Grey hair no more? Scientists claim to get to the root of the problem

Coming soon: a treatment for grey hair, no dye required.

According to new findings published in the FASEB Journal, a new drug compound might help restore greying hair to its original shade.

Professor Karin Schallreuter and her team from the University of Bradford in Yorkshire, England and the University of Greifswald in Germany, claim to have come across a treatment that removes the natural accumulation of hydrogen peroxide, known as massive oxidative stress, that robs hair of its natural hue.

So far, Schallreuter's team has tested the treatment on 2,500 patients with vitiligo, a skin condition that causes white patches to develop on the skin. (In 1993, Michael Jackson blamed the skin condition for his pale complexion.)

The researchers found their drug, described as "a topical, UVB-activated compound called PC-KUS [a modified pseudocatalase]," regimented the skin and eyelashes of the patients.

"Sudden loss of skin and hair colour can affect individuals in many ways," Schallreuter says. "The improvement of quality of life after total and even partially successful repigmentation has been documented."

"For generations, numerous remedies have been concocted to hide grey hair, but now, for the first time, an actual treatment that gets to the root of the problem has been developed," says Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of the FASEB Journal.

"While this is exciting news, what's even more exciting is that this also works for vitiligo. Developing an effective treatment for this condition has the potential to radically improve many people's lives."

There's no word on when treatment will be available for those of us wishing away the grey.

In 2011, L'Oreal announced it was in the early research stages of developing a pill to prevent grey hair. The company hoped to prevent greying from happening in the first place, but offered no promises of reversing the the process.

In the meantime, here are some secrets to healthy, younger-looking hair.