Grey hair less prevalent in over-60s than previously thought

London - Men and women of a certain age, who are often plagued by cynical suggestion of reliance on hair dye due to absence of grey hair, may find relief in a new study that indicates one in ten lucky over-60s do not have any grey hair.

Overall, the worldwide study found that the prevalence of grey hair in men and women was less than previously thought.

The survey was conducted by the research and development arm of cosmetics manufacturers L’Oreal to establish global trends about when people go grey, the Telegraph reported.

The researchers set out to test a widely-accepted “rule of thumb” in the cosmetics industry, that the age of 50, 50 percent of the population had at least 50 percent grey hair.

In fact, the new study found that less than a quarter of those taking part had that much grey hair at that age. In many parts of the world, it was a substantially lower proportion.

The research involved an analysis of the natural hair colour of more than 4,000 men and women, from a range of ages and ethnic backgrounds, from more than 20 different countries, including the UK.

The study found that, overall, of those between 45 and 65 years old, 74 percent had some grey hair, covering an average of 27 percent of their head.

As expected, the numbers of people with grey hair increased with age, as did the amount of grey.

Among those between 45 and 50 years old, 63 percent had some grey hair, covering around a fifth of their hair. This increased to 78 percent of people between 51 and 55. In this group, an average of 26 percent of their hair was grey.

In 56 to 60 year olds, 86 percent of those studied had some grey and in the final category, from 61 to 65 year olds, 91 percent had grey hair, covering an average of 40 percent of their hair.

They also found that grey hair was more common in men (78 percent) as compared to women (71 percent).

The study has been published in the British Journal of Dermatology.