Halting / reversing gray hair

Paradox wrote:

I'm going to try a course of Mega Hydrate http://tinyurl.com/7e27vo5
and see how it performs. If anyone is over 40, they should take melatonin for added help.

How are they claiming that it "may be the world's most powerful antioxidant"? What is the most powerful AO in your opinion CS? Would it be EC? Can't they measure things on the ORAC scale to know definitively?

EC is not the most powerful antioxidant, however, it is quite potent compared to most. The main benefits of ECE are unrelated to its antioxidant capacity. I'm not certain if silica hydride is in fact the highest in free radical scavenging, however I have heard interesting things and have had interesting experiences with it.

I've been off it for a while, so I'm going to give it another round and see if it helps with graying hair.

CausticSymmetry wrote:EC is not the most powerful antioxidant, however, it is quite potent compared to most. The main benefits of ECE are unrelated to its antioxidant capacity. I'm not certain if silica hydride is in fact the highest in free radical scavenging, however I have heard interesting things and have had interesting experiences with it.

CS, are there new studies on ecklonia cava ?

Yes, plenty of them.

CausticSymmetry wrote:Yes, plenty of them.

Could you show some please? The newest if possible. Thanks.

What about PABA for white hair? but I read it's dangerous too.

There's "too many," so here's just some:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22167943
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22504843
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22496756
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22465981
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22387226
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22363250
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22286230
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22259673
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22227338

Is PABA dangerous? No, you might be thinking of the skin products.

CausticSymmetry wrote:Is PABA dangerous? No, you might be thinking of the skin products.

Both are dangerous:

The Physician's Desktop Reference (PDR) reports that PABA has been used in oral form to treat the muscle disease dermatomyositis, female infertility, scleroderma (a condition that causes skin to harden), vitilago (a disease that causes the skin to lose pigment in patches) and other health problems. For some of these conditions, PABA is believed to work by blocking the formation of excess collagen. However, the PDR warns that PABA can have adverse respiratory complications. It is known to cause breathing problems and tightness in the chest and throat.

Oral doses of PABA are used beneficially for a variety of reasons including darkening gray hair in the elderly, helping to increase fertility in women and to increase the pigment of people suffering from vitiligo. However, according to vitaminstuff.com, many side effects are reported from oral consumption of PABA in doses of more than 1 gram such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fever and diarrhea. If a person overdoses they can go into a coma, or in the worst cases, die.


In 1991, the journal Digestive Disease and Sciences reported that a man taking oral PABA for an erectile problem presented with a high fever, weakness, muscle pain and liver toxicity. Once the PABA was discontinued, his fever returned to normal, pain subsided and liver enzymes improved. Since this report, studies have shown that although rare, PABA can produce abnormal liver function tests. In 2008 researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada linked oral PABA to six cases of liver toxicity. Their findings prompted them to call for an immediate discontinuation of its use.

Dessicated liver, blackstrap molasses, seaweed, and diatomaceous earth all have potential to prevent/reverse graying.
Just as an experiment I'm also trying this: http://www.wakeupontime.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=GO%20AWAY%20GRAY

Of course, this takes time and patience. Hair isn't going to naturally recolor overnight.

I've only ever read negative reports on 'Go away grey' mate !

Yeah, I saw all the one-star reviews at Amazon.
Well, I don't have a lot of expectations (nor do I have a lot of gray) and it sounds like it would help hair in any case. So, we'll see!

Hi, I am brand new here--I started taking 3g melatonin a year ago, as suggested by my doctor for cluster headaches. Cluster headaches only present themselves for me during the winter months, so I took it for about a year before I noticed results for the headaches. When I saw that it helped the headaches, I doubled my dosage to 6 mg. per day. I have now noticed results with the color of my hair.

I noticed that I had a spot on the crown of my head that had previously been very white. I never really had much grey anywhere else, but the spot on the crown is now mostly my natural color. Somewhat salt and pepper, but my hairdresser has suggested that I start extending my coloring appointments, and I am hoping to eliminate them entirely. I am 68. I also have fpb, which is why I have joined this forum.

Thats great to hear.

Was the melatonin all you were taking ?

Just can you soley attribute the colouring to that ?

And did it take 3 years to reach the colour.

thS,

To answer all of your questions in order: I was taking other things, but nothing specifically for hair color. To list--Vit B complex pill, Vit D3, Saw palmetto, Fish oil, and a probiotic. Prescriptions: estrogen, progesterone, and Armour thyroid.

Yes, I'm pretty sure the melatonin was the reason my hair turned dark again.

No, it definitely did not take three years. Since I was not taking the melatonin to get rid of grey, I am a little hazy on the timeline because I was not focused on the color. The spot that changed was at the back of my head, and not visible straight on. My doctor told me to start taking melatonin about a year ago. At that time, I thought it was for sleep issues associated with cluster headaches. I started taking 3 mg a night. Clusters are seasonal, so when the cycle rolled around again, I noticed that my headaches were not nearly as severe. Then I saw a program on the Doctors a few months ago about melatonin. It nudged me to do some research, and I found that melatonin specifically treated cluster headaches. I then doubled my dosage.

A few weeks later, I bought a small book by a Dr. Martin called "If you can cook, you can make powerful topical remedies for hair loss." In it was a topical recipe for melatonin, and there was an anecdotal statement about a woman who had taken it as an antioxidant for cancer. She related that her hair had gone from grey to it's natural color. I quickly ran into the bathroom and got a mirror to see if in fact my spot at the back of my head had changed. It had! Since I have only been taking the larger dosage for only a few months, I feel that it works pretty quickly.

I would be careful with melatonin, as it is actually a hormone. Nowhere have I found a suggested dosage. Even my doctor was hazy on the dosage, so I started out with the smallest dosage possible. Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland deep in the brain. It is documented that "night shift workers" have a disrupted production of melatonin. I was an International flight atttendant for many years. Even so, I didn't have much grey, mostly salt and pepper, except for that one large skunk strip in the back of my head.

http://www.infoisus.com/naturalhealtharchives/grouppekurosawa.typepad.com/quality_of_life_blog/2008/06/the-reversal-of.html

Thanks, Hellwig. That is the doctor that wrote the book I spoke of. He didn't mention in the book the dosage she was taking, but I see that it was 50 mg/day. I achieved a color change with 6 g/day. I don't know if my result was typical, but I did buy some 10 mg pills and took them for a couple of days. I had what I thought were some side affects, headaches and a stuffy feeling. It could have been from something else, and I will try again with the higher dosage another time.

Getting rid of grey is not high on my list of priorities, but I will keep the board posted about my gradual exit from coloring my hair. As I mentioned in a prior post, I took the melatonin for cluster headaches, and I would really, really like to never have them again, but there seems to be no cure. My second priority is to grow back hair that started to fall out a few years ago. It seems that no matter what I do, the shed increases. I am in the process of purchasing the supplements that have been recommended for female hair loss in this forum.

Sorry about your headaches mistyisland. I am sure there must be a remedy. Don't give up!

If you can do the headstand or a modified version, that could help both with the headaches and the hair. Those are a couple of the conditions positively
affected by headstand.

Tara Stiles demonstrates some Yoga moves for headaches, including headstand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENphC40be_o

Re that page Hellwig posted on reversal of gray hair, the guy seemed to think topical antioxidants were the answer. Extra virgin olive oil is my favorite topical and it's rich in antioxidants.
From a page on olive oil benefits:

Research now shows that many of olive oil’s health benefits may actually come from the more than 30 plant compounds it contains. These compounds’ antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects promote heart health and protect against cancer.

I used to take melatonin at various times, at one point for sleep, at another time just for the antioxidant benefit. Maybe I'll start up again.

Hi Delphine, thanks for the encouragement on the headaches. Actually the profile for the headaches are young men between the ages of 25-39. I am neither, but I did thoroughly mess up my body by working all nighters to Sydney. I guess once the pineal gland is messed up, there is no going back. There are some really strange treatments that the people on the cluster headache forum swear by: oxygen, botox, melatonin, and the water cure.

I'm not sure if Dr. Martin was speaking of grey hair or hair regrowth, but in his book he has several formulas for topical treatments for hair loss. Melatonin, L carnitine, and green tea were included. They were mostly mixed with alcohol, but I thought that would be way too drying.

I'm not sure about the headstands, as I am 68 with some back issues. Olive oil sounds great, but it must get really mucky in the hair. I have been using coconut oil, which is an easy oil to wash out. I will probably switch off with olive oil once in a while, since you have mentioned all of the anti-inflammatory benefits.

I actually find olive oil is easier to wash out than coconut oil. I don't use a lot, just enough to saturate my fine textured hair. It works really well for deep conditioning and seems to leave my hair stronger.

I would not be so sure your pineal is irretrievably messed up, although those all-nighters to Sydney sound harsh. Have you heard of the Tibetan Five Rites of Rejuvenation? There's
a ton of info about them online. They are specifically aimed at normalizing the chakras and thus the glands, including the pineal.

Dr. Oz demonstrated the 5 Rites quite well recently. Here is the link to watch the demonstration:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/tibetan-rites-practice

Here is a link to broader information about health that is related to Tibetan monks:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/tibetan-health-secrets?hs317=billboard_1

Delphine, thanks for that video. I found a dvd on Amazon that I might get. Why do you think that will restore my pineal gland? It is certainly worth a try. The World Health Organization has declared "night shift work" to be a carcinogen, so anything I can do to combat that would be useful.

mistyisland wrote:Delphine, thanks for that video. I found a dvd on Amazon that I might get. Why do you think that will restore my pineal gland? It is certainly worth a try. The World Health Organization has declared "night shift work" to be a carcinogen, so anything I can do to combat that would be useful.

I've studied and practiced the Tibetan Five Rites for about 8 years now mistyisland. They are founded on the concept of normalizing the spin of the chakras, which are connected to the glands of the endocrine system. Eastern teachers call chakras "lotus flowers" because they have varying numbers of petals and a long stem that attaches to the spine. The crown chakra, for example, is said to have a thousand petals. It's connected to the pineal.

More chakra/gland correspondences:

First Chakra - Adrenal Glands

Second Chakra - Gonads/Ovaries

Third Chakra – Spleen/Pancreas

Fourth Chakra – Thymus

Fifth Chakra – Thyroid/Parathyroid

Sixth Chakra – Pituitary Gland

When the chakras are out of balance or spinning too slowly, this manifests as disease in the body region governed by the chakras. It seems significant that you have chronic headaches, since as you say, your pineal is messed up, and it's in the region of the head.

You may wish to check out this book: The Chakras and the Human Energy Fields by Shafica Karagulla and Dora Van Gelder Kunz. They document over 200 cases linking specific chakras with
particular illnesses. A preview is available online through Google Books.

Anyway, that's why I think the Rites could possibly help your pineal and thus your headaches. In any case, IMO they can only help. You may wish to check out the reviews on Amazon
for a short 'n sweet book on the Rites:
http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Secret-Fountain-Youth-Kelder/dp/038549162X

Good luck and keep us posted!

Molasses!

I use 50-100g and it seems to have some effect (not so long that I started).

In Leslie Kenton's book Ultra Health, blackstrap molasses is listed as one of the top hair foods along with sea veggies and liver.

Delphine wrote:
In Leslie Kenton's book Ultra Health, blackstrap molasses is listed as one of the top hair foods along with sea veggies and liver.

I've read this as well - but thought it was due to the copper content. I've been taking copper for some time now with no noticeable benefit.

CausticSymmetry wrote:I'm going to try a course of Mega Hydrate http://tinyurl.com/7e27vo5
and see how it performs. If anyone is over 40, they should take melatonin for added help.

CS, have you watched any videos of the inventor? He seems like a nut and his according to http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Patrick-Flanagan "his medical degree originates from Medicina Alternativa, a Sri Lankan organization which is generally unrecognized as a bona fide academic institution and has been called a degree mill." And I've seen nothing on the internet about where his "advanced degrees in nanotechnology, chemistry, bio-sciences and medicine" came from.

And according to http://www.chem1.com/CQ/FlanBunk.html, in response to the claim "When Microhydrin comes in contact with stomach fluids, the formulation time-releases negatively charged hydrogen ions." - "These are called hydride ions H–. Any release of such ions would decompose water into hydrogen gas (H2) and hydroxide ions (OH–); it would be equivalent to introducing lye into your body. Do you really want this?"

scottyc33 wrote:

Delphine wrote:
In Leslie Kenton's book Ultra Health, blackstrap molasses is listed as one of the top hair foods along with sea veggies and liver.

I've read this as well - but thought it was due to the copper content. I've been taking copper for some time now with no noticeable benefit.

Blackstrap has a lot more hair and general health benefits than just its copper content.

http://www.grammasintl.com/html/features/feature_molasses.asp

"Composition
Carbohydrate, protein, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, copper, zinc, chromium, ash, silica and other trace minerals.

BENEFITS :
Molasses is reportedly beneficial for and may help the following conditions: cancer tumours - heart disease - strokes - arthritis - joint pains - skin disorders (dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, plus improves the skin) - high & low blood pressure - diabetes - ulcers - varicose veins - indigestion - constipation - gum disease - anaemia - bladder troubles - gallstones - senility - alzeheimers - nervousness - calms aggression - strengthens nails, teeth, bones & hair - improves mental alertness / concentration - slow down the aging process.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS :
taken from the book 'Crude black Molasses' (by Dr. Lust and Cyril Scott).
Molasses comes from the sugar-cane plant, whose roots grow as deep as 15 feet, enabling it to collect all the essential trace elements of soluble 'mineral-salts and vitamins' found deep within the earth's crust.
Fertile Soil contains the same minerals that make up our bodies. Plants are able to extract these minerals directly from the soil and then convert them into a soluble form which makes it easy for us to digest. Our digestive juices, hormones and enzymes consist mainly of these minerals in solution. Therefore, the 'liquid minerals' found in plants are our purest, most digestible and perfectly balanced form of nourishment.

The majority of diseases and illnesses are caused from a deficiency of these mineral-salts & vitamins. It is therefore, paramount that our blood, cells, tissues and bones are continuously supplied with these, in order to maintain our health. The rich source found in molasses - especially potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, ash and silica - keeps the blood in an alkaline state, which prevents it becoming acid. It has been scientifically proven that DISEASE cannot survive in ALKALINE BLOOD. Additionally, it's a rich source of the 'Vitamin B group', extremely high in vitamin B6 and also contains a germicide which destroys harmful bacteria in the intestinal track. Gram for gram - molasses contains six times more calcium as cow's milk and twice as much iron as liver."

Update on taking melatonin for hair color reversal---

I stopped coloring my hair because my use of melatonin for cluster headaches had darkened my hair to what I thought was my natural color. It did darken it, but now that I have quite a few weeks of the natural regrowth, I see that it is a darker shade of gray, not a color that I want to keep. I will be recoloring my hair.

I was taking 10 mg of melatonin, and my doctor has recently lowered it to 6 mg. The woman in the study that mentioned her hair was back to the natural color was taking 40 mg as a cancer antioxidant. Since melatonin is a hormone, it would be best to get a doctor's advice for higher dosages.