It's been estimated that on average, hair starts to go gray in their late 30's. When they start to show, the temptation to take out the tweezers is real.
But if you pluck a gray hair, will more grow back?
"False," said Dr. Melissa Piliang, dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic. "It is a myth. It probably comes from people's natural increase in the number of gray hairs as they age," she said.
As we age, our hair follicles produce less melanin, the pigment-producing cells in each follicle. If you pull a gray hair, a new gray hair will grow in its place. It has no effect on surrounding hair, because each follicle has its own set of genetics.
Still, doctors say you should avoid pulling them.
"If you pull a hair occasionally, like, you're about to go to a big event, and a gray hair is sticking out, and you pull it out. It's not going to do much damage, you're going to be fine," said Dr. Piliang. "If you pull that hair every time it regrows for the next 5 years, you may instead of having one gray hair, having a bald spot," she explained.
However more and more women in Hollywood are choosing to embrace their gray hair. Recently, Jessica Biel, Rachel McAdams, and Katie Holmes were spotted in red carpet events, showing off their silver strands. Meanwhile others like Kim Kardashian and Rihanna have been seen going gray on purpose with shades of gray and lilac. In fact, Cosmopolitan magazine declared that ash gray will be a hot trend for 2019.