To pluck or not to pluck: How to properly address gray hairs
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - For some, it is a nuisance, for others, it is a sensitive subject. Can we talk about gray hairs?
Gray hair can prompt strong emotions and strong reactions. And many at the sign of any gray reach for the tweezers.
But before you do, you need to hear what KDKA's John Shumway found out in his quest to find out: to pluck or not to pluck.
The answer is: don't puck. You can actually do more harm
"I have women who are like, 'oh no no I'm not ready for it,'" said hairstylist Julie Vari. Vari owns the Macabre Rose Salon.
Vari understands the urge to pluck, but she said resist.
"And that can become infected, and then become a pimple, and nobody wants that," Vari added.
"Plucking a hair will cause trauma to the follicle. So you really don't [want to pluck]. You don't want to cause any trauma to follicles that are naturally getting smaller as we get older. So it's best to leave those hairs in place," said Olga Bunimovich, a UPMC dermatologist.
Won't the hairs regrow?
"They may regrow, they probably will regrow. However, you may have damage to the bed so it might not regrow as thick or be as healthy," Bunimovich added.
And if you pull those grays long enough?
"Over time it can lead to the hair not growing," Vari said.
Dr. Bunimovich said early grays can be an indicator of issues.
"You do want to make sure to check that your B12 levels are adequate that you're saying your iron levels are adequate to some of those things can lead to premature gray," she said.
And she defined premature grays as Caucasians under 20 and African-Americans under 30.
Bottom line? Embrace the gray, don't pluck it.
However, there are clearly some alternatives.
Gray hair bothers some. Others? Not so much. If you want no part of it, coloring is the alternative, carefully
"Sometimes, the hair can actually become more coarse or it becomes even thinner," Vari said.
Vari said eventually that hair may not return at all.
"So i've had a lot of women embrace their gray, which i think is a beautiful thing. And then that also becomes a little bit more low maintenance."
But if you're not ready for that yet, of course, you can color.
"You know, coloring is fine. However, you can damage hair, particularly with permanent hair dyes. They actually do damage the cuticle. So it's actually best to avoid those permanent dyes," Bunimovich said.
Bunimovich had a warning for those looking for dyes, however.
"A store brand, you know those are typically your permanent dyes and then they have things like Nature Tint or Henna, those are not permanent, they wash out," she said.
Dr. Bunimovich said to ask your stylist for a Demi-permanent dye.
"There are a lot of products out there that actually helped the hair," Vari said.
"Those Demi-permanent dyes are actually really great. You know they are protective for the hair. And they can, you know, ease people into their brain here," Bunimovich added.
By the way, the doctor pointed out, so far there is no magic pill to prevent gray hair. Both Vari and the doctor said more and more people are embracing their gray and just going with it.
But if you want to cover it, just be careful what you use.
Remember, those permanent dyes will damage your hair over time.
Oh, and this is not a gender-specific issue. Men are reaching for the dyes, too, and can do just as much damage if they aren't careful.
