The independent research into 1 000 respondents by Insight Survey, on behalf of Alpecin Tuning Shampoo, found that a fifth of men and women between 25 and 34 and a quarter over 35 said they were going grey prematurely.
Dr Adolf Klenk, from the German-based Dr Wolff Group which produces caffeine shampoos to help prevent hair loss, says with age cells called melanocytes stop releasing the pigment melanin into the hair, causing hair to turn white.
About a third of respondents (27% of males and 34% of females) said they were worried about going grey, with the highest proportion of those concerned located in KwaZulu-Natal (28%). Those least worried (15.8%) were from the Western Cape.
Two thirds of all respondents believe that reducing stress is a remedy for reversing greying hair, while half believe that taking supplements is also a solution.
The survey also found:
* About 54% of male and 63% of female respondents would prefer not to go grey and just over half of them would hide grey hair if there was an easy solution.
* Half said grey hair made them feel old and just over a third said greying was less attractive.
* About 12% of male and 52% of female respondents tint or dye their hair.
* About 20% use a shampoo for hair loss
The combination of dark and white hair gives the grey appearance.