Pseudocatalase: Researchers Discover Way to Reverse Gray Hair

The age of silver foxes and vanity dye jobs may soon be over, according to a group of European researchers. A new topical treatment, activated by ultraviolet promises to reverse the process that grays human hair — which occurs when hydrogen peroxide accumulates in hair follicles, and they bleach themselves from the inside out.

The treatment was also seen to heal Vitiligo, a condition that causes de-pigmentation in sections of the skin and affects approximately 2 million Americans. Michael Jackson was rumored to suffer from the condition, which led to him choosing to bleach his skin. The pseudocatalase cream is simply applied to the affected regions of the body, and once activated by sunlight, pigmentation rapidly returns.

While some people celebrate their salt and pepper looks, gray hairs have often been associated with stress and an early sign of our body's waning youth. Though no commercial release date has been given for the pseudocatalase lotion, the treatment is sure to match the popularity of wrinkle creams and plastic surgery.

While I appreciate that advances in hair coloration can increase people's quality of life, I would prefer to see occasional breakthroughs in the medical field that weren't centered on vanity. Our ludicrous healthcare costs and restrictive patents on life-saving medicines essentially kill people by making treatments inaccessible, while we focus on long-lasting erections and weight loss cures. That is when we're not too busy funneling little blue Adderall pills down our children's throats to stop them being too playful or distracted.

Obama's increased focus on scientific research, brain mapping, and technological investments should be a precursor to an era where we prioritize and share in the boons of medical discoveries. Farms were once subsidized in order to feed hungry Americans, but now that more people are dying of obesity than starvation, perhaps it's time for the government to invest in scientists as fervently as they did farmers and oilmen.