Can someone with white hair grow back hair of their original color?

Can White Hair Regrow in Its Original Color?

Yes, white or grey hair can sometimes regrow in its original color, but this is uncommon and typically occurs only under specific circumstances—most notably when hair loss is caused by reversible conditions rather than age-related greying.

When Hair Color Can Return

Alopecia Areata-Related Repigmentation

• Alopecia areata can selectively affect pigmented hairs, leaving white hairs behind, and when hair regrows after treatment, it may return with normal pigmentation 1
• Repigmentation of white hair follicles has been documented after epithelial grafting for vitiligo with poliosis, with hair re-coloring occurring 4-11 months after treatment, likely due to stimulation of melanocyte stem cells 2
• In vitiligo patients, white hair within depigmented patches can sometimes regain color following successful treatment, though white hair is generally considered a poor prognostic sign 3

Stress-Related Temporary Reversal

• Recent research has quantitatively demonstrated that grey hairs can naturally regain pigmentation in humans across different sexes, ethnicities, ages, and body regions 4
• Hair greying and reversal can occur in parallel with psychological stressors, suggesting a threshold-based mechanism for temporary reversibility 4
• Grey hairs that reverse show upregulation of proteins related to energy metabolism, mitochondria, and antioxidant defenses 4

Chemotherapy-Related Changes

• After chemotherapy-induced alopecia, approximately 65% of patients experience changes in color and texture of newly grown hair, which may include temporary darkening of previously grey hair 5
• Some chemotherapy regimens have been associated with hair darkening, though most drug-induced changes result in lighter hair color 1

When Hair Color Cannot Return

Age-Related Greying (Canities)

• Age-related hair greying is generally irreversible and represents an exhaustion of the pigmentary potential of individual hair follicles, typically after the first 10 hair growth cycles 6
• The process involves melanocyte aging with reactive oxygen species-mediated damage to DNA, accumulation of mutations, and dysregulation of anti-oxidant mechanisms 6
• True age-related greying results from reduction in tyrosinase activity, sub-optimal melanocyte-keratinocyte interactions, and defective melanocyte migration 6

Clinical Implications

Distinguishing Reversible from Irreversible Cases

• Spontaneous repigmentation along the same individual hair shaft can occur in early canities, and melanocytes from grey and white hair follicles can be induced to pigment in vitro 6
• The hair follicle pigmentary unit may have regenerative potential even after producing white hair fibers, though this is not typical in advanced age-related greying 7

Important Caveats

• When underlying metabolic, nutritional, or acquired disorders causing hair color changes can be corrected, hair color usually returns to normal 1
• However, for typical age-related greying in older adults, there is no established treatment to restore original hair color permanently 6, 7
• The "flag sign" pattern of alternating pigmented and depigmented bands along hair shafts can result from nutritional insults or medications, and may reverse when the cause is addressed 1

In summary, while temporary repigmentation is possible in specific circumstances (stress-related changes, disease-related hair loss, or correctable underlying conditions), age-related greying in most adults is permanent and irreversible.