The reason is that redheads have a mutation in a hormone receptor that can apparently respond to at least two different hormones: the melanocyte-stimulating hormone (for pigmentation) and endorphins (the pain relieving hormone).
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.
Pheomelanin ranges from red to pink. Redheads have much more pheomelanin than eumelanin in their bodies. That's why their skin tone is often so light, and why their hair is often reddish.
While scientific studies found no evidence to support these views, some physical traits are indeed characteristic of redheads: they have lower pain tolerance and require larger doses of painkillers, and even anesthetics.
Key Takeaways. 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.
Susceptible to sunburn — and melanoma
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.
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 DNA for blonde hair and red hair are about equally strong. People who have DNA for both often have strawberry blonde hair.
Redheads (men and women) differ chemically from the rest of us in that they can't make melanin (the brown pigment in freckles and tans). Instead, they make pheomelanin, which is reddish. Their sweat doesn't differ in composition from anyone else's, so there is no reason for them to smell different.
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.
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.
We redheads are extra confident because we learn very early in life how to deal with being different. This unique trait provides extra confidence and truly captivates everyone.
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.
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.
Irish immigrants arriving in Australia looking for labour gained a reputation as heavy drinkers and fighters, with 'blue' being local slang for a fight. The term evolved to come to mean a redheaded Irishman.
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!
And when you meet a red head with blue eyes, you are looking at the rarest colour combination of all for human beings. Around 17 per cent of people have blue eyes, and when combined with 1-2 per cent having red hair, the odds of having both traits are around 0.17 per cent.
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.
Throughout history, artists from Sandro Botticelli to Dante Gabriel Rossetti have mined the potent symbolism of red hair to alternately suggest promiscuity, sensuality, deviousness, and—above all—otherness for centuries.
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.
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.
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.