If you've spotted a strand of grey hair peeking out from your jet-black tresses before, you might have done what your mum explicitly advised you not to: Pulling it off your head.
Mum's rationale, or at least according to an old wives' tale, is that yanking that single grey hair off will earn you 10 more in its place.
The good news is, doing so won't suddenly lead to an explosion of more, said Dr Eileen Tan.
But there's a bit of bad news, too: If you keep doing that, you may suffer from permanent loss of hair, she said.
The fact is, the follicle (a tiny sac in your scalp from which hair grows) that produced the grey hair you pulled off will produce another strand of grey hair in its place — just not 10, like your mum said.
And if you're constantly plucking out from that same follicle, that mini hair-making factory might go on strike and cease producing for good.