Why do US presidents always dye their hair gray?

I see now that Obama has started dying his hair gray already. Soon he will be a full headed grayish white haired president, just like Bush and Clinton before him. They always start out looking very young and dapper, then a couple years in they mysteriously start loosing there color and turning completely gray.

Why is this?

Is this a throw back to our old white haired wig wearing past presidents? Or is this, some cooked up plot by the presidents handlers that try to convince us that our new president is growing older and wiser and therefor we should have higher confidence in him?

Still a strange custom to have, I wonder what makes all of our most recent presidents go along with this. Has it always been like this? I am only old enough to recall full presidencies back to Bush one, and he was already gray when he took office if I remember correctly.

Anyone else notice this? Do you think it is odd?

reply to post by PersonalChoice


Maybe it's job stress and their age making them gray???

I doubt that any of them are dying for age effect.

~Heff

reply to post by PersonalChoice


Some people say stress, but I don't know. My guess is this. Almost half of people that go gray, start going gray in their forties. You have to be 35 to be president, but most of them are older. Even at 35, if you're elected two terms you'll be 43 when you get out of office.

In other words, most presidents get elected at right about the age a normal person would start going gray. So by the time they're out of office they have gray hair.

Also, I don't think they dye their hair gray. I think they're just old.

reply to post by Hefficide


Actually, that's a common misconception, mental stress does not cause hair to turn gray. So what does? According to main stream theories it is purely genetic, as one Dr put it:

"When hair turns gray -- and which hairs turn gray -- is genetically programmed," Jerry Shapiro, M.D., professor of dermatology at New York University's Langone Medical Center told AARP's Bulletin Today.

So unless we have a amazing set of coincidental genetic programming on the last three US presidents, who all started out their presidencies full of colorful hair only to progressively go gray. So that by the end of their second term they are fully grayed, I think my money will be on a high priced dye job. Not to say that they don't eventually go gray anyways, I'm sure they do, it appears though that this phenomenon happens to every president a couple years into his term.

reply to post by tinfoilman


You may very well be right, I never thought of it that way. Maybe I'm being a little to suspicious of the whole thing, but when I noticed Obama with gray hair the other day...I was thinking "oh here we go again" another gray haired president.

Quite simple, cloning is not perfect yet, they have problems with natural ageing haircolor

Edit: Now i think of it... The greys..

Reagan never went gray.

They use to buy hair dye in 55 gal. drums for him.

Don't look at the hair look to the face.

Doctors says from the change in Obama's appearance he is under tremendous stress.

It maybe he is way beyond his capability.

And knows it.

Yeah, he's way beyond his capabilities. Not only is he going gray, but he's losing weight too. Must be real a stressful job. And when you don't know what you're doing . . .

reply to post by PersonalChoice


i don't believe they dye their hair at all once in power, they dye it before they are in power, makes them look younger, therefore more appealing, it works in advertising and magazines.

i don't know for sure but that's my opinion on it.

They just might be doing it to make people feel sorry for him.
Oh wow he's getting gray hair, perhaps we shouldn't bother him so much so he can go take another vacation.
I jest, but who knows, a lot of men around that age start getting gray hair.

Originally posted by Oneolddude
Doctors says from the change in Obama's appearance he is under tremendous stress.
It maybe he is way beyond his capability. And knows it.

He was promoted past his ability level. He spent his life schmooozing and campaigning ... and now the poor lil' guy actually has to work. And he's working in an area he knows nothing about. Being a 'community organizer' doesn't qualify you to be commander in chief of a superpower nation. I have no doubt he's stressed.

That being said ... they all turn grey and look older. They know things we don't. They know how close the world comes to an end every day. Some of them know what TPTB have in mind (I'm sure Obama is clueless ... Bush43 didn't know either).

If Palin was ever POTUS (won't happen), she'd go from looking pretty good like now to probably looking like Phyllis Diller in the same 18 months that it took Obama to look grey, tired, and all out haggard.

reply to post by PersonalChoice


Clinton's didn't turn so drastically gray until the Lewinsky stuff hit.

I'd say it is stress, sleep deprivation, wife deprivation, etc. As much as we like to criticize our presidents, imagine having the weight of the world on your shoulders, quite literally, 24 hours per day for 4 years or more? Every word out of your mouth, every sideways glance, every character you write, all scrutinized with worldwide implications on foreign relations, economies, and politics!

I don't remember the exact quote but somebody once said they would never vote for anybody that actually "wanted" such a job, because they are obviously insane!

reply to post by FlyersFan

If Palin was ever POTUS (won't happen), she'd go from looking pretty good like now to probably looking like Phyllis Diller in the same 18 months that it took Obama to look grey, tired, and all out haggard.

So......muich like Obama.......getting elected on looks and charm alone is a 1-term proposition? By the second term you won't have your looks and charm, you will need actual substance?

More importantly, notice the appearance of President's past once they have left office. You can practically see the relief in their eyes and you clearly see it in their demeanor. It is a job that bears tremendous burden and there are only a select few who can actually handle the weight on their shoulders.

Obama is not one of those characters. He started showing the signs very early on his term. The man is far to self centered to handle the stress of the job. Perhaps he needs more vacation and golf time. or more White House parties and concerts.

It's either stress or....they had gray hair all along and only colored it to give off a youthful look during their initial run for office. Once in office, they can let the gray show and they come across as looking distinguished.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Thats my belief. They would have been using the dye before being elected for the youthful look. Once they are in office over a year they couldn't care less. The natural color returns.

Because controlled gray areas make the person look more distinguished than the patches that start forming during the graying process.

One of the most stressful jobs in the world + age requirements = lots of gray.

Might as well make it look good .

reply to post by PersonalChoice


Here are some comparisons pre and post office...Reagan did go grey BTW.

www.aolnews.com...

Originally posted by PersonalChoice
reply to post by Hefficide

 

Actually, that's a common misconception, mental stress does not cause hair to turn gray.

Err I beg to differ.

many years ago I discovered my fiancée was cheating, I confronted her and obviously ended the relationship.

Over night I developed a lock of white hair at the back of my head. To this very day I still get people asking me if I have been painting as I have a patch of grey in an otherwise rich brown head of hair.

Korg.

Dye their hair gray, lol? I don't think so - they are already aging when they get in office and the time spent in the Presidency and stress just ages them a bit faster. If anything they might dye their hair before they are elected and then let it turn gray on its own. I saw my first gray hair at age 34, I freaked