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[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

Actor Han Go-eun has opened up about a surge in gray hairs she noticed while filming a drama series, reigniting a familiar question: can extreme stress actually turn your hair white? Research does suggest a link between stress and changes in hair pigmentation — though the idea that existing dark hair can turn white overnight does not align with how gray hair typically develops.

In a recent video on her YouTube channel "Go-eun Unni Han Go-eun," Han mentioned the issue while dining with her husband Shin Young-soo. "I've been getting more gray hairs lately while filming the drama," she said. "I guess it's because I've been going through a lot emotionally."

She added that after particularly grueling scenes, crew members told her, "Unni, your eyebrows have turned white," prompting her to start using eyebrow mascara. "I used to think the saying that a person can go white overnight from heartache was just an expression," Han said, "but now I'm not so sure."

Can stress accelerate gray hair? Pigment stem cells hold the key

Hair color is determined by melanin pigment produced in the hair follicles. As people age, the melanin-producing cells and the melanocyte stem cells that replenish them gradually lose function, leaving newly grown hairs without sufficient pigment and causing them to appear gray or white.

Genetics and aging are the dominant factors in graying, but stress may also play a role.

A 2020 animal study published in the journal Nature found that when mice were subjected to acute stress, the sympathetic nervous system became overactivated, triggering the release of norepinephrine. This process rapidly depleted the melanocyte stem cells inside hair follicles, eliminating the source of pigment and causing subsequently grown hairs to turn white.

Intriguing findings have emerged in humans as well. A 2021 study published in eLife analyzed individual hairs in fine-grained segments and found that in some participants, periods of high psychological stress coincided with a reduction in hair pigmentation. Conversely, some hairs that had lost color showed signs of repigmentation during lower-stress periods. The researchers noted, however, that this does not mean all gray hairs are caused by stress or that they can all return to their original color.

Going white overnight — is it actually possible?

Stories of people going white overnight after a severe shock have circulated for centuries. But hair that has already grown out of the scalp is keratinized tissue — it is no longer alive. It cannot respond to stress the way a living follicle does, which means existing dark hair cannot suddenly shed its melanin and turn white all at once.

Medicine has documented cases of a condition called canities subita, or sudden whitening of the hair, but such cases are extremely rare and the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. One explanation holds that conditions such as alopecia areata cause dark hairs to fall out selectively, leaving behind existing white hairs and creating the appearance of sudden whitening. A review of historical cases found that some instances of rapid hair whitening still cannot be clearly explained.

Stress may well accelerate the onset of gray hair, but it is an oversimplification to say that existing dark hair turns white all at once immediately after a traumatic experience.

Sudden increase in gray hairs? Check your nutrition and thyroid too

How much gray hair a person develops, and when, varies widely between individuals and is heavily influenced by family history. Gray hair that increases gradually as part of natural aging does not need to be treated as a medical concern.

If gray hairs appear suddenly and at a relatively young age, however, it may be worth looking into other contributing factors. Research on premature graying has identified vitamin B12 deficiency and hypothyroidism as associated factors, though such studies reflect correlations observed in specific populations and cannot be taken as universal causes.

Self-medicating with high doses of vitamin B12, iron, copper or other nutrients in an attempt to reverse gray hair is not recommended. If a nutritional deficiency is suspected, the right approach is to identify and correct the underlying cause. If a sharp increase in gray hairs is accompanied by hair loss, severe fatigue, heightened sensitivity to cold or unexplained weight changes, a medical consultation to check thyroid function and nutritional status is advisable.

Lifestyle basics matter too. Regular sleep, a balanced diet and stress management all support hair health. Repeatedly pulling out gray hairs will not cause them to grow back dark. For those who dye their hair, it is worth watching for scalp irritation or redness caused by repeated chemical exposure.

The experience Han described — noticing a spike in gray hairs during an unusually stressful period — may not be purely in her head. But gray hair is shaped by a combination of genetics, age and overall health. Rather than fixating on a few white strands, paying attention to what sudden changes in your hair might be signaling about your body and lifestyle is a healthier place to start.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com