7 fitness bloggers who don't hide their gray hair

The trend for gray hair has reached world sports. More and more often you can see professional athletes, fitness trainers, soccer players, hockey players in a natural look. They do not hesitate to show gray hair, actively publish photos in social networks. Thus, athletes declare that the internal component, achievements, professionalism, rather than generally accepted standards of beauty, is more important to them. Also… It seems that they want to rewrite these standards, showing that gray hair can look very cool.

Alas, not all fans are sympathetic to the natural-looking trend. Fans are divided into two camps: those who admire the courage of their idols, and those who condemn them, categorically not accepting such images. Pages in social networks of athletes are full of thousands of comments. There is both admiration and bewilderment with calls to “clean up your act”.

Yoga instructor Anna Vesna

Athletes who decided to show the world public their gray hair, meanwhile, calmly treat attacks from the outside. Let’s not forget that these people have reached the heights and have a strong-willed and strong character. They boldly demonstrate their natural image and are not going to hide the silver color under the paint. Some even specially color their hair in an ash shade!

Footballer Robin van Persie

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When did the trend for gray hair originate?

The turning point here can be considered to be 2021 – the time after the covida pandemic. People forced into isolation were unable to visit hairdressers. Everything that was previously hidden became obvious. And stars were no exception, as the pandemic leveled the playing field.

Many celebrities realized that it no longer makes sense to hide their natural image. Some even skillfully incorporated gray hair into an individual style, and many it really suited. The first stars with a silver hue on their hair hit the red carpet during the Cannes Film Festival. Even actresses were not ashamed of gray strands.

Andie MacDowell at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021

After the trend was picked up by bloggers, artists and athletes. The silver shade of hair became popular. Public personalities declared with their appearance that gray hair is not a sign of lack of care, carelessness, aging, but a manifestation of naturalness and freedom of choice of lifestyle.

Fitness model Blakely Jones

A British international daily business newspaper in early 2023 even documented a new fashion trend among men and women. European journalists noted that more and more people are appearing in public with natural hair color. Famous directors, actors, footballers, hockey players become trendsetters and help to loosen up, love their appearance with all the imperfections.

Athletes have picked up the trend. More and more often you can see bodybuilders, fitness trainers, yoga teachers who are not shy to show their natural hair color to the public.

Bodybuilder and fitness trainer Pavel Ladziak

Does sports affect the appearance of early gray hair?

Hair turns gray when cells called melanocytes become damaged and die. They are responsible for the production of the pigment melanin. When it is deficient, growing hair takes on a white, silvery or gray hue. This process is influenced by genetics, individual characteristics of the body, diseases – congenital and acquired. Stress can cause early graying, but only indirectly. But professional sports and physical activity do not correlate with the appearance of a silver shade of strands.

Fitness model Tanya Darby

physician, plastic surgeon

“One popular belief that stress causes gray hair has not been scientifically proven. Nervous shocks can affect melanin production because they provoke vasospasms, causing hair follicles to be undernourished, but this is just speculation.

There are also no reliable facts that explain the appearance of silver color on the hair and because of exercise. Regular exercise cannot stop or reverse this process. There is no correlation between gray hair and athletic performance.”

Usually, the appearance of gray hair occurs on average by the age of 40-50. The rate of change depends on genetics, gender and even race. African-Americans tend to gray later than Caucasians, and Asians are somewhere in the middle. Women tend to gray later than men.

Pilates instructor Nikki Adams.

So what influences the onset of early gray hair?

The age at which you turn gray is determined primarily by genetics. So if one or both parents had silver strands at an early age, you are very likely to also have a similar hair color at the same time. The IRF4 gene is the culprit.

Smoking, bad habits and poor nutrition can also accelerate hair color change. Early graying can also be a sign of autoimmune, thyroid or heart disease.

Yoga instructor Katy

Poor ecology, excessive exposure to dyes with chemical composition, lack of proper hair care also affect the appearance of a silver shade. Thus, the presence of gray hair is not necessarily an indicator of health problems. It may be due to your genetic predisposition. There is no need to worry about it. Especially now, when the trend for naturalness is gaining momentum. Try to incorporate silver strands into your new image and love yourself.

At the same time, if gray hair suddenly caught up with you at a fairly young age and there is no one in the family who grayed early, it is a reason to consult a specialist. He will help to exclude the presence of diseases of the pituitary or thyroid gland, genetic abnormalities, especially autoimmune.