If a kid in India gets gray hair before they’re 25, there’s a very high chance their family members also had gray hair young—so it’s probably something passed down in genes.

People from different ethnic backgrounds start going grey at different ages — if you're Caucasian, going grey before 20 is considered early; for Asians, before 25; and for Africans, before 30.

In Indians who go gray early, the sides of the head usually turn gray first, then the front—just like in normal aging, but faster. This makes scientists think early graying might just be regular aging on fast-forward.

Some people get gray hair early because of things like their genes, stress in their body, smoking, or not having enough of certain vitamins and minerals like iron or copper.

In this group of people from India, kids are starting to go gray much earlier than usual—some as young as 5—and on average by age 10, which is way before most other people start graying, suggesting their hair turns gray for a different reason.

Teens and kids with gray hair early tend to have less zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B12 in their blood than other kids their age — maybe these nutrients have something to do with why their hair turns gray sooner.