember reading somewhere that for a man, if their mother’s brother was bald, then there is a really high risk they will loose their hair. I am not sure how true this is!!! Hormones can also have a big effect so when a man goes through puberty, there is an increase in testosterone and this can sometimes cause hair loss. I think that if a man is going to go bald, it usually starts in their early 20s.

      Why do we go grey? There are cells in your hair called melanocytes- these bascially give your hair colour- and as we get older, these cells dies and so they cannot continue to give your hair its natural colour!

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