20.1 Lesson 1: Canities (Gray Hair): Overview
- Canities, or graying of the hair is a non-contagious problem that is usually a consequence of aging (called canities senilis). However, canities can also be observed in young and middle-aged adults (called canities prematura).
- In most instances the development of gray hair is gradual and appears in different shades from dirty gray to silvery white.
- Rarely, all the hairs are involved immediately. Usually, only scattered hairs show the change at first, followed by newer hairs and so on until all the hairs are involved. Therefore, general grayness is only a slow progression.
- Certain parts of the scalp usually show the de-pigmentation first, especially the temporal region.