But come to Ireland and the story is different. The percentage of redheads in Ireland hovers around the 10% mark. Scotland weighs in at around 6%, followed by England at around 4%. Scottish people may disagree, but we say Ireland is the undisputed world capital of redheads.
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.
It is believed there are so many redheads in Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia because our redhead ancestors migrated to cooler climates. As you know, redheads have more sensitive skin that burns easily, so a cooler climate was a more comfortable place for our ancestors to live many thousands of years ago.
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.
While red hair tends to be associated with Ireland, redheads comprise a larger share of the population in Scotland (13%) than Ireland (10%). “We have a saying that on St. Patrick's Day, everybody's Irish,” Gaffney said.
Although red hair is frequently associated with Scotland, Ireland, and England, people of color can also be born with natural red hair.
Most (natural) redheads will have brown eyes, followed by hazel or green shades.
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.
Did some Vikings have red hair? Contrary to what pop culture has us believe about Vikings, most of them didn't actually fit the prototype of blond hair, blue eyes, and rugged looks. In fact, research suggests that genetic analysis of this Norse tribe found that a majority of Vikings had red hair.
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.
An estimated 2% of the global population is made up of redheads. But come to Ireland and the story is different. The percentage of redheads in Ireland hovers around the 10% mark.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The MC1R gene might actually make redheads look young
According to research published in Current Biology, people with the MC1R gene, aka the gene that produces red hair and fair skin, tend to look several years younger than their non-ginger counterparts.
Redheads have a genetic variant of the MC1R gene that causes their melanocytes to primarily produce pheomelanin. However, a study published in 2018 has lead scientists to believe that there many be a number of other genes associated with pheomelanin that controls hair colour.
A McGill University study found that redheads could handle more electric shocks than those with different coloured hair. Other research discovered that gingers are better at handling stabbing or sharp pain.
Worldwide, red hair is quite rare, and just over 0.5 percent, or one in 200 people, are redheads — this amounts to almost 40 million people, the Daily Mail reports. In Ireland, an estimated 10 percent of the population has red hair, though about 40 percent of the Irish carry the recessive gene.
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.
There's a little genetic tweak that makes the combination of red hair and blue eyes the rarest of them all. The same Nature study mentioned above found that another gene variant, HERC2, interacts with both the MC1R gene and the OCA2 gene—and it can shut off the redhead gene while expressing blue eyes and blonde hair.
For starters, redheads typically have fair complexions and are more susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer. Some people with red hair also experience pain differently, or they can look older than they are. At the same time, redheads are better at manufacturing vitamin D and have a lower prostate cancer risk.