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A woman's genes are much more likely than lifestyle factors such as stress or
diet to cause greying hair, a study suggests.
Unilever scientists studied more than 200 identical and non-identical Danish
twin sisters aged between 59 and 81.
The scientists found little difference between the greyness of the identical
twins - who share the same genes.
But there was more difference between non-identical twins, whose genes differ,
the study found.
The study, published in the journal PLoS One, also suggests receding hair is
linked to mainly genetic factors.
But it indicates hair-thinning on the top of the head is connected to
environmental and lifestyle factors.
On the issue of greying hair, lead researcher Dr David Gunn said although many
theories had been put forward to explain different rates of greying, there was
little hard scientific evidence to back them up.
He said: "This study offers us a fascinating insight into the reason why women
go grey and it certainly suggests that environmental factors are not as
important as we once thought.
"The research indicates that irrespective of how stressful a woman's life is,
there are greater forces at play which are more likely to cause her hair to
grey."
Nina Goad, of the British Association of Dermatologists, said previous work had
also found few identifiable environmental factors among people who went grey
much earlier than their relatives.
"This means that for the majority of people, greying hair is not down to
something you have done, but to genetic factors beyond your control, and that
generally your lifestyle will not greatly impact on when your hair loses its
colour," she said.
"There are of course exceptions to this rule."
Dr David Fisher, of the Dana Faber Cancer Institute, who had has conducted
research into greying, agreed that genetics probably played a key role in
controlling when hair turned grey.
However, he said there was also some evidence to suggest exposure to certain
types of chemical could also promote greying.