Contrary to what many people assume, redheads did not originate in Scandinavia, Scotland or Ireland, but in central Asia. Their coloring is due to a mutation in the MC1R gene that fails to produce sun-protective, skin-darkening eumelanin and instead causes pale skin, freckles and red hair.
Less than 2% of the world's population has red hair. The highest concentration of redheads is in Scotland (13%), followed by Ireland (10%).
Red hair is relatively common in England, Iceland and Norway, too, while Germany, Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands and northern France are all ahead of the global average. Travel south through Europe and red hair becomes very rare. Just 0.57 per cent of Italians have it, for example, according to one study.
For example, one gene, MC1R, is tied to both freckles and red hair. If both copies of the gene are changed, you're a redhead. If only one copy is changed, you'll get freckles—but not always. And scientists still don't know why.
The recessive gene that carries red hair has been traced back 50,000 Years when early modern gingers first appeared in the grasslands of Central Asia. Red hair was regarded in classical literature as the epitome of everything barbaric – but only when it comes to men.
In northern Europe, it's speculated that the M1CR mutation was brought to the mainland from the Viking raiders of Norway. The greatest concentration of red hair is found in Scotland and Ireland, and the coastal areas where the Vikings settled show the highest number of gingers.
Ireland has the highest per capita percentage of redheads in the world -- anywhere from 10 to 30 percent, according to Eupedia, a website that explores European genetics and ancestry. They are almost equally prevalent in Scotland and other pockets of Celtic pride.
Freckles or ephelides are hyperpigmented spots observed on skin surface mainly in European and Asian populations.
How do freckles develop? Freckles are the result of an overproduction of melanin. Melanin is a pigment that gives your hair, skin and eyes (your “complexion”) its color. Melanin, produced by skin cells called melanocytes, protects your skin from sun damage by absorbing and reflecting ultraviolet light (UV).
Genetic research has shown that the Vikings in West Scandinavia, and therefore in Denmark, were mostly red-haired. However, in North Scandinavia, in the area around Stockholm, blonde hair was dominant.
Redheadedness is a north and western European trait, but the pattern of redheads in the British Isles is more consistent with the ancient indigenous Celtic inhabitants who were here before the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.
Over the centuries, they've been scorned, persecuted and marginalized. But it was an example of modern-day disdain towards redheads that prompted an Italian photographer's mission to safeguard their diversity, The Local has learned.
What is the rarest shade of red hair? Natural red is the rarest hair color on the planet, with just 1 to 3% of the population having it.
Recessive traits like red hair can skip generations because they can hide out in a carrier behind a dominant trait. The recessive trait needs another carrier and a bit of luck to be seen. This means that it can sometimes take a few generations to finally make its presence known.
Most (natural) redheads will have brown eyes, followed by hazel or green shades.
Although freckles are hereditary, they are activated by sun exposure. If someone that has the freckle gene (MC1R), they must spend time in the sun in order to produce freckles. A person without the freckles genes will not produce freckles regardless of if they are in the sun or not.
Redheads have less melanin in their skin. Remember, melanin protects your skin from the UV rays and makes you look tan (when melanin spreads out evenly). Due to the low number of melanin, redheads develop freckles like crazy constellations rather than getting tan.
Variations in the MC1R (melanocortin 1 receptor) gene involved in melanin production have been linked to freckles in people of European descent, while a 2004 study of Chinese subjects mapped another freckle gene to chromosome 4q32-q34.
For some people, it also brings out their freckles—those flat, brownish marks on the skin that are about 1-2 millimeters in diameter. These little spots tend to run in families, which suggests that freckles can be inherited.
Freckles are caused by two things - the sun and genes. So unless you've been living in a cave your whole life, you must have a different set of genes than your other relatives do. Your parents, aunts, uncles, and brother have freckles because they carry a gene for them.
Red hair has long been associated with Celtic people. Both the ancient Greeks and Romans described the Celts as redheads. The Romans extended the description to Germanic people, at least those they most frequently encountered in southern and western Germany. It still holds true today.
Redheads probably won't go grey. That's because the pigment just fades over time. So they will probably go blonde and even white, but not grey.
The experts believe that the gloomy climate in Scotland prompted a deliberate genetic adaptation. Essentially, this means that red hair helps to take advantage of sunny days and allows the body to absorb more vitamin D.
The Uzumaki Clan (うずまき一族, Uzumaki Ichizoku) was formerly a prominent clan in Uzushiogakure. Its members are renown for having bright, red hair, possessing incredibly strong life-forces and chakra, and their sealing prowess.