Marie Antoinette Syndrome Explained: Can a Person's Hair Turn White From Shock or Overnight?

The rapid hair-whitening condition was first documented centuries ago, affecting well-known historical personalities such as Sir Thomas Moore and Queen Marie Antoinette of France. More recent examples in the scientific literature back up earlier reports, frequently linking it with psychological stress.

In this study, we look at various case studies of persons who have suffered from the condition throughout history and offer possibilities to explain the occurrence.

What Causes the Marie Antoinette Syndrome?

According to a 2009 paper in JAMA Dermatology, Marie Antoinette syndrome is a condition of the scalp hair that suddenly turns white. The name was taken from the French Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) whose hair allegedly turned white the night before she was executed during the French Revolution.

Although the actual incident is rare, the stigmatizing phenomenon has captured the imagination of storytellers who added it as a plot twist in their stories as a sign of grace and sorrow in religious texts.

Marie Antoinette was only 38 years old when she died, but another well-known historical figure reportedly experience it as well. Records show that the hair of the English martyr Thomas More (1478-1535) also turned white overnight in the Tower of London the night before his execution.

Today, the condition is interpreted as an acute episode of diffuse alopecia areata caused by preferential loss of pigmented hair due to an immune-mediated disorder. Other reasons also pointed out were genetics, and the combination of less melanin and more hydrogen peroxide could make the hair white.

Can a Person's Hair Turn White From Shock?

People always joke that stress is giving them gray hair and scientists also think it could play a role. A 2011 paper suggested that DNA damage from chronic stress could have an impact on the graying of hair. Stress hormones and free radicals have been linked to hastening the graying process, although they do not explain how someone's hair could suddenly turn white like canities subita.

As per Very Well Mind, the strands of hair visible on the head do not contain living cells so they are not directly linked to psychological stress or shock. Stress can make changes in new hair but it does not explain the mechanisms behind the Marie Antoinette syndrome.

On the other hand, alopecia areata has been associated with hair suddenly turning white due to its connection to hair loss as a response to stress, which is believed to be an immune response. A 2013 review of medical literature on canities subita proposed that alopecia could be an explanation for the phenomenon.

Can Marie Antoinette Syndrome Happen Overnight?

Research does not support the sudden hair whiteness theory but such incidents from history continue to run rampant. Aside from Marie Antoinette and Thomas More's case, the 2009 paper in JAMA Dermatology notes witness accounts of bombing survivors from World War II experiencing sudden whitening of the hair.

However, Healthline reported that Dr. Murray Feingold noted that there is no research data suggesting that hair could lose its color overnight. Rather, they believe the historical accounts of sudden whitening of hair could be attributed to other conditions or the temporary washing out of temporary hair dye.