Gray Hair Supplements: Do They Work? Review of Research

Update Feb 28, 2024. One of the first signs that we may be getting older is that our hair slowly starts to turn gray. Each year, people spend billions of dollars on dyes and creams to help hair keep its youthful appearance. But what about supplements? Yes, there are indeed pills touted to turn back the clock and restore hair to its natural color. One product I quickly ran into as I wrote this review is called Catalase Hx. The word – catalase – is a reference to what's said to be the active ingredient in most of these supplements. But do they work? In this review, I want to look at Catalase Hx, and in doing so, I will try to see if there is any evidence showing that it stops gray hair. If we can figure this out, we can understand all of these products.  By the end of this review, you'll better understand whether these “no gray hair” supplements are right for you.

Who Makes Catalase Hx?

Invite Health is the name of the company.  According to the Better Business Bureau file, Invite Health is located at 900 Shames Drive, Westbury, NY 11590. The outside of the building displays the name of the company.

An online search of this address also shows that this building is next door to “Hickey Chemists.” Jerry Hickey, a pharmacist, is the Chief Scientific Officer of Invite Health. He also hosts Invite Health Radio on local radio stations.

The About Page of Invite Health states that Hickey Chemists merged with Invite Health in 2001. The BBB did not have a rating for the Invite Health when this review was updated. Ratings change over time, so see the BBB for updates and additional information.

How To Contact Invite Health

Their website lists a hotline number of 800-349-0929. According to the Better Business Bureau File, Invite Heath can also be reached at 718- 325-1100. The contact number listed on the bottle of Catalase Hx I have is 800 437 8090.

Catalase Hx Ingredients & Supplement Facts

According to the product label, one bottle of Catalase Hx contains 30 vegetarian capsules. Each capsule, has the following ingredients:

Catalase	600 mg (3600 units activity)
Picrorhiza Kurrora Root Powder	1000 mg

Other ingredients include hypromellose (for the veggie capsule), rice flower and vegetable stearate.

Let's look at the key ingredients separately

Catalase

Catalase is an enzyme, and a lack of it is involved in hair turning gray. As we get older, we make less catalase. To summarize the explanation listed on the Invite Health website, lack of catalase causes the buildup of hydrogen peroxide, which in turn “bleaches” the hair and skin by blocking the production of the pigment melanin, which gives skin and hair its color.

They go on to say that adding catalase can aid in “helping to prevent discoloration.”

This is an intriguing notion.

Could taking the catalase enzyme:

1. prevent gray hair?

2. restore the natural color to already gray hair?

Previously, the website stated that might help “prevent discoloration.” That is not necessarily the same as saying catalase would reverse grey hair to its normal color. These words have since been amended to “Catalase is a natural antioxidant that helps regulate hydrogen peroxide.”

Does Catalase Prevent Gray Hair?

Even so, is there any evidence that the catalase enzyme helps prevent gray hair? While there seems little doubt the enzyme plays a role in gray hair development. Unfortunately, proof could not be found that catalase supplements reverse or prevent the graying process. In clinical databases, I saw no studies attempting to see if giving catalase to people would return hair to its normal color or slow down the graying process.

Studies related to catalase and gray hair that were located include:

• A 2014 study titled Premature Graying as a Consequence of Compromised Antioxidant Activity in Hair Bulb Melanocytes and Their Precursors
• A 2009 study titled Senile hair graying: H2O2-mediated oxidative stress affects human hair color by blunting methionine sulfoxide repair.

Neither of these studies shows that catalase supplementing stops or reverses gray hair.

Picrorhiza Kurroa

According to the Invite Health website, Picrorhiza is “helpful in boosting the body’s Catalase level.”

In one study, picrorhiza improved catalase production in diabetic rats. But this doesn't necessarily mean the same effect occurs in humans.

Other Gray Hair Supplements

Catalase Hx isn't the only grey hair pill out there. For example, another supplement, called Go Away Gray, contains 5000 IU of catalase, folic acid, zinc, biotin, and copper and is a “synergistic and proprietary blend.” Proof for this supplement is lacking.

Another product called Get Away Grey also contains catalase. USA Today posted an article in 2013 titled Can enzyme supplements really keep hair from going gray?   Forbs also posted an article that same year titled A Pill To Prevent Gray Hair – Is It Finally On The Way?

On May 13, 2013, the makers of Go Away Gray and Get Away Gray settled charges made by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about claims made pertaining to these supplements. Here is the FTC Press Release.

Given how easy it would be to determine if catalase prevents or reverses gray hair, the failure of the scientific community to test this is an an epic fail

Can We Absorb Catalase?

Since catalase is made of protein, can it make its way through digestion and into the bloodstream as intact, undigested catalase? I can't find any proof we can absorb catalase. If we can't absorb catalase, then all these catalase gray hair supplements might be useless.  

What About Sublingual Catalase?

If we can't absorb catalase via the stomach, what if we put a catalase supplement under the tongue and let it be absorbed that way? This would let it enter the blood undigested and, in theory, help it get to the hair follicle to work its magic. It's a fascinating idea, although research does not appear to have been conducted. This same lack of proof exists for transdermal patches, too.

Catalase vs. PseudoCatalase

PseudoCatalase is not the same thing as the catalase enzyme. Rather,  it refers to the effect of a cream that seems to restore skin and hair color when combined with sunlight. There is research on pseudocatalase, which is very interesting.

Read the PseudoCatalase review for more on this product.

How To Naturally Raise Catalase

Is there anything we can do to raise catalase levels naturally? Well, it turns out there might be. One study noted that exercise can raise catalase levels by over 400%. This only involved lab rats, though. Ironically, a human study, involving 18 soccer players noted that exercise led to a decrease in catalase levels.

It's thought catalase levels increase to compensate for exercise ramping up free radical production -and that too much exercise might overwhelm anti-oxidant defenses, leading to reduced production of catalase. Regardless of the theory, there doesn't seem to be much research on this -and even less about how this might be related to the loss of hair color.

Lowering homocysteine may also prevent gray hair from developing. Homocysteine contributes to heart disease and generates free radicals by ramping up hydrogen peroxide production. While reducing homocysteine is great from a heart health standpoint, I've never seen any studies linking this to hair color. Does it work?  It can't hurt, but I can't say either way.

Simple ways to reduce homocysteine levels include increasing the intake of folate (or folic acid), vitamin B12, and vitamin B6.

While we are on the topic of diet, one human study noted people with prematurely gray hair had low levels of iron, serum ferritin, calcium vitamin D and vitamin B12. This doesn't prove lack of these nutrients causes gray hair.

If gray hair is at least – partially related to elevated hydrogen peroxide -then it makes sense to eat foods that contain naturally occurring antioxidants. Any food that is colorful (red, green, orange, purple etc) will have these ingredients.

Basically, I'm talking about fruits, veggies, beans, and teas.

Do Anti-Gray Hair Supplements Work?

It would be very easy to test the effectiveness of these supplements. Give them to men and women for several months and take before and after pictures. This is so easy to do; a kid in high school could do it.

Personally, I feel gray hair is more complex than just a catalase deficiency. While we tend to think gray hair is a sign of getting “older,” I'm not so sure of this. Rumor has it my grandfather started to go gray at 17. That gives me some solace when I look in the mirror.

Other Gray Hair Reviews

• Amla Fruit Review
• Pseudocatalase review
• PHYTO Re30 Review
• SeroVital Hair Regeneres Review

Any Questions Or Comments?