WASHINGTON – There are supplements on the market that help protect joints, bones and hearts. Now there are some that claim to keep hair from going gray.
Forget the drippy dyes. These pills claim to get rid of the problem, as it were, at the root.
They all contain the enzyme catalase that is said to counter-act the hydrogen peroxide produced naturally by the body. It is that peroxide that causes hair to go white, according to theories.
Small companies are making the supplements now, but there may be some big-time competition soon. Cosmetics giant L’Oreal tells USA Today that it is working on an anti-gray pill that could be on the market by 2015.
L’Oreal says it is focusing its research on another enzyme called TRP-2, which is found in pigment-producing cells.
Experts in hair disorders at distinguished hospitals and universities are by and large skeptical of claims any enzyme can prevent hair from turning gray.
They say these claims are not supported by science, and its genetics, along with other factors, that determines who goes gray and when.
WTOP’s Paula Wolfson contributed to this report. Follow @PWolfsonWTOP and WTOP on Twitter.
