The depigmentation associated with gray hair and vitiligo have the same “root” cause. Oxidation, which can be though of as the toxic accumulation of free oxygen wastes, in this case in the form of hydrogen peroxide, (a by product of an activated immune system) building up in the skin and hair follicles.
From a recent Medical Xpress Article
Hair dye manufacturers are on notice: The cure for gray hair is coming. That’s right, the need to cover up one of the classic signs of aging with chemical pigments will be a thing of the past thanks to a team of European researchers.
Vulkahn at the German language Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons
In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal people who are going gray develop massive oxidative stress via accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair follicle, which causes our hair to bleach itself from the inside out, and most importantly, the report shows that this massive accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be remedied with a proprietary treatment developed by the researchers described as a topical, UVB-activated compound called PC-KUS (a modified pseudocatalase). What’s more, the study also shows that the same treatment works for the skin condition, vitiligo.
“To date, it is beyond any doubt that the sudden loss of the inherited skin and localized hair color can affect those individuals in many fundamental ways,” said Karin U. Schallreuter, M.D., study author from the Institute for Pigmentary Disorders in association with E.M. Arndt University of Greifswald, Germany and the Centre for Skin Sciences, School of Life Sciences at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom. “The improvement of quality of life after total and even partial successful repigmentation has been documented.”
Best bet for prevention and reduction of depigmentation symptoms is eliminating oxidative stressors (e.g. problem foods, digestive issues, dysbiosis, dysglycemia) and a generous vegetable anti oxidants and supplements. Supporting glutathione production is probably a good idea. You can use precursors to glutathione (which deactives hydrogen peroxide) like glutamine, glycine and NAC as well as supportive supplements like vitamin C and alpha lipoic acid, selenium and sulfur as MSM.
