Since red hair is in our DNA, it's something that is with us from birth, but the pigment in our hair and skin can take time to develop after birth. Similarly, lots of redheads are born with strawberry blonde or light red hair that gets darker as they get older. But, they're always redheads.
One of the many facts about redheads is that their hair will never turn grey. The pigment in their hair that causes it to be red will just fade over time, causing their hair to turn blonde or white, but never grey.
Both parents must possess the gene for a red-haired child to be born. Redheads have fewer strands of hair on their heads. If they both just have the gene but have brown hair lets say then there is a 1 in 4 chance of having a baby with red hair.
When red hair follicles stop producing their gingerish pigment, the colour fades from red through a glorious spectrum of faded copper to rosy-blonde colours, through to silvery-white. It's a sight to be seen, giving an almost autumnal effect as your red hair moves into its 'silver fox' phase.
Rarest kind of redhead
Having red hair and blue eyes is the rarest hair/eye color combination possible. The odds of a person having both of those recessive traits is around 0.17%. Instead, most redheads have brown, hazel or green eyes, according to Medical Daily.
The rarest natural hair colour is red, which makes up only one to two percent of the global population. You commonly see these hair colours in western and northern areas of Europe, especially Scotland and Ireland. However, natural redheads may not exist for much longer.
Strawberry blonde therefore belongs to the red hair group. 'Strawberry blonde is the lightest shade of red hair. Other tones in this color group include mahogany, copper and Irish red.
So how exactly does genetics influence hair color? MC1R is a recessive gene. This means that two copies (one inherited from each parent) are required for the trait to be observed. In this case, two copies of the variant are required for the child to be a redhead.
It doesn't matter what came before, each child has a 25% chance of being a red head. You can see how even if there are no known redheads in your family, you can still be a “carrier” for red hair.
The skin of a redhead is thinner compared to others and is derived from the ectoderm. Teeth enamel is also derived from the ectoderm and thus is thinner than usual. Since the enamel coating is thin, the inner layer of tooth-dentin is more visible and offers a yellowish appearance.
Myth: Redheads' skin ages faster because it's so dry.
A dry, leather-like appearance and increased wrinkles are not due to hair color. Those with dry skin have a multitude of options available to them using today's dermatology.
Some evidence suggests redheaded adults often appear older than their actual age. For example, one study published in 2016 in Current Biology found that adults who carry two copies of the MC1R gene variant are more likely to look two years older than other people their age.
Previous studies had shown that redheads inherit two versions of the MC1R gene that leads to red hair – one from their mum and one from their dad. Although almost everyone with red hair has two copies of the red-haired version of MC1R, not everyone carrying two red-haired versions is a redhead.
But here's the thing. Despite its popularity, strawberry blonde hair only occurs naturally in between 1 and 2 percent of the world's total population — which means it takes hair color and technique to make it happen for the rest of us. In fact, it's a hue that's been rare yet in demand for centuries.
If your partner carries the gene for ginger hair, then there is a 1 in 2 chance that your child will have ginger hair. If he does not, then there is no chance.
Is Hair Color Inherited from Mother or Father? Hair color comes from both parents through the chromosomes passed onto their child. The 46 chromosomes (23 from each parent) have genes made up of DNA with instructions of what traits a child will inherit. The results can be surprising.
People with red hair have a variant of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene. This gene controls the production of melanin, the pigment that gives skin, hair, and eyes their color. The cells that make melanin produce two forms—eumelanin and pheomelanin.
Ireland has the highest number of red-haired people per capita in the world, with the percentage of those with red hair at around 10%. Great Britain also has a high percentage of people with red hair.
8. Blue eyed redheads are super rare. Blue eyes and red hair forms the rarest combo on earth. Most (natural) redheads will have brown eyes, followed by hazel or green shades.
The rarest hair and eye color combination is red hair with blue eyes, occurring in less than 1% of the global population.
For a recessive trait to be expressed the individual must be pure breeding, hence two red heads can not produce any other colour in a child.
Most women think brunette hair is the sexiest, as 25% of those polled favoured this option. Womens' second preference is blonde, which was voted as the sexiest hair colour by 19.6% of women. Again, red took third spot, accounting for 11.8% of womens' votes.
How Rare Is Dirty Blonde Hair? About 2 percent of the population are natural blondes, but it's a very popular hair color because many turn to hair dye to achieve it. Brighter blonde shades like ashy blonde and beige blonde are more popular choices than dirty blonde, so you can consider dirty blonde a bit more unique.