When red hair follicles stop producing their gingerish pigment, the colour fades from red through a glorious spectrum of faded copper to rosy-blonde colours, through to silvery-white. It's a sight to be seen, giving an almost autumnal effect as your red hair moves into its 'silver fox' phase.
It's been proven that people with ginger hair don't go grey, but instead retain their natural pigment for much longer than any blonde or brunette counterparts. Red hair simply fades with age, covering a whole spectrum of copper and rosy-blonde colours until it reaches a silvery-white.
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.
If both parents are ginger, their offspring would be ginger. Reason: We inherit half our chromosomes for our father (23) and half from out mother (23), 46 in total. If both parents passed on a ginger 'infected' hair colour chromosome, the child would be ginger.
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.
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!
Edwin Liem at the University of Louisville in Kentucky found that redheads are more sensitive to hot and cold, and are hurt by the cold at temperatures nearly 11 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than others.
That is, in part, because red hair is an exotic trait, occurring in just one or two out of every 100 people. While the gene variants that endow flaming locks are rare, redheads are not destined to vanish from the population, despite recurring claims to that effect.
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.
The gene for red hair is recessive to the gene for black hair.
However, people with red hair produce little of the melanin that is good at blocking the sun's harmful light, and produce more of the melanin that doesn't do as good of a job in blocking sunlight, making them more likely to get sunburned.
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.
Estimates on the original occurrence of the currently active gene for red hair vary from 20,000 to 100,000 years ago. A DNA study has concluded that some Neanderthals also had red hair, although the mutation responsible for this differs from that which causes red hair in modern humans.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Since red hair is a recessive trait, the children of two redheaded parents will almost always be redheaded as well. In contrast, if only one parent is redheaded and the other has brown hair, there is a higher chance that the children will display the dominant trait and will have brown hair.
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.
The 'ginger gene' which produces the orange colour is on the X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and so need two copies of this gene to become ginger, whereas males need only one. This means there are roughly three males to one female ginger cat. Ginger tom cats father tortoiseshell or ginger females.
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.
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.
Redheads are affected by the UV rays of the sun more than people with any other skin type, so it's important that you protect yourself from the damaging effects of prolonged sun exposure. We've put together this handy guide for redheads, so you can enjoy the sun without having to worry about your skin.