GRAY HAIRS: STAYING BLACK WITHOUT DYES

Rahul Biswas, Kartik Sehgal(B.Tech Biotechnology, Graphic Era University)(B.Tech Biotechnology, Graphic Era University)

ABSTRACT• These days everyone is troubled by falling hair and their hair going gray at

some age group or the other. Most of the people are trapped in the gimmicks of hair clinics without knowing what they exactly do to restore the hair loss. Here is a poster to make you aware about the exact mechanism taking place in the scalp that does the trick and makes such changes, that changes our prestige into trouble. The idea is to restore the enzymes that get degraded due to the oxidative stress and the enzyme that prevents our skin from going gray. If we can manage to restore these magical enzymes in the body, then we can definitely stop using the synthetic dyes.

• Keywords: hair scalp, enzymes, gray hair,scalp,skin,stress.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM• People these days are troubled with their

shiny black hair turning gray.• To prevent this, they resort to using synthetic

dyes and hair colors, and are ultimately trapped in the gimmicks of fake hair clinics.

• People consider the synthetic dyes and hair colors as a great measure to temporary color their hair and no one notices the damage done to the hair by these chemicals.

• There may be many causes that cause graying of hair, both internal and external.

CAUSES OF HAIR GRAYING:INTERNAL

• Degradation of melanin-producing melanocytes in hair follicle. • Accumulation of Hydrogen peroxide in hair follicle in significant

amounts.• Vitamin B-12 deficiency or problems in pituitary

or thyroid gland • Lipid Peroxidation• Hereditary factors. • Chronic health ailments

INTERNAL FACTORS• Depletion of key enzymes like catalase, MSR-A, MSR-B(methionine sulfoxide reductase) that are responsible for

breakdown of hydrogen peroxide and stabilization of free radicals.

• Blockage of melanin producing enzyme, tyrosinase by the action of oxidative stress(hydrogen peroxide), or some mutation.

• Changes(inactivation or over-expression) in “wnt” gene pathways such as mutation, or stress inactivation.

EXTERNAL FACTORS• Poor diet planning.• Use of commercial shampoos.• Use of commercial scented hair oils. • Use of commercial hair colours / dyes.• Smoke genotoxicants • Pollutants• Prolonged exposure to UV-A or UV-B.• Mental stress and prolonged pressure

ROLE OF HAIR GROWTH CYCLE• The telogen stage indicates a temporary stop in the activity of melanocytes, and the activation is caused by Shh signalling pathways.

• BMP-4(bone morphological protein) is a major inhibitor of the Shh(Sonic hedgehog) pathway, but another protein known as noggin blocks the BMP-4, hence allowing a smooth hair growth.

• Hence, any external or internal factor or a genetic mutation which is capable of inhibiting the noggin protein can cause graying of hair, and also stop hair growth.

ADVANCES IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HAIR GRAYING

• The scientists working at the hair color company, L'Oreal, are using an enzyme, TRP-2 to develop a pill that could, according to them, convert gray hair into black.

• Naito et al. have found that lipid peroxides(linolein hydroperoxide) can induce the production of free radicals, that can cause apoptosis in hair follicle cells, as well as epidermal keratinocytes and melanocytes.

• It has also been found that apoptosis of hair follicle cells leads to early onset of catagen phase.

• Harman et al. first proposed this 'free radical theory of aging‘ in 1956. This theory was given in relation to aging of hair, and hence graying.

ADVANCES IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HAIR GRAYING

• Wood et al. have demonstrated for the first time that human white scalp hair shafts accumulate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in millimolar concentrations, and almost absent catalase and methionine sulfoxide reductase (MSR) protein expression in association with functional loss of methionine sulfoxide repair in the entire gray hair follicle.

• Scientists at Kanazawa University(Japan) are leading a study that states that genotoxic stress is responsible for DNA damage in the hair, that also causes hair greying.

• Mosley and Gibbs were the first to indicate a relationship between smoking and graying of hair .

COMMON METHODS USED FOR TURNING GRAY HAIR INTO BLACK HAIR

• Use of hair colorants / dyes.• Use of commercial shampoos and hair-coloring gels.• Consumption of supplements recommended by fake clinics.

HAIR DYE INDUSTRY- BUSINNESS REVIEW

• The world hair care products industry witnessed 3% expansion in 2010, generating revenue of almost $49 billion and volume sales of more than 15 billion units, according to MarketLine.

• In the year 2003, the consolidated sales of L'Oreal was €14.029 billion and net profit was €1.653 billion.

• The market is expected to reach almost $58 billion in 2015, representing 18% expansion over a five-year period. The market should hit a volume of almost 18 billion units in 2015 for a 19% growth rate.

• The entire worldwide cosmetic industry, sales reach about $170 billion a year, out of which the contribution of hair care industry is about 20%($34 billion). It’s distributed pretty uniformly around the world with ~$40 billion in the Americas, ~$60 billion in Europe, ~$60 billion in Australia & Asia, and another $10 billion in Africa.

OUR AIM AND HYPOTHESIS• Manipulation of pathways like BMP-4 such that it doesn't activate

to cause graying.• Using genetic manipulations to increase the production of

enzymes such as tyrosinase, MSR-A, MSR-B, Catalase.• Genetic manipulations in the codon of TRP-2, so that it protects

melanocytes inside the hair as well.• Formation of a mixed compound that is a mixture of enzymes like

catalase, MSR-A & MSR-B, tyrosinase and TRP-2.

IMPACT OF THIS PROJECT• Unique treatment for gray hair.• No synthetic dye or color to be used.• Better understanding of aging processes.• Consumption of diet rich in anti-oxidants.• Awareness among people about ill effects of hair colors, gels,

scented oils and mental stress.• Better understanding of implications of pollution.

REFERENCES• NCBI article by Ralph M Trüeb• NCBI: Studied on free radicals, anti-oxidants and co-factors byKhalid Rahman• https://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/study-finds-cure-gray-hair-8212-finally-133700194.html• http://www.webmd.com/beauty/hair-nails/abcs-premature-graying• http://news.sciencemag.org/2009/06/gray-hair-signals-battered-dna• The FASEB Journal • FJ Express Full-Length Article Towards a “free radical theory of graying”: melanocyte apoptosis in the aging human hair follicle is an indicator of

oxidative stress induced tissue damage by Petra Clara Arck,†,1 Rupert Overall,*,1 Katharina Spatz,* Christiane Liezman,*

Bori Handjiski,† Burghard F. Klapp,‡ Mark A. Birch-Machin,§ andEva Milena Johanne Peters*1,2• *Cutaneous Neuroimmunology, Biomedical Research Center, University Medicine Charite´, Virchowand Mitte Campus; †Psychoneuroimmunology, Biomedical Research Center, University MedicineCharite´, Virchow Campus; and ‡Internal Medicine, Psychosomatics, University Medicine Charite´,Mitte Campus, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany; and §Dermatology, Medical School,University of Newcastle, UK• BIOLOGY OF AGING by National institute of aging, National Institute of Health, U.S department of Health and Human

Services.