Eva Longoria Has Had Gray Hair Since She Was 18

We may have entered the age of gray hair as a fashion statement, but it’s hard to forget when one strand of gray was cause for alarm. Eva Longoria experienced that moment when she was still just a teenager. The actress-director recently shared with Us Weekly that keeping her hair gray-free has taken a lot of effort.

“Oh, gosh. I’ve had a full head of gray hair, since I was, like, 18,” she said. “So for me, going to the salon is every two weeks. And then I have some that peek through.”

She solves that between-appointments problem with a secret weapon: an on-the-go root cover-up. Before she settled on a legitimate product (she now uses L’Oréal Paris Root Cover Up, for which she’s a spokesmodel), Longoria would reach for whatever dark shade was nearest in a feverish attempt to rid herself of errant grays.

“I used to use those mascaras, and it would leave your hair sticky. Then I would use my black eyeshadow, and it would come off when the wind blows,” she said.

What Longoria may not have realized at the time is that premature graying is genetic, as U.S. News explains. Take a look at the family tree and you’ll probably be able to tell whether this will happen to you. If premature graying runs in the family, get the root cover-up ready.

A few underlying factors, like autoimmune disorder or poor nutrition, may also affect melanin production and cause hair to gray earlier. Race is also a factor determining when color will start to fade. Caucasian people go gray by around age 35, while African-Americans have until about age 40. In the end, about 50 percent of people have gone 50 percent gray by age 50, Jeffrey Benabio a San Diego-based dermatologist with Kaiser Permanente told U.S. News. If you’re on the silver-fox side of that equation, just don’t try to cover it up with mascara.

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