According to Health Magazine, redheads can produce their own vitamin D when exposed to low levels of light. 4. You may not need as much pain medication. The gene responsible for red hair (MC1R) also releases a hormone that is similar to endorphins which limit the feeling of pain.
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.
These are recessive traits. The DNA for blonde hair and red hair are about equally strong. People who have DNA for both often have strawberry blonde hair.
In other respects, however, redheads turn out to be tougher than other people. Research has produced evidence that redheads are less sensitive to stinging pain in the skin.
Research has shown that people with red hair perceive pain differently than others. They may be more sensitive to certain types of pain and can require higher doses of some pain-killing medications. However, studies suggest that their general pain tolerance may be higher.
Redheads feel hot and cold temperatures more severely than anyone else. In 2005, the University of Louisville discovered this hidden gift and hypothesised that the redhead gene, MC1R may cause the human temperature-detecting gene to become over-activated, making redheads more sensitive to thermal extremes.
Researchers think that the ginger gene, known as MC1R, may cause the temperature-detecting gene to become over-activated, making redheads more sensitive to the cold.
While redheads have the normal risk for traction alopecia from prolonged tight hair tying, and for male/female pattern baldness, they're more prone to winter hair loss.
They easily detect changes in hot and cold temperatures. They may be less sensitive to electric shock, needle pricks and stinging pain on the skin.
Lifespan: up to 20 years in captivity, 5-10 years in the wild. Special Adaptations: Males have an elaborate courtship dance where they throw back their heads, almost touching their tail!
Less than 2 percent of the world's population has red hair, making it the rarest hair color in the world. It's the result of the mutated MC1R gene. If both parents carry that gene, their child has a 25% chance of getting lovely, red locks, even if the parents don't have red hair themselves.
For example, ginger increases serotonin and dopamine levels. This can reduce inflammation, which may cause depression. Ginger could also provide benefits for anxiety, depression, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. Ease stomach pains: Ginger can treat nausea and motion sickness.
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.
Reds have fewer and thicker strands than blondes and brunettes. On average, redheads have about 90,000 strands, blondes 110,000, and brunettes 140,000. Because each fiery strand is significantly thicker and coarser than its color counterparts, it makes hair look fuller and easier to style.
Fun facts about red hair strands
Redheads are less likely to go grey. The pigment in red hair typically fades over time from red to blonde and white, but not grey. Redheads produce more Vitamin D in a shorter amount of time than people with other hair colors.
Red Hair Is Indeed Fiery
As a redhead, you are seen as confident, successful and temperamental. This isn't simply just a case of “seeing red” though. Redheads have been found to hold more power: in a study conducted on 500 CEOs, it was found that 4% were redheads.
But if it is the case that redheads are more sensitive to pain and need more anesthesia, the cause is likely genetic. Researchers theorize that the link is because of a receptor on certain cells that normally lend pigment to people's skin and hair. In red-headed people, this receptor doesn't function properly.
Basic beige, brown, and black are the best go-to base colors for red hair. They never fail to flatter. Gold falls into this area, so wear it often… jewelry too!
Final Thoughts on Redheads and Alcohol Tolerance
There's not enough evidence to claim redheads have a higher tolerance to alcohol than other people. However, several social and genetic factors (including the MC1R mutation) may lead to a perception that they have a high tolerance and a predisposition to alcoholism.
Humans and mice with red hair have a different tolerance for pain because their skin's pigment-producing cells lack the function of a certain receptor. Lack of this receptor function causes changes that tip the balance between pain sensitivity and pain tolerance.
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.
Red Hair May Be Good for Your Bones
Throughout history, the “ginger gene” likely protected many redheads against rickets, a disorder that softens and weakens bones due to vitamin D deficiency, according to Professor Jonathon Rees of the University of Edinburgh.
And, while redheads are often stereotyped as stubborn, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. As a matter of fact, that resoluteness is linked to a particular quality of your tresses; red hair doesn't go grey easily, and the strands of hair hang onto the colour for a long time, even if it becomes slightly faded.