Sound like an impossible delusion? I may have agreed with you once upon a time, but science – and beauty researchers – apparently can make the impossible dream a reality.

Image: Sxc.hu

According to an article in the Times of India,

Dr. Bruno Bernard, head of the hair biology research team at L’Oreal Paris, points out that hair goes grey when the pigment-producing cells, known as melanocytes, die or no longer work properly. He, however, also highlights the fact that such cells often survive long after people go gray.

He and his colleagues have also found that the cells lack a certain enzyme, known as TRP-2, which is found in the skin and protects it from losing its pigment.

If researchers can learn to copy and recreate the enzyme’s action on hair follicles, re-awaken the cells, allow people to maintain their hair color for longer, or even reverse the process.

One can only imagine how much a shampoo that erases gray would cost…and the lines to get it once it was available!

We all know people who are in their later years, and swear they’ve never once dyed their hair. And then there are those people who start going gray in their late teens. At the very least, something like this could sort of even the playing field, and maybe even avoid playing with chemicals and hair dye quite as often!

But it is a little Brave New World-esque…and anti-nature, in a way. (Though I suppose hair dye is, as well.) I’m curious, if something like this existed, and was available at a palatable price point – would you try it?

I think I would! Then again, nature has so far saved me from my gray fate!

Now if only they can find an anti-cellulite soap. I am so there.

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Can We Shampoo Away Aging?

Today in the New Scientist there was an article I instantly got sort of engrossed in – it was an overview of a study being done on laboratory mice that sees a relationship between going gray and protection against cancer cells.

Image: Sxc.hu

Basically, cells called melanocytes produce the pigments that color hair and their numbers are supported by stem cells. Hair goes gray when the number of stem cells in hair follicles declines.

So, now the news is that Emi Nishimura of Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Japan have figured out why this decline happens.

Here’s an excerpt from the article, below – warning, it’s in total science-ease!

When the researchers exposed mice to radiation and chemicals that harm DNA, damaged stem cells transformed permanently into melanocytes. This ultimately led to fewer melanocytes, as it meant there were fewer stem cells capable of topping up the melanocyte pool.

It took me a bit to dissect, but I think I finally got it…and it’s pretty amazing.

Now, obviously it can’t help with all cancers, but stem cells and melanocytes color our hair, by turning off the division of those stem cells when they’re damaged and would pose a heightened risk of producing cancerous or pre-cancerous cells if allowed to continue dividing.

So what does that mean? It means we have something of a red flag at our disposal – in a sense. If we see a person with grey hair, that means that these stem cells are missing or reduced, which means they have a reduced chance of cancer coming out of these cells.

In short, there’s a silver lining to every silver hair!

(Can you sense me grasping to smell the roses???)

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Can Gray Hair Protect Us From Cancer?

(Image: Newscom)

Here are some Skin Cancer Facts you may or may not know:

* Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than one million skin cancers are diagnosed annually.
* Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
* One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
* Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the two major forms of non-melanoma skin cancer. Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have either skin cancer at least once.
* About 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
* Up to 90 percent of the visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun.

Those wrinkles you’re trying to hide? They’re probably caused by being in the sun for too long without protection! Do yourself and your skin a favour and remember these simple guidelines from the Skin Cancer Foundation website:

* Seek the shade, especially between 10 A.M. and 4 P.M.
* Do not burn.
* Avoid tanning and UV tanning booths.
* Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher every day.
* Apply 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of sunscreen to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply every two hours.
* Cover up with clothing, including a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses.
* Keep newborns out of the sun. Sunscreens should be used on babies over the age of six months.
* Examine your skin head-to-toe every month.
* See your physician every year for a professional skin exam.

If you want a little ‘glow’ don’t tan, check out the numerous bronzers and self-tanners on the market today. It’s better to be pale than look like a wrinkled prune. Embrace your pale and pasty self!

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Save Yourself From Skin Cancer