Some sources on the Internet say that colloidal copper helps against gray hair. Is that correct? Is it really enough to take copper and get your natural hair color back?
Can colloidal copper help against gray hair?
In our society, gray hair is not really popular. It often makes you look older than you are – and who wants that? Monthly coloring with chemical-rich hair colors is no fun either. All the more popular are the alleged miracle cures with which you can get your original hair color back without much effort.
Some people have tried onion juice as a traditional anti-grey hair remedy. However, the side effects of this method cannot be denied (penetrating onion smell, high effort) and the success is questionable.
There is another remedy circulating on the net that is far easier to use: colloidal copper. You should just take it for a while and the natural hair color will come back, they say.
Can Copper Deficiency Cause Gray Hair?
However, no concrete indications of the veracity and effectiveness of this measure can be found. There are a number of blog articles and also a few success stories in relevant forums. Apart from these scattered anecdotes, there seems to be nothing to prove it, at least nothing with a scientific basis – with one exception.
If there is a copper deficiency, it can actually lead to gray hair. Because the trace element copper plays an important role in the formation of melanin. Melanins are color pigments that turn the skin brown when exposed to sunlight but are also responsible for the different hair colors – red, brown, and black.
The enzyme tyrosinase is required for the formation of melanin – and it is precisely this enzyme that consists of copper, among other things. If copper is missing, no tyrosinase can be formed. Without tyrosinase there is no melanin. And without melanin, the hair turns gray or white.
Low levels of copper in people who get gray hair early
A 2012 Iranian study found a link between low copper status and premature hair graying. However, “premature” means “at a young age”. The 66 participants in the study were therefore all younger than 20 years. Their iron, zinc and copper levels were then examined and compared with the status of 66 non-grey peers.
It was found that the adolescents with gray hair had a lower copper level (around 90 µg/dL) and at the same time a higher iron level (108 µg/dL) than the non-greying control group (copper 105 µg/dL, iron 88.8 µg/dL). dL). The examination of the zinc level did not reveal any differences.
An excess of iron can contribute to a copper deficiency. If you take iron, be careful not to overdo it and end up not being iron deficient but becoming copper deficient.
If there is a copper deficiency, the deficiency should definitely be remedied
Anyone who discovers the first gray hairs at a young age could have their trace element supply checked and any deficiencies corrected. Of course, you can still have your mineral and trace element levels determined at an advanced age. Because defects should always be avoided or rectified – whether you have gray hair or not.
If you have a copper deficiency, it may actually be the case that your hair can return to its natural color if you take copper to correct the deficiency.
Copper deficiency: Other symptoms
Copper deficiency can also cause other symptoms, not just early gray hair:
- tiredness and difficulty concentrating
- pigment disorders of the skin
- susceptibility to infection
- hair loss
- depression
- brittle bones
- respiratory symptoms
- and more
Which copper preparation is suitable to remedy a copper deficiency in gray hair?
However, you do not necessarily have to take colloidal copper to correct a copper deficiency. There are many preparations with copper, e.g. copper bound to the amino acid glycine (copper bisglycinate chelate), which contributes to high bioavailability, since glycine can be easily absorbed through the intestinal mucosa.
Which foods contain a lot of copper?
At the same time, you can of course also eat more foods rich in copper, especially since you do not want to take supplements permanently, but only until the deficiency has been remedied. Copper-rich foods are then all the more important to prevent a renewed deficiency.
The copper requirement for teenagers and adults is given as 1 to 1.5 mg per day.
The plant foods richest in copper include the following (each mg of copper per 100 g of food):
- Low-fat cocoa powder: 3.8 mg
- Cashews: 3.7 mg
- Sunflower seeds: 1.9 mg
- Milk-free chocolate with a high cocoa content (from 70 percent): 1.8 mg
- Tahini: 1,7 mg
- Hazelnut: 1.6 mg
- Brazil and pecan nuts: 1.2 mg
- Chia seeds: 0.9 mg
- Almonds: 0.9 mg
- Buckwheat/buckwheat flour: 0.9 mg
- Walnuts: 0.9 mg
- Nutritional Yeast: 0.9mg
- Millet 0,8 mg
- grated coconut: 0.8 mg
Many other foods also contain copper in varying proportions. However, if you are already snacking on a small handful of nuts or seeds and a few bars of homemade chocolate or chocolate with a high cocoa content every day, then you basically no longer need any other source of copper. Of course, instead of chocolate, other recipes with cocoa can also be used to absorb higher amounts of copper.
Perhaps you are already taking rosehip powder to naturally optimize your vitamin C supply. Rosehip powder also contains copper – about 4mg per 100g. If you like the powder, e.g. if you take 10 g a day, this portion already covers a third of your copper requirement, although you always have to take into account that natural products have fluctuating vital substance contents.
Spirulina powder, parsley leaf powder, and dandelion powder, which many people use in their green smoothies, also provide 0.2 mg of copper per 10 g.
On the other hand, those who frequently eat liver or other offal run the risk of consuming too much copper, since liver provides around 7 mg of copper per 100 g.
If there is a copper deficiency, gray hair can disappear again after taking copper
So if gray hair is the result of a copper deficiency, correcting the deficiency can revitalize the hair. However, if there is no copper deficiency, the intake of copper will probably not be able to contribute to the natural hair color.
Although gray hair can be caused by stress, hyperacidity, vitamin deficiencies and an intestinal flora disorder, it generally does appear in middle or old age, although the general condition of gray hair can improve with a good supply of vital substances, comprehensive stress management, deacidification and intestinal cleansing. However, it rarely returns to its natural color as a result.
