Red hair occurs naturally on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently (2–6%) in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations. Red hair appears in people with two copies of a recessive gene on chromosome 16 which causes a mutation in the MC1R protein.
Red hair varies from a deep burgundy through burnt orange to bright copper. It is characterized by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The term redhead (originally redd hede) has been in use since at least 1510. It is associated with fair skin color, lighter eye colors (gray, blue, green, and hazel), freckles, and sensitivity to ultraviolet light.
Cultural reactions have varied from ridicule to admiration; many common stereotypes exist regarding redheads and they are often portrayed as fiery-tempered.
Read more about Red Hair: Biochemistry and Genetics, Red Hair of Pathological Origin
Other articles related to "red hair, red, hair":
... Red hair ranges from light strawberry blond shades to titian, copper and less commonly "true" red ... Red hair has the highest amounts of pheomelanin, around 67%, and usually low levels of eumelanin ... At 1-2% of the population, it is the least common hair color in the world ...
... the cell back to producing the yellow or red phaeomelanin ... yellow and black agouti banding pattern observed on most mammalian hair ... A notable exception to this is human hair, which is neither banded nor particoloured, and thus is thought to be regulated by α-MSH signaling through MC1R exclusively ...
... Red hair occurs naturally on approximately 1–2% of the human population ... Red hair appears in people with two copies of a recessive gene on chromosome 16 which causes a mutation in the MC1R protein ... Red hair varies from a deep burgundy through burnt orange to bright copper ...
... In the Iliad, Achilles' hair is described as ξανθῆς, usually translated as blonde, or golden but sometimes as red or tawny ... His son Neoptolemus also bears the name Pyrrhus, a possible reference to his own red hair ... The Norse god Thor is usually described as having red hair ...
... Interestingly, this form of God is depicted as a man of African descent with blond hair (as opposed to most other depictions, where God is designed as a Caucasian man with white hair) ... He is distinguished by his brown hair and his fairly light-colored clothes ... which helps him stand out amongst them, and he also stands out because of his red hair, his beard and his blue clothes ...
Famous quotes containing the words hair and/or red:
“There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning....”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.”
—Ogden Nash (1902–1971)