Pulling Out Gray Hair: A Do or Don’t? [Poll]

The first time my stylist pulled a gray hair out of my head, I don’t know which shocked me more: the existence of the gray hair or the pain from her pulling it out. If you regularly pull out your gray hairs, you may wonder whether or not you should. No, you don’t need to worry that pulling a gray hair will magically make more of them appear. But that doesn’t mean you should continue pulling them out. Here’s what you should know before you pull another gray hair.

Do you regularly pull out your grays? Let us know below, then keep reading.

Think about This the Next Time You Pull Out Your Grays

Any hair you pull out, grays included, will generally grow back one-for-one. Not three more, or ten more, any more than the one hair you pulled. However, the gray hair you pull out will still be gray when it grows back.

In addition to lack of pigment, the texture of gray hair is coarser than naturally pigmented hair. It will grow back just as coarse and just as gray as it was before.

But You Still Shouldn’t Pull Your Grays

Even though pulling out grays won’t cause extra ones to grow back, you still shouldn’t pull them out, because it often leads to unpleasant consequences.

When you pull out a hair and see a white bulb, that’s normal. If the root tip is red, however, that means you’ve probably detached the hair from the blood supply, and it likely won’t grow back. Plucking may traumatize the hair follicle, and continued trauma to the follicle can cause infection, scarring, and even bald patches.

It’s much safer to use henna, or other natural hair-dye or harmless hair color. Or you can just let your hair go gray and leave everything as it is. Whatever you decide, be sure to take care of your hair and repair any damage, and you’re sure to have a beautiful head of hair, no matter the color.