I know this may not have anything to do with your proffesion, however why do people’s hair turn Grey??

Question: I know this may not have anything to do with your proffesion, however why do people's hair turn Grey??
- Keywords:
  biology,
  body,
  hair
Asked by to Clare, Divya, Ian, Jess, Lewis on 15 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
- Divya Venkatesh answered on 15 Mar 2014:
  
  There are cells called melanocytes at the root of the hair. These produce a pigment(coloured substance) called melanin. They do this using an enzyme (a protein that helps to speed up chemical reactions in the cell) called tyrosinase. As we grow older, the production of this enzyme can slow down or the melanocytes may die resulting in less melanin being produced, causing our hair to have less and less colour.
  
  Funnily enough melanin is the same pigment that is also produced by our skin cells that gives it colour – the production of melanin by skin doesn’t seem to change with age though 🙂
- Lewis Dean answered on 15 Mar 2014:
  
  The students that I teach turn my hair grey!
  
  (Only joking, I agree with Divya)
- Ian Hands-Portman answered on 17 Mar 2014:
  
  What Divya said! More importantly should we go grey gracefully or reach for the hair dye?
  
  Thankfully I’m retaining my natural good looks and colour well into my forties so I won’t have to worry but other people aren’t so fortunate 😉 ( tongue firmly in cheek there )
  
  I used to dye my hair burgundy though..
- Clare Nevin answered on 17 Mar 2014:
  
  Yes, what Divya said!

Question: I know this may not have anything to do with your proffesion, however why do people's hair turn Grey??