Myth: Plucking gray hair makes multiple gray hairs to appear

Plucking a gray strand will make multiple gray hairs to appear on your head. You might have heard this from several people. But it simply can't be true. If that were the case, old people would never go bald.

woman pulling gray hairs or worried about gray hairs on her head


All they would have to do is pluck their gray strands out one by one, which would then be replaced by several others and soon they would have a lush head of gray hair. And since camouflaging it by coloring or dyeing isn't exactly a difficult job, everyone would be pulling their hairs out by the fist if they would need more hair.

It's just a silly myth that has been passed on from generation to generation.



It's quite likely that people who had just started going gray noticed a stray white strand and plucked it out. A few days later when they found several such hairs making an appearance, attributed this to hair plucking and spread the word around. In reality, it was a mere coincidence, probably a part of the aging process or some other factor that hastened hair graying and certainly not a causal effect of hair pulling.

woman pulling gray hair

In fact, frequent plucking or pulling out gray hair or any type of hair for that matter can damage the roots and you could even experience thinning hair or hair loss due to traction aloepecia. That's why, waxing is often recommended by aestheticians as an inexpensive and  effective method of unwanted hair-removal, as it is seen that the hair pulling action over a period of time eventually slows down hair growth, leading to sparse hair in that area.

So if you need to get rid of the few gray hairs that have sprouted, instead of plucking them, try cutting them close to the roots. If reflexology or acupressure therapy fascinates you, then rubbing nails to prevent/delay gray hair is also a good idea.


So do you believe in such unscientific claims? What do you do to camouflage your gray hair?

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16 comments:

  1. Gray hair makes you look distinguished.

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  2. Sharada5:47 PM

    plucking grey is hair harmful.Avoid!! It can harm your hair follicles and damage your scalp. There are many home remedies or natural hair colors you can use.

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  3. My advise is to color hair if the greys bother you too much

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  4. Anuradha5:51 PM

    Hair grows white when the color pigment (melanin) ceases to be produced in the hair follicle and small air spaces take its place

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  5. Maithili5:51 PM

    Grey is the new blond. ;-)

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  6. Wow! I thought I was on to something when I switched over to the rubbing the nails together theory. I had planned to try it until I later read that it was also possibly a myth. Anyway, with the gray hair that I have there is little left to do but enjoy it and make it do what it do beautifully. Too, I can always put a wig on to cover the entire head of gray. Works like a charm unless, of course, some strands decide to stick out. Not a cute sight!

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  7. Nirmala4:37 PM

    Thanks for a nice tip.

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  8. Anonymous9:41 AM

    don't ever pluck gray hair!
    I have one or two white hairs...but i can't find them anymore. stupid stress was causing white hairs.

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  9. Thanks for the info!

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  10. Kusuma9:08 AM

    I'm so glad for this post!Those small details are
    very good.

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  11. Kratika9:09 AM

    This was really interesting. Thanks for sharing!

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  12. Pushkar10:51 AM

    More Grey hair will grow no matter if you pluck one or not. Hair is dead cell that's why it doesn't hurt when you cut it. Same as nails. I dont think the hair knows if you pluck it or not. So dont be too discouraged if you can get away with plucking a few hair go for it

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  13. Vijeta10:52 AM

    Hair grows white when the color pigment (melanin) ceases to be produced in the hair follicle and small air spaces take its place

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  14. Vijeta10:59 AM

    plucking out those gray strands is a bad habit. You can damage the roots, causing infection or leaving a scar.

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  15. Leela9:34 AM

    Should I pluck out my grey hairs?

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  16. No. That is extremely damaging. If you are so self-conscious about it then just color your hair.

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