ELI5 Gray Hair - why does stress cause grey hair?

Why do people talk about graying hair as Marie Antoinette syndrome? Researchers finally think they know why stress turns your hair gray - we attempt to explain like I'm five.

 

... We explain like i'm five!

 

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Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community as always and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: silver_kitty & protusmose

Harvard study published in Nature:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-1935-3

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