Gray pubic hair, even though it's still young? here are 6 causes

Gray hair is identical to the hair on the head. This generally occurs as a result of the natural aging process. As you get older, the production of melanin, which functions to give color to your hair, will decrease so that gray hair grows. But did you know, it turns out that pubic hair can also turn gray? Interestingly, it is people at a young age who most commonly experience gray pubic hair. If it weren't for the aging process, why would gray hair appear in the intimate area?

Various causes of gray pubic hair

1. Vitamin B12 deficiency

Graying pubic hair at a young age can signal a symptom of pernicious anemia, which is caused by a lack of vitamin B12 intake.

Hair gets its natural color from a pigment called melanin. This melanin pigment is produced by melanocyte cells in the hair follicle to give color to the hair that will grow.

A deficiency of vitamin B-12 causes the body to not produce enough red blood cells. Indirectly, this will have an impact on melanin production. Fresh, oxygenated blood flow is needed by hair follicles to stimulate healthy hair growth.

2. Smoking

Cigarettes can cause premature aging. Research from Jordan University Hospital in 2013 in the Indian Dermatology Journal Online revealed that smoking can inhibit melanin production. As a result, the appearance of graying pubic hair in young people.

Smokers are even two to four times more likely to experience gray pubic hair at a young age than nonsmokers.

3. Vitiligo

Graying pubic hair can be a sign of vitiligo. This autoimmune condition causes a person's skin color to become uneven due to the loss of pigment, even graying hair - including pubic hair.

Vitiligo is a lifelong condition, but it's usually the first time symptoms of vitiligo appear in adulthood. Namely around the age of 20 or 30.

4. White Pidera fungal infection

White Pidera infection is caused by a fungal species Trichosporon asahii that attacks the hair. This fungal growth produces a white or cream color on the pubic hair shaft. This fungus can also be on the eyebrows, eyelashes and head.

5. Pubic lice

Pubic lice are small insects that can creep from a person's genital hair to another during sexual contact.

A person can also get genital lice from clothes, towels, and sheets. When the lice are on a person's body, these insects will live by sucking blood from the body they are in.

Head lice don't actually cause gray pubic hair. However, the eggs that land on the hair shaft can cause the hair to appear white.

6. Chemical exposure

As you age, your hair follicles are more susceptible to damage from exposure to free radicals from chemicals - one of which is hydrogen peroxide. Damaged hair follicles lack melanocyte cells to produce hair dye pigments. As a result, pubic hair can turn gray quickly.

7. Genetic

The condition of changing hair pigment can be influenced by genes. If there are parents or grandparents who have genetic characteristics of graying quickly, the offspring will have the same body characteristics as the parents.

8. Stress

Stress is one of the causes of pubic hair which is still being debated by experts. Some experts believe gray hair at an early age can occur due to severe stress, which causes anxiety disorders, which reduces the supply of B vitamins in the body.

Then how about proper care?

Treatment of gray pubic hair will be adjusted according to the cause. Therefore, first consult your condition with your doctor and tell any other symptoms that may accompany it.

If the cause is vitamin B12 deficiency, the doctor will usually prescribe supplements or injections of vitamin B-12, and ask you to increase your consumption of foods rich in vitamin B12 (cheese, dairy products, poultry, beef) to support the treatment given. The color of pubic hair can turn black again if the intake of vitamin B-12 is fulfilled.

If it is caused by vitiligo, the treatment will follow the main vitiligo treatment plan itself. For example, with external or oral use drugs, laser therapy, or even surgery. Gray pubic hair caused by fungal infection or pubic lice will be prescribed according to the condition.

If your white pubic hair is not caused by any of the above but you smoke, stop smoking immediately.