Rumor: hair is extremely important to a person, it reflects a person's life course. The ancients said, "Youth can't stay, but white hair comes naturally." Never sad, always accompanied by white hair. When the hair turns gray early, patients often have great psychological pressure, which gives birth to various so-called remedies for white hair. For example, the rumor mentioned in this article is that "white vinegar onion shampoo can treat white hair."

If you want to find a cure for white hair, you must first understand how it is produced.

Where does the white hair come from?

White hair, also known as early gray hair in western medicine, is called "juvenile white hair" in Chinese medicine, which refers to early gray hair in adolescence. The generation of white hair is caused by the obstruction of melanin production, the decrease of tyrosinase activity and the decrease of melanocytes. Genes related to tyrosinase activity play a major role in regulating the synthesis of melanin, while melanocytes are regulated by a specific transcription factor (MITF) in vivo, which is the basic element for the growth and survival of melanocytes, and is called "the main regulatory factor of melanocytes". Generally speaking, the gene regulating melanin synthesis in human body is abnormal, which leads to hair turning white, which explains why white hair often has the characteristics of family inheritance.

It should be noted here that premature gray hair may be caused by congenital inheritance or acquired physical problems. Traditional Chinese medicine divides white hair into many syndromes, such as qi stagnation and blood stasis, spleen deficiency and dampness excess, liver and kidney deficiency, liver qi stagnation, heart deficiency and so on. Too much white hair is often related to physical discomfort. In today's society, the pressure of life is great, and young people's white hair increases suddenly in a short time, which may also be affected by external mental pressure such as fear, anxiety and tension.

Is it feasible to wash your hair with white vinegar and onions?

From the analysis of chemical composition, hair is mainly composed of keratin, and the most suitable acidity for its growth is 4.5-5.5. The main components of white vinegar are acetic acid and water, and the pH value is about 2.9. Onion contains a variety of bioactive components, such as sulfur compounds, which are the volatile oil of onion and have strong tearing stimulation; In addition, it also contains steroidal saponins, flavonoids, polysaccharides and some small molecular components. There is no evidence that these components can increase tyrosinase activity and increase the number of melanocytes.

On the contrary, the strong irritating ingredients in onions will stimulate hair follicles to a certain extent, which will not only have no effect on treating white hair, but also make you feel uncomfortable when washing your hair. So it is undoubtedly wrong to say that white vinegar onion shampoo can treat white hair.

Tonify qi and blood, nourish hair.

Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that the growth of hair comes from the nourishment of qi and blood, and the hair is thick when qi and blood are sufficient; Deficiency of qi and blood can easily lead to hair turning white. At present, there is no effective chemical medicine for treating gray hair in western medicine, but we can still prevent acquired gray hair by reducing staying up late and avoiding mental stress such as anxiety and tension.

Although white vinegar and onions can't solve the sadness of white hair, I still hope that everyone can maintain good living habits and have beautiful black hair!

refer to

[1] Qu, Liu Ying. Research progress on the effect of traditional Chinese medicine on alopecia and its mechanism [J]. Journal of Clinical Chinese Medicine, 2017 (05):148-152.

[2] Si Fuchun, Meng Xianpei. Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome and Prescription Analysis of Alopecia and White Hair [J]. journal of traditional chinese medicine, China, 20 16(9):3785-3788.

[3] Wang,,, et al. Overview of pharmacological action and product development of onion [J]. China Food and Nutrition, 20 13,19 (11): 37-39.

Joe. Nourishing blood and promoting hair growth. China medical journal, 20 19-06-27(007).

Rumor expert:

Dr. Yao Hui, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine

Dr. Wu Yibo from peking university health science center is the head of the youth group of the Special Committee on Medical Popular Science Creation of the Chinese Popular Science Writers Association.

Review experts:

Tang Qin, researcher of Chinese Medical Association.