Grey hairs anywhere are a total pain in the butt! They can happen for various reasons, but the most common is old age. We know it can be a tough pill to swallow, but there's no reason to feel embarrassed about grey hair. It's just a way of life for everyone.
Yes, some people get it earlier than others; it really is dependent on your genetics and stress levels. With that being said, white or grey hairs aren't always due to old age; there are other reasons your eyebrow hairs are losing pigment.
Everyone talks about grey hair on your head, but nobody ever talks about grey eyebrows. Grey hair on your head is a little easier to deal with because you can just dye your hair. And honestly, getting your hair dyed can be a fun treat, but grey eyebrows can be super frustrating and hard to get the right tone and color.
Here at TatBrow, we want every girl to feel like their most beautiful self every day, and if fixing your eyebrow color does help, then let's figure out how to do that. Now it's time to dive into why your eyebrows are turning grey and how you can get them back to looking on point!
Reason 1: Pigment Imbalance
A common reason your hair might be turning white or grey is due to a pigment imbalance. Eyebrow pigment comes from the melanin your body produces. Sometimes your melanin levels can get low, which causes your hair to fade in color.
How To Increase Melanin
There are ways you can increase your body's melanin, which is totally great news. Antioxidants can (in certain cases) increase your body's melanin production. The best way to get more antioxidants in your body is by eating antioxidant-rich foods — leafy greens, berries, dark chocolate, and colorful veggies.
Increase Vitamin A
Vitamin A is great for your hair and skin, and some studies suggest it can help increase your melanin levels. To consume more vitamin A, you want to make sure you have tons of beta carotene in your diet. Foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and peas all have high levels of beta carotene.
Increase Vitamin E
Much like vitamin A, vitamin E is vital for optimal hair and skin health. It's also an antioxidant which means it could potentially help your melanin production.
While there are no direct studies that correlate vitamin E and increased melanin, some studies show it can help against sun damage. Even if there isn't a 100% chance it can help with your greying eyebrows, vitamin E is still a great vitamin that offers other benefits. It won't hurt to consume a little more of it.
Eat More Herbs and Botanicals
Herbs and botanicals are rich in flavonoids and polyphenols, which means consuming them can help improve your body's melanin levels.
Reason 2: Hormonal Issues
Estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol levels can all affect your hair color. However, the main hormone that affects hair discoloration is estrogen. That is because estrogen is the deciding factor in the melanin levels in women's hair.
If your body is experiencing hormonal imbalances, it can be due to a variety of reasons. Your diet, a change in your sleep schedule, high amounts of stress, or a change in birth control or contraceptives all affect your hormones.
How To Fix a Hormonal Imbalance
Hormonal imbalances can be sort of tricky to fix and pinpoint why they are happening. If you don't think it's due to contraceptive issues, we suggest prioritizing your sleep, diet, and mental health. If you aren't sleeping enough or are under high amounts of stress, it can lead to a dip in certain hormones and spikes in others.
Making sure your stress levels are under control is easier said than done, we know! But the best way to keep your mental health at bay is by taking “me days.” In other words, make sure you have self-care days for yourself. Take yourself to the beach, long evening walks, the gym, or the spa. Whatever it is that helps you relax and feel happy.
If you don't think it's your diet or stress, then we think your best bet would be consulting your doctor to run some tests. Hormonal imbalances shouldn't be taken lightly. If you don't nip it in the bud, it can lead to more severe issues down the road.
Reason 3: Poor Diet
Yes, your diet has tons to do with your melanin levels, hair health, and color. You need to be sure you're consuming all the key vitamins, proteins, and fats if you want healthy hair and skin. We know it can be difficult, but try and steer clear of super processed foods too!
Suppose you're having a problem getting all your vitamins in with the foods in your diet. In that case, we suggest a multivitamin that has all your needed vitamins and minerals.
Vitamins and minerals you need to make sure are in your diet if you want optimal hair and skin health include:
- Biotin: More commonly known as B7, biotin helps with increasing hair strength and density. Foods such as eggs, milk, and bananas are rich in biotin. Eating these will ensure you're meeting all your biotin needs without having to take a supplement.
- Fish oil: Fish oil has natural anti-aging properties and will make your hair and nails extra shiny. Since fish oil is packed with Omega-3 fatty acids, it's a great supplement to take after too much sun exposure. It can help heal your skin quicker.
- Vitamin A: Similar to fish oil, vitamin A also has anti-aging properties. It can also help with acne flare-ups, as having enough vitamin A will help your body shed dead skin cells and help keep your pores unclogged.
- Vitamin B: Vitamin B is an all-around great vitamin to take. It doesn't necessarily aid melanin production, but that's not to say you shouldn't be taking a vitamin B supplement anyways.
Each of these vitamins is jam-packed with ingredients that will strengthen your hair, increase melanin, and make it shinier and healthier looking!
Reason 4: Malnutrition
If you're someone that frequently skips meals, then that may be the reason you're experiencing grey hair. The best way to combat skipped meals is to eat a balanced and healthy breakfast (to start your metabolism up) and start meal prepping. You will be more apt to eat your food if it is already cooked.
Meal prepping might seem like a pain, but once you get in the routine, we have a feeling it won't be that bad. Many people state that they actually look forward to their weekly meal preps on a Sunday night!
Reason 5: Aging
Of course, aging is a huge reason for most people experiencing color changes or color lightening. It's no fun and can get frustrating. Once you notice your first few grey hairs, it seems like reality finally hits — you're getting a little older.
We say the best thing to do is embrace it; you can't go back now. Grey hair should be something you wear like a badge of honor. You've been in this world a lot longer than some, which means you're wiser than many.
Since time machines don't exist, and there is no special potion you can put in your morning coffee to make you 20 years younger, if you're greying because of old age, you've just gotta deal. But there's no reason to be upset; there are so many options when it comes to covering up grey eyebrows, and we're gonna break 'em down for you.
Eyebrow Tinting
Eyebrow tinting is a trend where you get your eyebrows dyed with henna or semi-permanent vegetable dye. While eyebrow tinting isn't known for covering up greys, and it may take a bit of tinkering with the formula to get desired results, that's not to say it's impossible.
We suggest calling around to a few places and asking if they're able to accommodate your wishes. Most likely, you'll find one place that specializes in it. While you usually want to steer clear of any eyebrow tint that isn't henna or vegetable dye, it's different when trying to cover or dye grey hairs. You can make some exceptions!
Just make sure to ask what all the ingredients in the dye are beforehand; if anything seems sketchy or off, we suggest trying a different place. The last thing you want is to damage your eyebrow in the process of trying to dye them. Your eyebrows are the focal point of your face, so just make sure you do your research before making any final decisions.
Pluck Out Any Greys
If your eyebrows have not gone full-on grey yet, then a good idea would be to pluck out any random grey hairs throughout the brow. As long as they are few and far between, it shouldn't leave any noticeable gaps in your brows.
However, it will definitely result in your brows looking less full; to combat this, we suggest filling in your brows. We know nobody wants to deal with filling in their brows, but tons of easy-to-use products make it fun.
Here at TatBrow, we always suggest our Micro Precision Pen to anyone who isn't super comfortable filling their brows. It's easy to use and will leave you with a very natural look!
Use a Defining Brow Gel
If you don't have tons of grey hairs, and you've been able to pluck most of them out, then using our Ultra Defining Brow Gel can help you get those pretty brown brows back! Of course, it won't cover up all the greys, and some may peak through or show as the day goes on, but that's not to say you shouldn't at least try it out.
Embrace Your Greys
We understand that you may want to cover up your greys every once in a while, especially if you have a special event or dinner party. You should never feel ashamed of your grey hairs, and you should always embrace them.
In Conclusion
Here at TatBrow, our main priority is to make sure everyone feels their most beautiful and confident. We know that grey hairs can be upsetting, but it's an easy fix most of the time. Like most things beauty-related, it starts with your mental health.
It's hard to have beautiful and healthy hair, nails, and skin if you're overworked and extremely stressed out. Prioritizing your 'me time' is crucial to keeping your youthful glow.
Stress and anxiety can lead to other issues, such as loss of appetite and hormonal imbalances. If you aren't eating enough, you may see an increase in grey hairs as well.
Sources:
Birth Control And Hormone Imbalance - What To Watch For | Amen Clinics.