Treatments for graying hair could be categorized into the following basic approaches:

Cosmetic Treatments

Hair dying is the most convenient, most common and the oldest approach to treating gray hair. Hair dyes are formulated so that the molecules could penetrate through the hair cuticles without causing cuticle damage. While most hair dyes employ chemicals in their formulas, the most common ingredient being ammonia, there are also hair dyes that use vegetable colors for those who have concerns regarding applying dyes with chemicals on their hair.

Medical Treatments

What gives the hair color is the amount or the concentration of melanin that’s present in the body. Melanin gives skin color as well as hair color. It’s also a determinant whether a person will tan or burn in the sun. The production of melanin in the body slows down as a person ages. The purpose of medical treatments for graying hair is to reverse the slowing down process of melanin.

Application of Topical Nutrients

The following are universally accepted topical solutions that are applied to improve the nutrients that the hair receives and fight against graying hair. Some of these are ancient remedies and are proven trough time.

Eugenol Oil – Applied topically, the active ingredients of eugenol oil come from cloves. Eugenol oil has demonstrated to restore the color of the hair.
Amla Oil – This oil strengthens the follicles of the hair facilitates pigmentation and hair growth.
Ligustrum – Has long been used by the Chinese to prevent graying of hair.
Ashwagandha – This one increases the melanin in the hair treating the grays and giving back its color.
Superoxide Dismutase - Are compounds that are often found in hair gels to protect against graying of the hair.
Shampoos with Omega-3 – Omega 3 are anti-oxidants that fight against degrading of the cells. Omega-3 gives nutrition for the hair follicle to fight against premature graying.
Melanin – Could also be applied topically in the scalp.

There are also several nutrients for the hair that could be taken orally. They could be in combination with other drugs or are their main ingredients. These oral treatments could come in the form of capsules and tablets. Some of these are vitamin 12, minerals, Biotin, folic acid, Para – Aminobenzoic Acid, and Inositol.

Visiting the doctor

If you’re visiting the doctor for the first time to seek medical advice on your hair loss, expect that he or she will ask about your medical and family. The doctor will ask questions on your recent medical status to know if you underwent treatments that might cause this condition. He or she will also ask about your family’s history to know if the hair loss is caused by the genes or hereditary because this might indicate that you’re suffering from pattern baldness.
from flickr

Before going to the clinic or the hospital, it’s advisable to list down the foods that you eat and the medications you take if there are any. This will help the doctor find out faster what causes your condition.

Aside from asking questions, expect that the doctor will do examination on your hair and your scalp. This is extremely important so the doctor will know how much hair you’ve lost and what is the condition of your scalp. Be ready because the doctor will examine your scalp to know if there are signs and symptoms of infection such as redness, scaling or flaking. To be sure about the diagnosis, there will be a requirement to pull some of your hair strands to find out how string or weak it is. This test is called the “pull test”. Seeing how easy the hair comes out from the follicles will help the doctor determine which part of your hair is resting and which part is growing.

The doctor might also do the following set of tests during your visit:

1. Getting samples of skin scrapings.

If there are flakes or scrapings, the doctor will get samples of it and examine it to find out if there’s infection or what causes the condition.

2. The punch biopsy.

This is considered as the last alternative when all the tests are done and no result or diagnosis has been made. People who suffer from alopecia areata and scarring alopecia are asked to undergo this test immediately. Here, the doctor makes use of a piece of circular tool to be able to remove a small section from the deeper layers of the skin.

3. Blood tests.

This is usually not common in screening for hair loss but some doctors recommend it to find out if the condition might be caused by an underlying medical condition like autoimmune diseases.