Why Vitiligo Turns Hair White, and Why Hair Follicles Matter

Vitiligo does not only affect skin. Eyebrows, eyelashes, beard hair, and patches of scalp hair can turn white too. Hair follicles also hold the key to getting color back. Here is how it works, and why it matters for treatment.

Important note: This page is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please talk with a dermatologist about diagnosis and treatment.

Why Hair Turns White

Hair gets its color from pigment cells (melanocytes) at the base of each hair follicle. When the vitiligo immune attack reaches those cells, the hair grows in white. The medical term is leukotrichia. It can happen inside a vitiligo patch on the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or beard, and sometimes as a single white streak, called poliosis.

Not every hair inside a vitiligo patch turns white. In many patches, the hairs keep their color for years even though the skin around them is white.

The Hair Follicle: A Pigment Cell Reservoir

Each hair follicle has a reserve of young pigment stem cells in an area called the bulge. When the skin is stimulated, for example by narrowband UVB, those cells can multiply and travel out into the white skin. That is why repigmentation often starts as small brown dots around hairs, which slowly grow and join together.

Pigment can also return from the edges of a patch, and sometimes from surviving pigment cells within it. But the follicles are the most important source.

What This Means for Treatment

• Dark hairs in a patch are a good sign. They show that pigment cells are still there to restart color.
• White hairs in a patch are harder to treat. When follicle pigment cells are gone too, medical treatments and light therapy often work less well in that spot. Grafting or cell transplant procedures may be considered for stable patches.
• Areas with few hairs respond slowly. Hands, feet, lips, and fingertips have few or no hair follicles, which is a big reason they are the hardest areas to repigment.

Gray Hair and Vitiligo Research

Researchers studying ordinary graying have found that hydrogen peroxide builds up in hair follicles as we age, and that this oxidative stress plays a role in hair losing its color. Vitiligo skin shows similar stress. Some headlines have called this a cure for vitiligo. It is not, but it is one more reason scientists study antioxidants and ways to protect pigment stem cells. Research into waking up follicle stem cells is one of the most hopeful areas in vitiligo science today.

Covering White Hair

• Scalp hair, beards, and eyebrows can be colored with regular hair dye. Do a patch test first, since some hair dyes contain chemicals that can irritate skin.
• Brow pencils, powders, and tinted brow gels work well for white eyebrow hairs.
• Ask a dermatologist before dyeing eyelashes, since products near the eyes carry extra risk.

Keep Learning

• Vitiligo, Hair Follicles, Hormones, and Segmental Research
• Vitiligo Repigmentation Stories
• Vitiligo Treatments in 2026