Grey hair is something of a beauty phenomenon¹. Once hated by many as the ultimate, tell-tell sign of ageing, has now become a fashionable hair colour in its own right. Thanks to Instagram stars and bloggers, the trend took off and saw young women opting² to dye their own hair into soft white and grey hues³. #Greyhair has over 1.5 million hashtags on Instagram and the latest hashtag that seems to be taking off is #Grombre, a handle dedicated⁴ to mature women who want to show off their natural grey roots.

奶奶灰是一种美。以前，很多人都讨厌这种发色，因为这代表着衰老，但现在却已成为时尚潮流。感谢Ins上的明星和博士，奶奶灰变身潮流色，很多年轻姑娘都选择将头发染成柔软的奶奶灰色。Ins上已经有150万个关于奶奶灰的标签了，最新的一个标签为#Grombre，致力于让成熟女性展示她们的自然白头发。

At some point in your life you will go grey but research conducted by colour experts John Frieda states that 32 per cent of British women under the age of 30 have already started to go grey. In the past, your first grey-hair day may have arrived in your forties but nowadays some women are losing their natural colour as early as their twenties. Thankfully women are starting to embrace their grey roots; Mintel data research revealed that 68 percent of 25-64 year olds think 'it is acceptable to have grey hair'.

生命的某一刻，你的头发终将变白，但由色彩专家约翰·弗里达开展的研究表明：30岁以下的英国女性中，32%的女性已经开始长白头发了。早些年，人们40多岁的时候才可能长出第一根白头发，但现而今，有些女性早在20多岁就开始长白头发了。值得庆幸的是，女性对白头发持接受态度；研究机构敏特（Mintel）的研究数据显示：25至64岁的人群中，68%的人认为白头发是可以接受的。

What causes your hair to go grey?

为什么会长白头发？

"Hair goes grey when your colour-producing cells stop making pigment⁵, otherwise known as melanin," says hairstylist and owner of Neville Hair & Beauty, Neville Tucker. Going grey can also be caused by a buildup of naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide, that when left untreated, can cause a bleaching⁶ effect. As a general consensus⁷, Caucasians start going grey by early thirties, Asian hair in their late thirties and African by mid-forties.

"当色素细胞不再分泌色素时（即黑色素），你就会开始长白头发，"内维尔美容美发店（Neville Hair & Beauty）的发型师和老板内维尔·塔克说道。天然存在的过氧化氢的积聚也会导致白头发，如果不加以处理，会带来漂白效果。大家都知道，白种人30岁出头的时候会长白头发，亚洲人在30大几岁的时候开始长白头发，而非洲人则在45岁左右开始长白头发。

The new reason? Unhealthy hair

新的原因？头发不健康

Common reasons for going grey are age, a deficiency in vitamin B12 and sometimes a thyroid imbalance. However more recently it has been suggested that it could be caused by women having 'unhealthy hair'. "Due to the over-use of hair tools, styling products and environmental factors like pollution, our hair is less healthy than it used to be," says hairstylist and Hair Rituel Ambassador, Miguel Perez.

导致人们长白头发的常见原因如下：年龄增长、缺乏维生素B12、有时甲状腺失衡。然而，最近有人提出，这可能是女性头发不健康所致。"由于过量使用美发工具和定型产品，以及污染等环境因素的影响，我们的头发不似以往那般健康了，"发型师和Hair Rituel品牌大使Miguel Perez说道。