My cousin just passed away in May 2004. He was 34 years old. Didn't smoke or do drugs, and was a very active individual. An autopsy was performed (not all results are in). What we have been told thus far is, he died from an enlarged heart, blocked artery and was morbid obese. My question is, his hair in life was very very blonde, but after his death and the autopsy it was very dark and rusted looking near the scalp with a little blonde left on the ends. Would his condition case this or is this due to the autopsy? Should we be concerned? Thank you to anybody who can help.

The color of the hair that has grown out of the scalp can be changed by external influences only. There is no disease to my knowledge, that can bring about this change in hair colour.
Could it be that the hair was fatty? Maybe it was dirty?
I do not know if pathologists use substances that can change hair colour.
If a body is preserved in formaldehyde, this could change the hair colour to reddish or blond, but the skin would be coloured dark also and it smells very strong.
Are you sure your cousin did not just bleach his hair and had stopped bleaching it during his illness?

Thank you for your email, I very much appreciate your help. In answer to your questions. No his hair was not fatty, it was also clean.

Also, he died at home, then was taken to a local hospital to be pronounced. It was after he arrived at the hospital that we noticed his strange hair color.

I don't feel that his body was preserved in formaldehyde, (his body was returned the next day, after autopsy). Also, his skin was gray, as you know due to the lack of oxygen, (this I understand).

As for hair coloring, he was always a very natural blonde and never used hair dye.

Again thank you!

Sorry to hear about your cousin

Iron can cause hair to have a red or rusty hue. Iron leaves hair feeling dry, brittle and weighted down. It causes lack of shine and can cause dark hair to tint darker and blonde hair to turn orange, I ron can be in the water, or tablets or even liver is a source of iron? Or it could have been in the chemicals that they have been using.

It is likely iron. I agree.

Still,is kind of weird.Last October my wife she killed herself.She was blonde when she was alive. When I saw her couple of day later in the mortuary her hair was brown. That is why I came here to this web site and I'm looking fro that answer.Because even by the time she got to medical examiner(based in their report,in the way they described the events,etc) her hair already changed. Any other ideas?

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Originally Posted by homegirl1234

My cousin just passed away in May 2004. He was 34 years old. .... An autopsy was performed (not all results are in). What we have been told thus far is, he died from an enlarged heart, blocked artery and was morbid obese. My question is, his hair in life was very very blonde, but after his death and the autopsy it was very dark and rusted looking near the scalp with a little blonde left on the ends. Would his condition case this or is this due to the autopsy? Should we be concerned? Thank you to anybody who can help.

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1) First, after 5 years the autopsy results are complete. You should contact the attending agency and request a copy.

2) Autopsy protocols are basically uniform and do not involve chemical agents. I believe you can rule-out any relationship between autopsy and the noted change.

3) The premortem (during life) conditions, cause of death, mentioned are not generally associated with hair color change or variation. In fact, I know of no condition that would lead to darkening of the hair.

Prior to death when was the last time you saw your cousin? Two obvious factors would lighten hair. 1) bleaching, and 2) spending a lot of time in the sun. Either, upon cessation would lead to the pattern you suggest.