Mara Brock Akil discusses her experience noticing gray hair at age 29

Akil describes the initial discovery

The showrunner stated she first saw the strands while producing her hit series. She joked about naming each of the five hairs after characters from the show. Akil admitted she felt naive about the intensity of the role at that time.

Experts note common triggers for graying

The American Academy of Dermatology reports that hair typically starts graying in a person's 30s or 40s. Stress, oxidative damage, and genetics are often cited as causes for this pigment loss. Makeup artist Pati Dubroff noted her own hair began turning gray after she became a mother.