🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Hair graying is a physiological phenomenon. Loss of melanocyte activity in the hair bulb leads to disappearance of pigment in the hair shaft. Premature graying before old age often has a family history, inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. Conditions such as pernicious anemia, hyperthyroidism, cardiovascular diseases, and severe emotional stress can cause gray hair. Long-term tuberculosis, malignancies, gastrointestinal diseases, and diabetes can also lead to early graying. Nutritional imbalance and protein deficiency can reduce hair pigmentation, turning hair brown or gray. Deficiency in essential fatty acids can also lighten hair color. Copper deficiency and lack of vitamins B, folate, and para-aminobenzoic acid can cause hair to turn gray or white. Excessive sugar intake can make hair yellow and brittle. Hypogonadism can trigger premature graying.
Early graying hair can be treated using internal herbal medicine, external herbal applications, dietary therapy, and tuina massage.
Internal Herbal Medicine
Use herbs such as Portulaca seed, white poria, dried rehmannia, alisma, club moss, ginseng, pine resin, and cinnamon bark. Grind into a powder, take twice daily on an empty stomach with warm wine. Suitable for middle-aged and elderly people with deficiency of essence and blood leading to graying hair. Alternatively, use herbs including chrysanthemum, chicory seed, inula flower, white poria, cinnamon bark, white芷, achyranthes, cubeb pepper, raspberry, and lycium fruit. Make into pills with honey, take on an empty stomach with warm wine, 30 pills per dose. Suitable for middle-aged and elderly people with liver-kidney yin deficiency leading to graying hair.
External Herbal Application
Use herbs such as angelica root, dry pine, gypsum, talc, sour pomegranate peel, mother clove, white sandalwood, myrobalan, and bletilla. Grind into powder, mix with rice vinegar into a paste, apply to hair, wrap with lotus leaf, wash off the next morning. This method can be used for hair coloring.
Dietary Therapy
Combine longan flesh, lotus seeds, jujubes, and glutinous rice to cook porridge. Consume twice daily for 15–30 consecutive days. Helps nourish qi and blood, promoting black hair.
Prevention of premature graying includes attention to nutrition: regularly consume purple rice, black beans, red beans, green beans, red lotus roots, black sesame seeds, walnuts, etc. Vegetables: carrots, spinach, purple radish tops, purple cabbage, mushrooms, black fungus. Animal products: black-boned chicken, beef, lamb, pork liver, softshell turtle, dark meat fish, sea cucumber. Fruits: jujubes, black jujubes, persimmons, mulberries, purple grapes. In general, any deeply colored (green, red, yellow, purple) foods contain pigments formed by interaction between plants and sunlight, which can supplement human pigments and benefit hair color health. Additionally, ensure sufficient protein, vitamins, etc. Eat more plant oils, less animal fats, limit sugar intake, and substitute with honey or brown sugar in moderation. Seek timely treatment for severe graying, maintain emotional well-being, avoid excessive tension and fatigue.