Just spotted your first grey and still in your 20s? You are far from alone. Premature greying has emerged as the third biggest hair concern among young people, after hair fall and dandruff. Estimates say one in five people are greying prematurely, before their peers.

Grey hair has even made it to fashion magazines, with tips and tricks on how to rock the look without any accompanying wrinkles. Surely, it makes you look distinguished. But while you don’t live in denial and aren’t scrambling to hide, you do wish you could look as young as you feel.

Why are today’s young people greying so fast, anyway? 

You’ve heard that genes play a major role in the appearance of hair – from baldness and hair thickness to curliness and thickness of beards and eyebrows. So, not much luck there. Modern lifestyle factors – such as poor sleep, inadequate nutrition from diet and exposure to pollution – moreover, only add to this genetic vulnerability. These are some of the main reasons, we believe, our hair greys quicker. So, how do you address the problem? Understanding the mechanism behind greying hair can provide the starting point.

Melanogenesis

Grey hair is essentially hair with less melanin – the pigment which imparts colour to hair, skin and eyes. The production of melanin is called melanogenesis. It starts at the hair follicles which contain the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. As a hair follicle grows, melanocytes inject melanin into the keratinocytes – the cells in the top layer of hair. Essentially, hair gets its natural hue as it grows.

As you age, gradual depletion of melanin at the hair root leads to grey hair. This happens due to interruption in melanogenesis which occurs over time with the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in ageing hair follicles. Slowing down this weakening of melanogenesis, i.e. by increasing melanin at the hair root can delay the process of hair greying. How can this be achieved?

Hacking melanogenesis

Conventional advice harks on a healthy diet for proper nutrition and removal of hair stressors such as harsh hair care products, smoking and excessive stress. You can opt for topical solutions too, but they all either hide your greys or cover them up. Surely, there must be something you could do to tackle the problem right where it starts i.e. at the hair root?

The answer lies in nature. For centuries, chamomile flowers have been an integral part of trusted home remedies for their ability to stimulate hair growth and reduce scalp dryness. Apigenin – a compound known for its anti–inflammatory and antioxidant properties – is the key component in chamomile flowers that helps increase melanin in the hair roots.

A solution for the modern age

True Roots Botanical Hair Tonic by Marico combines potent botanical actives and apigenin extract from chamomile flowers to ensure melanogenesis proceeds smoothly. It is highly effective when used at the first signs of greying hair and stops new greys. Unlike tedious home remedies, expensive salon treatments and chemical-laden products, True Roots is a fuss-free tonic suited to the millennial lifestyle. It is an aqua based leave-on product, which means no washing off after application and no greasy residue. Moreover, it comes packaged as a handy spray that is easy to carry.

For a generation that values authenticity over beauty standards, True Roots provides a natural solution that tackles the problem of premature greying at the roots itself. It goes beyond temporary quick-fix solutions, into the natural chemistry of hair and increases the melanin in hair roots to produce visible results in three months with regular, daily application.

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To know more about True Roots Botanical Hair Tonic and how it works, click here. Follow True Roots on Facebook and Instagram to see how others are using it. You can buy True Roots online on Amazon, Flipkart or Nykaa or can also find it at a supermarket close by.

This article was produced by the Scroll marketing team on behalf of Marico and not by the Scroll editorial team.