Red hair

This article is about people with red hair, also sometimes called Redheads. For other uses, see Redhead (disambiguation).

File:Far Away Thoughts.jpg

A red-haired woman, Far Away Thoughts John William Godward 1892. Red hair was a popular subject amongst Pre-Raphaelite artists

Red hair (also referred to as "auburn", "ginger", or "titian") is a hair color that varies from a deep red through to bright copper. People with red hair are often dubbed redheads.

Historical distribution

Red hair is most commonly found at both the west and eastern fringes of modern Europe. Although red hair is commonly associated with those in Britain and Ireland (more specifically the Scots, Irish and Welsh), dark red or reddish-tinged hair is also found in other Caucasian populations. Scandinavia also has a significant redhead population.

Red-headed, blue-eyed Central Asian (Tocharian?) and East-Asian Buddhist monks, Bezaklik, Eastern Tarim Basin, 9th-10th century.

The results of a 2001 study, by University of Edinburgh and University of Oxford teams of geneticists led by Harding and Rees [1] caused some to speculate that the gene responsible for red hair may have originated among the Neanderthals some 100,000 years ago. Red-haired people would then be descendents of Neanderthal admixtures to Cro-Magnon, and would have spread from the area of Neanderthal-Cro-Magnon contact. But interbreeding of Neanderthals with Homo sapiens is still a matter of debate, and in 2003, Edinburgh geneticist J. Rees suggested that the gene originated as recently as 40,000 to 20,000 years ago in Europe, well after the human migration from Africa, so that the geographical distribution of red hair would be due to post-glacial expansions from Europe.

A fragment by Xenophanes describes the Thracians as blue-eyed and red-haired, and Herodotus described the "Budini" (probably Udmurts and Permyak Finns) as being predominantly redheaded. The Berber and Kabylie populations of northern Algeria have occasional red heads.

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On the left, a red-headed girl in Kalasha, Pakistan.

Red hair is also found in Asia, notably among the Tocharians. The 2nd millennium BC Tarim mummies in China were found with red and blond hair, tartan-like wollens (being pastoral) and conical, 'witch-style' hats [2]. Red hair can be found today from North India, Iran and Pakistan, where it can be found most commonly amongst those of Iranian descent, such as the Pashtuns, all the way to Japan

Boudica, the famous Celtic queen of the Iceni, was said by the Greek historian Dio Cassius to: "be tall and terrifying in appearance ... a great mass of red hair fell over her shoulders". The Roman Tacitus commented on the "red hair and large limbs of the inhabitants of Caledonia [Scotland]" (The Life of Agricola, Ch. 11), which he linked with some red haired German/Belgic Gaulish tribes.

Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads of any country worldwide with around 13% of the population having naturally red hair. A further 40% of Scots carry the MC1R variant gene which results in red hair. Ireland has the second highest population of naturally redheaded people in the world, amounting to about 10% of its inhabitants.

Biochemistry and genetics of red hair

The biochemistry of red hair, discovered only in 1997, appears to be associated with the melanocortin-1 receptor. The MC1R recessive gene which gives people red hair and fair skin is also associated with freckles, though it is not uncommon to see a redhead without freckles. 80% of redheads have a MC1R gene variant [3], and the prevalence of these alleles is highest in Scotland and Ireland. MC1R is found on chromosome 16.

The genetics of red hair are now being uncovered, together with connections between red hair and melanoma, skin disorders in general, and different reactions to anaesthesia. There is evidence for genetic linkage of eye color with other hair colors such as brown hair, but MC1R is not linked to eye color. The inheritance of red hair is close to what geneticists describe as an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. This means that the parents of red-haired children may carry the gene for red hair but not have red hair themselves.

There is also evidence that red hair may be an example of incomplete dominance. This is similar to a simply recessive trait, but rather than not expressing at all when only one copy of the red hair allele is present, red hair blends with the other hair color, resulting in the very different types of red hair including strawberry blond (red-blonde) and auburn (red-brown).

A study by Liem et. al. suggests that redheads are more susceptible to thermal pain.

In people with red hair, the cells that produce skin and hair pigment have a dysfunctional melanocortin 1 receptor. Edwin Liem (researcher at the Outcomes Research Institute of the University of Louisville, US) says this dysfunction triggers the release of more of the hormone that stimulates these cells, but this hormone also stimulates a brain receptor related to pain sensitivity.

Researchers have found that redheads require greater amounts of anesthesia, but other research shows that women with naturally red hair require less of the painkiller pentazocine than do either women of other hair colors or men of any hair color.

MP Robin Cook was one of many redheaded Scots.

Red hair is one of the rarest types of hair color in humans, and it can be described in many ways. It varies in description from ginger, to auburn, to strawberry, to just red in the English language. Many studies have been done on MC1R the gene that codes for hair color, eye color, skin color, and ultraviolet light sensitivity, and red hair has been one of the focuses in these studies due to its relationship with UV sensitivity and fair skin. These studies have found that there seems to be a relationship with the alleles that code for red hair and UV sensitivity. It is thought that the greater likelihood of burning and sensitivity, or, rather lack of tolerance, to UV radiation is due to the lack of the pigmentation in the skin from not having much melanin. Melanin aids UV tolerance by aiding tanning, which reduces burning and so on.

The reasons behind this and red hair and its relationship to skin sensitive to UV radiation is currently of interest to a lot of melanoma researchers. Sunshine can both be good and bad for a person's health and the different alleles on MC1R represent these adaptations. It has been hypothesized in studies by Bodmer and Cavalli-Sforza (1976) that lighter skin pigmentation prevented rickets in colder latitudes by encouraging higher levels of Vitamin D production. Light colours also retain heat better than do dark colours -- although they similarly absorb heat less, but this has little significance when there is little to be absorbed, as in far-northern climes where sunlight is scarce for much of the year. On the other hand, it also has been shown in studies by Rees (2002a, 2002b) that individuals with pale skin are highly susceptible to a variety of skin cancers such as melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. Moreover, on MC1R, where the alleles that code for red hair occur, so do the alleles that impact skin color so it seems that the phenotypic expression for lighter skin and red hair are interrelated.

The alleles Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, Asp294His, and Arg142His on MC1R, are shown to be recessives for the red hair phenotype in studies by Harding, et al. (2000). Europeans that are heterozygous for red hair exhibit increased sensitivity to UV radiation in studies by Rees (2004).

Studies by Healy et al (2000) show that red hair alleles in MC1R effect increased freckling and decreased tanning ability. Conversely, people with darker skin and hair, which gives them increased UVR protection, are at risk of Vitamin D deficiency as shown in studies by Holick (2001). In studies by Harding, et al. (2000), the age of red hair Arg151Cys and Arg160Trp variants is estimated at 80,000 years which is consistent with the wide geographic distribution of the alleles.

Evidence exists suggesting red-headed women respond better to the pain-killer Pentazocine than other groups. A study conducted by Jeffrey Mogil showed red-headed women had a greater analgesic response, to that particular pain medication, than men. Their differing response to other drugs is as yet unclear.

Kwashiorkor condition

In cases of severe malnutrition, normally dark human hair may turn red or blonde. The condition, part of a syndrome known as kwashiorkor, is a sign of critical starvation caused chiefly by protein deficiency, and is common during periods of famine.

Red hair in popular culture

Queen Elizabeth I of England was a redhead, and during the Elizabethan era in England, red hair was fashionable. This was also the case during the rule of redhead Oliver Cromwell.

The famous children's book character Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump in Swedish) by Astrid Lindgren had bright red hair which she wore in pigtails that stuck out to the sides. Little Orphan Annie and Anne of Green Gables are also depicted with red hair.

A red-haired woman. Brazilian actress Marisol Ribeiro.

In several Muslim countries such as Iran and Pakistan, henna is used on greying hair to give it a bright red appearance. [4]

It is often the case that ginger hair darkens or lightens considerably as people get older, becoming brown or blonde, and this phenomenon leads some to associate red hair with youthfulness, a quality that is generally considered to be desirable.

As well as being prized, red hair is also sometimes subject to ribbing and ridicule. For example, in the UK and Ireland, the word "ginger" (often pronounced /'gɪ.ŋə/ to rhyme with 'ringer' (as opposed to /'dʒɪn.dʒə/) is sometimes derogatorily used to describe red headed people.

This "gingerphobia" [5] has been satirised on a number of TV shows. The British comedienne Catherine Tate appeared in a running sketch in an episode of The Catherine Tate Show in which she was forced to seek solace in a refuge for ginger people; the pejorative use of the word "ginger", and related discrimination, was used to illustrate a point about racism and prejudice in the "Ginger Kids" episode of South Park; and the British comedy Bo' Selecta! featured a spoof documentary which involved a caricature of red-haired Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall presenting a show in which celebrities (played by themselves) dyed their hair ginger for a day and went about daily life being insulted by people.

In Australia, red haired people are often given the ironic nickname "Blue".

Many painters have exhibited a fascination with red hair. The colour "titian" takes its name from Titian, who often painted women with red hair. [6] Other painters notable for their redheads include the Pre-Raphaelites [7], Edmund Leighton, Modigliani [8], Gustav Klimt [9] and Sandro Botticelli, whose famous painting, The Birth of Venus, depicts the mythological goddess, Venus, as a redhead.

See also: List of famous redheads

Myths and stories related to red hair

• The Biblical mark of Cain is thought by some to have been red hair. Esau's entire body is supposed to have been covered with red hair. Also Judas Iscariot is sometimes supposed to have been redheaded. King David is also known for having red hair.
• Early artistic representations of Mary Magdalene usually depict her as having long flowing red hair, although a description of her hair color was never mentioned in the Bible, and it is possible the color is an effect caused by pigment degradation in the ancient paint. This myth is used as a plot device in the book and movie The Da Vinci Code.
• Ancient Egyptians associated both red-haired humans and red-colored animals with the god Set, considering them to be favored by the powerful and temperamental deity. Several pharaohs associated with Set are described as being redheaded.
• In The Illuminatus! Trilogy, green-eyed redheads are said to be the favorite cohorts of Devil.
• In both the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Greek king Menelaus is repeatedly described as having red hair.
• Ancient Roman descriptions of the Picts describe almost all of them as being redheaded.
• The famous Viking explorer, Erik the Red, was known for his red hair.
• The Sherlock Holmes story "The Red-Headed League" (1891) was a favourite of its author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and included a sub-plot revolving around a pseudo-society restricted to redheads.
• The 1840 comic play Der Talisman by Johann Nestroy is about prejudice against redheads.
• According to English legend, King Arthur had long red hair. Many Arthurian myths end with the promise of his return in Britain's hour of need. Important British figures like Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Winston Churchill, both redheads, are said to be the fulfillment of this legend.
• Jonathan Swift satirizes redhead stereotypes in part four of Gulliver's Travels, "A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms," when he writes that: "It is observed that the red-haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength and activity." Swift goes on to write that: "...neither was the hair of this brute [a Yahoo] of a red color (which might have been some excuse for an appetite a little irregular) but black as a sloe..."
• The Girl With Red Hair. Hannie Schaft: Jannetje Johanna (Jo) Schaft (16 September 1920 – 17 April 1945), was a Dutch communist resistance fighter during World War II. Her nickname was "The girl with the red hair" (in Dutch Het meisje met het rode haar, also the title of a film about her). Her secret name in the resistance movement was Hannie.

Red hair and the supposed astrological influence of the planet Mars

There is a tradition amongst astrologers that the planet Mars is more likely to be rising above the eastern horizon at the time of the birth of a red haired person than for the population in general . Statistical analysis of birth data has given some support for this but the effect is far from scientifically proven.

A test of 500 people with naturally red hair ("redheads") was published in The Astrological Journal, vol. 5, p. 2224 (Sep-Oct 1988) and three other leading English language astrological journals, by American researchers Judith Hill and Jacalyn Thompson. This test supported their hypothesis, which was based on astrological tradition, that Mars (astrology) near the ascendant tends to occur at the births of red-haired people more often than would be expected by chance. Their hypothesis also stated that Mars at the births of red-haired people would occur less frequently near the descendant.

The expected frequency of Mars appearing within 30 degrees of the ascendant at birth, as determined by French psychologist Michel Gauquelin's collected data of 24,961 ordinary people, is 17%, and the expected frequency of Mars within 30% of the descendant is 16%. Hill and Thompson found a significant 27.2% of the red-haired subjects were born when Mars was within 30 degrees of the ascendant, and a negatively significant 9.8% of the red-haired subjects were born when Mars was within 30 degrees of the descendant. The three control groups of non-readheaded people did not show any significant distribution of Mars within either the strong or weak zones.

These results were challenged by skeptics Geoffrey Dean and Françoise Gaquelin, who were subsequently invited to submit their testing requests and requirements for a retest in a neutral environment. Gauquelin accepted, and her data-testing requests were carried out in full by Mike O'Neill, B.Sc. under the direction of Beverly Steffert, Ph.D. O'Neill and Steffert published the results of this retest in the peer-reviewed astrological journal Correlation, vol. 11(1) p. 24 (1991). Steffert concluded there was "no case for rejecting the authors' claim. Their hypotheses were upheld," and she recommended replication using samples from different countries.

Further reading

• Allen Sacharov. The Red Head Book (1985).
• Stephen Douglas. The Redhead Encyclopedia (1996).
• Uwe Ditz. Redheads (2000).
• Marion Roach. Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning and Sexual Power of Red Hair (2005).
• Liem EB et. al. Anesthetic requirement is increased in redheads. Anesthesiology. 2004 Aug;101(2):279–83.
• Box NF, Wyeth JR, O'Gorman LE, Martin NG, Sturm RA. Characterization of melanocyte stimulating hormone receptor variant alleles in twins with red hair. Hum Mol Genet. 1997 Oct;6(11):1891–7.

See also

• Hair colour
• Blond
• Brunette
• Strawberry blonde
• Melanocytes
• Melanin
  • Eumelanin
  • Phaeomelanin
• Keratinocytes
• Human skin colour
• List of redheads
• Yuezhi or "Moon People" - Ancient Asian people linked to the Tocharians

External links

• OMIM entry on red hair
• The roots of red hair
• Red Hair genetics for non-specialists
• Melanocortin 1 receptor: What’s red got to do with it?
• The Melanocortin 1 Receptor (MC1R): More Than Just Red Hair
• Anesthetic Requirement Is Increased in Redheads from Liem, Edwin B. et al. (2004) Anesthesiology: Volume 101(2), August 2004, pp 279–283.
• Why is red hair with brown eyes so uncommon? MadSci Network
• Red and Proud - a website about, for and by redheads
• Red Heads & Freckles Resource Center
• Distribution of hair and eye color and sex in 592 statistics students. from Snee, R. D. (1974).
• Painkiller Requirements May Be Less in Redheaded Women
• The Art of Being a Redhead - Gallery of 19th Century portraits of women with red hair