Heal House Vitiligo Research 03 · Original Article
Can white hair caused by vitiligo regain its color?
Repigmentation of poliosis in a patient with segmental vitiligo.
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In short
White hair in vitiligo patches usually does not regain its color. However, in very rare cases, color has returned. We report the course of one such patient.
When hair in a vitiligo patch also turns white, it is called poliosis (white hair). To be honest, white hair usually does not turn dark again. This is because the cells that can refill pigment are mainly located in the hair root, and in poliosis, that reservoir is also thought to be damaged. So even in my clinic, I have told patients, "This hair is difficult." However, very rarely, I met one patient whose difficult poliosis regained color. Because this is not a common occurrence, I considered it worth recording and reported it as a case.
Q1 How did white hair regain its color?
This patient received several treatments together. Protopic ointment was applied to the lesions, along with a short course of oral steroids and low-intensity phototherapy. After that, the white hair on the eyebrow and eyelid areas regained color. It appears that a small number of pigment cells remained deep in the hair roots. However, let me be clear: this is a single case. Most cases of poliosis do not turn out this way. I hope you read this report not as "poliosis can improve," but as a record that "very rarely, this has happened."
Closing remarks
The fact that white hair is difficult to reverse remains true even after this report. However, I have recorded this one patient's course to show that exceptions are not entirely absent. I do not raise expectations about poliosis. I convey the facts as they are: difficult is difficult. At the same time, I will continue to look into why such rare exceptions occur.
