Where
Plot No 13D/B, Wellington Rd, Vikrampuri Colony, Karkhana, Secunderabad, Telangana 500009.
- Serves Trimulgherry, West Marredpally, Bowenpally, Alwal
- Formerly BNR Skin & Vitiligo Hospital
Hyderabad
Premature greying of hair
Greying before thirty is worth investigating, because a small proportion of cases have a correctable cause. The rest are genetic, and it is more useful to be told that clearly than to be sold a treatment for it.
45 years in dermatologyDermatologist & dermatosurgeonKarkhana, SecunderabadBooking on WhatsApp
At a glance
- Defined as
- Greying before 20 (Asian), 25 (African)
- Commonest cause
- Genetics, by a wide margin
- Worth testing
- B12, ferritin, thyroid, vitamin D
- Reversible
- Only where a deficiency is found and corrected
- Smoking
- An established, avoidable contributor
- Honest answer
- Most greying does not reverse
What happens
The pigment factory in each follicle winds down.
Each hair follicle has its own population of pigment cells that colour the hair as it grows. Over time those cells exhaust, and hair grows without pigment. The age at which this happens is largely inherited, which is why the most informative question in the consultation is when your parents went grey.
A minority of early greying has a contributing cause worth finding: vitamin B12 deficiency, iron deficiency, thyroid disease, and vitamin D deficiency all appear in the literature. Smoking is an established and avoidable contributor. Where one of these is found and corrected, some improvement is possible.
Where none is found, which is the majority, the honest position is that greying does not reverse, and the useful conversation is about colouring safely and about the hair that remains. Saying so is not defeatism; it is the alternative to selling a course of treatment for a genetic trait.
Before you decide
Who is treating you, and what his patients said.
Dr. (Lt Col) Khagendra Varada
- 45 years in dermatology and dermatosurgery
- 25 of them in the Indian Army Medical Corps
- MBBS, Osmania Medical College
- Dip. Practical Dermatology, Cardiff · Dip. Dermatology, AAAM
Reg. No. 10461, Hyderabad State Medical Council
Full background →“I have been going pillar to post to get my son cured of his white spot on his left side of lip and chin. It appeared 8 years back. I was told it’s special type of nerve vitiligo which has no cure. After reporting to him he told us that it is SEGMENTAL VITILIGO and unlikely and difficult to be cleared by medications alone. He suggested for surgical melanocyte transplant… I was amazed after around one month that he started rapidly getting pigmentation. I wholeheartedly suggest please do not waste time like I did.”
“Dr. Varada is an incredibly patient, knowledgeable and wonderful doctor. He sorted out an issue that I had been dealing with for years in one appointment and there’s been no looking back since!”
Why hair goes white
The same cell, in the follicle.
Hair takes its colour from pigment cells sitting in the bulb, which hand pigment into the shaft as it is built. Greying is those cells winding down. The hair keeps growing; it is simply built without colour.
- 1Pigment cap over each nucleus
- 2Packets travelling along the arm
- 3Arms reaching between cells
- 4Melanocyte
Nothing applied to the scalp restarts a pigment cell that has stopped. Where a treatable cause is found — thyroid, B12, iron — correcting it is worth doing on its own merits.
- Pigment cap over each nucleus
- Packets travelling along the arm
- Arms reaching between cells
- Melanocyte
Illustration, not a photograph.
Assessment
What is worth testing
| Test | Why | If abnormal |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin B12 | Deficiency is associated with early greying | Correct it properly; some improvement reported |
| Ferritin | Iron deficiency is common and often silent | Correct and recheck: also helps hair shedding |
| Thyroid function | Both under- and overactive thyroid are associated | Treat the thyroid |
| Vitamin D | Commonly deficient; association reported | Correct if low |
| Family history | The strongest single predictor | Not correctable |
| Smoking history | Established and avoidable contributor | Stopping helps; it will not reverse what has greyed |
This is a short, targeted panel. Not a broad screen. Testing everything generates incidental findings that lead nowhere.
Claims to distrust
Why this condition attracts so much nonsense.
Greying is visible, distressing, and has no reliable medical reversal, which is precisely the combination that attracts unsupported claims. Oils that ‘restore melanin’, supplements promising reversal in weeks, and treatments claiming to reverse genetic greying all have the same evidence base, which is none.
The things that genuinely help are unglamorous: correct a deficiency if you have one, stop smoking, and treat the scalp if it is inflamed. Beyond that, colouring hair safely is a legitimate and effective answer, and it is discussed rather than dismissed.
If hair is also thinningPlucking does not spread it
Removing a grey hair does not cause neighbouring hairs to grey. It does risk damaging the follicle.
Stress does not turn hair grey overnight
Existing hair cannot lose its pigment. What stress can do is trigger shedding that makes existing grey more obvious.
Where to book
One clinic, in Secunderabad
Consulting rooms, phototherapy and the surgical list at one address in Secunderabad. The practice was formerly known as BNR Skin & Vitiligo Hospital.
How to book
On WhatsApp: one number, answered by the clinic team, who confirm a time and say what to bring.
- Photographs welcome before you travel
- Video consultation arranged the same way
Questions patients actually ask
Premature greying questions
Can grey hair turn black again?
Only where a correctable cause is found and treated: a B12 or iron deficiency, or thyroid disease. Genetic greying does not reverse, and no treatment currently available changes that.
What deficiency causes premature greying?
Vitamin B12 deficiency is the one with the clearest association. Iron deficiency, thyroid disease and vitamin D deficiency also appear in the literature. All are worth testing for once if greying began early.
Does plucking a grey hair cause more to grow?
No. That is a myth. Plucking affects only that follicle, and repeated plucking can damage it.
Can stress turn hair grey?
Not overnight: hair that has already grown cannot lose its colour. Severe stress can trigger shedding, which makes existing grey hairs more noticeable, and stress may contribute to the process over longer periods.
Do any oils or supplements reverse greying?
None with credible evidence. Supplements help only where they correct a demonstrated deficiency. Claims of restoring pigment to genetically grey hair are not supported.
Is hair colouring safe to do regularly?
For most people, yes, with sensible precautions: a patch test before first use, avoiding application to broken or inflamed scalp, and stopping if irritation develops. Allergy to hair dye is real and worth taking seriously.
References
The clinical statements on this page follow the guidance and evidence below. They are independent sources. None of them is connected to this clinic, and none of them sells the treatments described here.
- Hair loss: causes, diagnosis and treatmentAmerican Academy of Dermatology
- Hair lossNHS (United Kingdom)
Keep reading
Related on this site
The first appointment is a diagnosis.
Not a treatment plan sold on the spot. Message the clinic and bring your history.