People with red hair appear to have altered pain perceptions and sensitivity to pain medicines and anesthesia. But some studies examining that link come to conflicting conclusions. Depending on the research, redheads either feel pain more acutely or have a higher pain tolerance than others.
Because MC1R affects the body systemically, the mutation also dictates other differences in the ginger-haired. While it makes redheads more susceptible to sunburn, that very sensitivity to ultraviolet rays also allows their bodies to produce more vitamin D, which is essential to bone development and good health.
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.
First up, studies have found that people with ginger hair are better in bed. This is because of a specific gene connected to redheads – the MC1R gene. This gene makes the individual more sensitive to touch than people with other hair colours.
In the past five years, researchers have found that the genetic mutation responsible for redhead's ruby tresses and snow-white skin also makes them more sensitive to hot and cold -- and it could also make them a whole lot harder to numb up.
Having red hair isn't the only thing that makes some redheads unique. They are also more likely to be left handed. Both characteristics come from recessive genes, which like to come in pairs. Redheads probably won't go grey.
Some studies indicate that redheads are more prone to illness because they prefer to keep out of the sun and so lack vitamin D, or because their ability to absorb the vitamin is less efficient.
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.
Is There any Evidence That Redheads Have a Higher Genetic Tolerance for Alcohol? The MC1R gene is believed to be responsible for some types of pain perception, which happens in the middle of the brain. However, there's scant evidence that redheads have a genetically higher tolerance for alcohol.
Red hair is a recessive trait, which means that only those who get two “redhead” versions of the gene, one from the mother and one from the father, will have red hair.
Redheads might have less damage/signs of aging
This means that there is a reduced risk of sun damage and early signs of aging in the skin of redheads. This means our skin stays youthful for longer, helping us appear younger.
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.
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.
Someone with red hair has two copies of the MC1R gene, receiving one from each parent. The gene also carries a certain mutation in most people who have red hair. It's this variant that has been identified as playing a role in why redheads may respond to pain drugs differently than others.
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.
Apparently, while redheads particularly feel the pain of a toothache and generally need more anaesthesia than usual, they can withstand more pressure pain than blondes and brunettes, and have no problem eating spicy food. So if you want to take a redhead somewhere spicy on a date - do it.
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.
Colliss Harvey's research found that redheaded individuals have higher levels of vitamin D, which is a source of strength.
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.
Reported intensity of red hair color will correlate positively with probability of reporting mental health problems (anxiety, depression, etc.). Reported intensity of red hair color will correlate positively with probability of reporting diagnosed mental health disorders.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.