logo
episode-header-image
May 2022
27m 37s

The Shocking White Hair

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Why does human hair go grey and is it ever possible for it to go white overnight from shock? Hannah and Adam explore why hair goes grey, how much stressful life events and a lack of sleep can speed up the process. They hear from the pilot whose hair turned white after a flight where all 4 of his engines failed after flying through a volcanic ash cloud - was the shock responsible? They also uncover new research which has shown it's possible for greying hair to return to its natural colour and ask if this finding could be exploited to uncover a cosmetic way to reverse hair greying?

Up next
Yesterday
The Life Scientific: Pierre Friedlingstein
The COP30 climate summit is taking place in the Brazilian city of Belém, a gateway to the Amazon rainforest, which continues to face widespread deforestation. We all know that our climate is changing and that we are largely responsible for this, but we can’t tackle the problem un ... Show More
26m 29s
Feb 23
The Life Scientific: Julia Simner
Imagine if you were listening to an opera or a Taylor Swift concert, and as the lights in the auditorium dimmed, the music was accompanied by a rainbow of colours only you could see. Perhaps while listening to your friends talking, you simultaneously experience a smorgasbord of t ... Show More
26m 29s
Feb 16
The Life Scientific: Caroline Smith
Caroline Smith is passionate about space rocks, whether they’re samples collected from the surface of asteroids and the Moon and hopefully Mars one day soon, or meteorites, those alien rock fragments that have survived their fiery descents through our atmosphere to land here on E ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
Why does our hair turn grey as we get older?
Discovering your first grey hair can be quite the shock. After all, it marks the onset of an irreversible change. And the fact that it’s a natural process is often of little consolation.  The culprits, if you want to think about it like that, behind our hair turning grey are the ... Show More
4m 53s
May 2024
Why does hair turn grey when we age?
<p><strong>#187</strong></p> <p>This episode of 'Chemistry for Your Life' delves into the fascinating world of gray hair, exploring its chemistry and biological processes. Hosts Melissa and Jam share personal anecdotes about encountering gray hair before diving into a detailed ex ... Show More
53m 6s
Oct 2023
Why Gray Hair Is Coming For You
As a kid, host Aaron Scott would dress up for Halloween as an older version of himself — complete with a cane, a set of polyester britches and painted gray hair. These days, that costume is becoming a bit more of a day-to-day reality. At least, the gray hair is. So today, in hono ... Show More
10m 38s
Jul 2022
What is healthy hair?
<p>Hair is an important part of our identities – straight, frizzy, long, not there at all – and our efforts to keep it styled and clean have created an $80 billion hair care industry. Many products offer to improve the life of the stuff on our heads, but isn't it all just dead pr ... Show More
33m 19s
Aug 2023
How To Naturally Reverse Premature Graying of Hair
<p>Find out what you can do to prevent premature graying of your hair. </p> 
6m 49s
Apr 2023
Sawbones: Going Grey
<p>Why do people start losing the pigment in their hair as they grow older? Well, it might be one of those things that we don't entirely understand, though there are some new studies that offer some ideas. But that didn't stop people throughout history from trying to find ways to ... Show More
37m 2s
Aug 2022
What is white?
<p>Have you ever wondered why waterfalls appear white when still water is transparent? Why clouds, or snow, appear white when they too are essentially just water molecules in different states? What makes something white, opaque or transparent? These are the questions CrowdScience ... Show More
28m 3s
Apr 2023
What does flying do to my body?
<p>Compared to the entirety of human existence, our history of flying in aeroplanes is very short indeed. So what does this fast form of travel do to bodies that have evolved for land-based living? That's what listener Sofia wants to know after working as a flight attendant for o ... Show More
37m 54s
Nov 2021
31: What causes gray hair, coloring tips & transitioning to silver | Hair stylist & colorist Christin Brown
"You have the power to pick what serves you, and what no longer serves you," says hair stylist & colorist Christin Brown—and that includes hair color, we might add. In this episode of Clean Beauty School, host and mindbodygreen's beauty director Alexandra Engler chats with Brown ... Show More
49m 7s