Hey, I forgot we could post pics here on MC forums! LOVE the pics!!

Say, you guys, I've got a question about gray hairs.... I'm turning 41 in Sept. I've noticed I've got quite a few sprouting from my temple areas! My hair is very long, at least 15 inches, and it's very straight. Some of those really long hairs are my natural brown halfway down and the other half isn't gray, its white! Now, that means that at least 8 inches of the hair is white, right? My question is this: Can the hair lose its color AFTER it has grown? I mean, I thought once a hair left the follicle, it was basically 'dead'---the same way our fingernail tips are dead. SO HOW did the hair get that gray color? It didn't start growing out of my head a white color. Does the hair itself just fade, or is there some chemical process going on after the hair has grown that changes its color from a dark lustrous brown to a white? And I mean WHITE!! LOL

I guess what I'm trying to get at is, does the hair start growing out of the follicle as white, or does it somehow 'fade' after a while? I've got a few strands that are nearly completely white from the scalp onward and I think what is happening is they are fading or losing their pigment. It would take THREE bottles of color to dye all of this hair. I've got very thick hair!