40 Fiery Facts About Being A Redhead
There’s just something about red hair. Throughout history, it’s been associated with Vikings, magic, and even vampires, and today, people with red hair are seen as unique and special. Why? Not only is it extremely rare, but there are tons of fascinating and strange genetic differences that explain some of the mystique surrounding this hair color. From cool science to bizarre historical context, the following facts might make you start looking at redheads a little differently!
1. Blue eyes and red hair is the rarest combination on the planet
Have you ever seen a redhead with blue eyes? If not, there’s a very good chance you aren’t alone: it’s the rarest combination on Earth. According to figures from 2018 only 0.17 percent of the planet’s population sport that combination of features! Why is it so rare, though?
Well, as Professor Mark Elgar told the University of Melbourne website, “Red hair and blue eyes are both recessive traits, which means a person needs to inherit both of the genes from both parents. In contrast, brown hair and brown eyes are dominant traits.”
2. The first red-headed president was Andrew Jackson (or was it?)
Depending on who you ask, you might get a different answer to the question, “Who was America’s first red-headed President?” It’s caused suitably fiery debates over the years, with two guys vying for the crown. Andrew Jackson, who was the seventh man to take office, definitely sported red locks while he was alive.
But some won’t accept him as the first. You see, America’s inaugural leader George Washington reportedly had red hair when he was younger. Proof of that is hard to come by, though: there are no pictures to back up these claims.
3. Redheads are more sensitive to pain
Not everyone shares the same pain threshold: what could really hurt some folks won’t bother others in the least. Yet when it comes to redheads, there’s a good chance that they have a lower tolerance to aches and discomfort than the rest of us.
Why’s that, then? Well, as per USA Today, it’s all down to their genetics. The mutated gene that’s responsible for producing red locks, MC1R, shares the same space as the DNA segment tied to the pain receptors.
4. They are more likely to be lefties
According to a 2020 study in the Journal of Hand and Microsurgery, a mere 10 to 12 percent of Earth’s population is left-handed. Who knew it was that low? But get this: there’s also a pretty strong possibility that lots of redheads are among their number.
Much like with red hair, a recessive gene is present in people who favor their left hand over their right. And as those traits typically appear in pairs, that means there’s a high likelihood that redheads possess it.
5. Only 2 percent of people in the world have red hair
To put into perspective just how rare redheads are around the world, only about 2 percent of the entire population has read hair — that’s it! Obviously, though, in certain parts of the world, it’s more common.
In fact, certain countries have quite high proportions of red-headed folks. Scotland is at the top of the pile, with 13 percent of its people rocking red hair, and nearby Ireland isn’t too far behind at 10 percent.
6. Redheads never go gray
As we get older, most of us can’t help but be on the look-out for gray hairs, but people with red hair don’t have to worry about that. Quite simply, it’s next to impossible for them to go gray.
Instead, red hair tends to get blonder with age, before turning white. This is a result of the red pigment fading as the years go on. We can sense the envious glances being directed their way!
7. Marriage between redheads was once banned
Arguably the most infamous man in history, Adolf Hitler was responsible for some truly despicable acts in and around World War II. He used the word “Aryan” to refer to his idea of a “pure German race,” and apparently this didn’t include redheads.
According to rumors, Hitler even went as far as to ban red-haired couples from getting married. As the stories go, he feared that two redheads would go on to parent “deviant offspring.”
8. Beware of the bees
While their hard work is certainly appreciated, no one wants to get too close to a bunch of bees. Anyone who’s been stung by one knows how painful it can be. But for redheads, keeping their distance bees might not be enough to ensure their safety.
According to some reports, bees are said to be more attracted to people with red hair, apparently because the bees see the red color resembles bright flowers. However, many experts say there’s no scientific evidence to back this up. So this may just be an old wives’ tale.
9. Redheads have fewer hairs
Compared to people with brunette or blond hair, redheads typically have fewer actual hairs. The average figure is around 90,000 strands, while brunettes tend to have around 140,000 strands, and blondes have approximately 110,000.
However, it’s not all bad news. Despite the lower number, red hairs are usually thicker than all the other colors, meaning red hair can look just as full, sometimes even fuller. It’s a genetic magic trick!
10. They can produce their own vitamin D
Vitamin D does a lot to help the human body, from our bones to our teeth. But did you know people with red hair can’t take in vitamin D like the rest of us? Due to their lower concentration of melanin, it’s very difficult for them to absorb it via the Sun.
Yet that’s not to say that redheads don’t get any vitamin D at all. To make up for the absorption issue, their bodies are better at creating the nutrient from scratch when in low light conditions. Yes, that’s as cool as it sounds!
11. Dyeing red hair is both difficult and damaging
While it’s fairly easy to dye other shades of hair at home and in the salon, that’s not the case for redheads. Red hair is unique in that it holds onto its natural pigment a lot more intensely than other hair types.
So what can redheads do if they fancy a change? There is a solution, but it could cause damage to the hair follicles: by bleaching the hair, the pigment gets cleared, which opens the door for dyes to work better.
12. Red hair can occur in any ethnicity
It might seem like red hair is restricted to caucasians because the vast majority of redheads are of northern European descent. However, red hair can actually develop in all ethnicities.
The genetic mutation that creates the color isn’t just bound to a particular race. Still, red hair is extremely rarely seen on people outside of Europe, and when it does occur, it’s most likely due to migration.
13. There’s a red-headed festival in the Netherlands
If you’re a redhead and find yourself in the Netherlands during August, we’ve got a big surprise for you. That month, a special three-day festival is held to commemorate people with red hair. Roughly 5,000 people made their way to Tilburg for the 2023 event from all around the world.
Liam Hunter, a red-haired guy from Scotland, explained how affecting the experience had been. He told Reuters, “I don’t feel alone anymore; I feel together, a part of something. Being here I’m completed.”
14. Boars and birds have been studied to better understand redheads
Over the years, scientists have tried to learn more about redheads. Experts have been specifically interested in their unique pigment, known as pheomelanin, wondering if it has any impact on their health. So, in a bid to know more about it, they’ve studied animals with similar colors, and the findings are pretty interesting.
After looking at boars, specialists hypothesized that people with red hair could be at higher risk of cellular damage. And following an analysis of over 1,400 birds, a link was made between pheomelanin and smaller brains.
15. One scholar believed redheads were vampires
Montague Summers, a well-known scholar who wrote multiple books in the 20th century about the supernatural world, was more than a little suspicious of redheads. He once wrote, “Those whose hair is red, of a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakably vampires.”
The guy backed his claim up with a shocking historical “evidence.” “It is significant that in ancient Egypt, human sacrifices were offered at the grave of Osiris,” he wrote, “and the victims were red-haired men who were burned, their ashes being scattered far and wide by winnowing-fans.”
16. Some writers thought they were witches and pixies
The supposed links between red hair and the supernatural are myriad. At a time when the shade was associated with dark magic, nearly 50,000 red-headed women were executed on charges of witchcraft in 1400s Germany.
A couple of centuries later in other parts of Europe, people were convinced that pixies were running amok through their communities. According to them, the magical beings all had green eyes and, you guessed it, red hair.
17. People with red hair have an overactive temperature-detecting gene
During a study at the University of Louisville in 2005 researchers uncovered a fascinating fact about redheads. They found that people with red hair were more sensitive to cold and warm temperatures than those with other hair colors.
After taking a closer look, the group believed that the mutated gene MC1R could be responsible for this. The theory was that it was making the human gene for detecting temperature overactive. So that might explain why redheads tend to grab their gloves before the winter months set in!
18. They’re harder to anesthetize
Before undergoing certain medical procedures, you’ll be given an anesthetic to go to sleep, but fascinatingly, women with red hair aren’t as affected by the standard dose. The Anesthesiology journal discovered that they needed an additional 19 percent when compared to dark-haired women during a research project.
A number of experts believe this phenomenon is down to the lower pain tolerance that redheads have. Due to that, it’s harder for the anesthetic to work as it should.
19. Was Judas a redhead?
One of the most notorious figures in the Bible, Judas Iscariot is best-known for betraying Jesus. He’s also often thought to be a redhead. Many paintings from the Middle Ages show the traitor with red hair, but why?
Unsurprisingly, this is likely artistic license; the color red was a sign of treason, so it was the perfect hue to associate with Judas. There is no proper physical description of the guy in the New Testament to suggest that he really had red locks.
20. A medieval author thought red-headed blood could make gold paint
Have you ever wondered what goes into gold paint? Well, we can definitely discount one potential ingredient: the blood of red heads! However, during medieval times, a writer by the name of Theophilus Presbyter was convinced that the paint color Spanish gold couldn’t be made without it.
Specifically, he eyed up the blood of red-headed men, which he thought should be mixed with copper, basilisk powder, and vinegar to get Spanish gold. Let’s hope no one suffered off the back of this guy’s wild theory.
21. Why do clowns always have red hair?
It’s thought that clowns as we recognize them today — with the face paint and red-colored wigs — first became prominent in the early 1800s. One theory goes that the wigs needed to be a bright color so that the audience could see them from the back rows of large theaters, and red was the perfect choice.
Professor Andrew Stott from the University of Buffalo also thinks that Irish immigrants who moved to America at the beginning of the 1900s might have played a part in making red-headed clowns cultural mainstays. “It’s no accident that Ronald McDonald spells his surname the Irish way instead of Scottish,” he once said.
22. Redheads dominated TV commercials
Apparently, people with red hair are really good at selling you stuff. Incredibly, a study from 2014 showed that around 30 percent of the prime-time commercials on television included a red-headed person. That’s pretty wild when you remember that in real life, redheads account for 2 percent of the population. So what’s the deal?
Trying to understand the findings, Andrew Rohm from Loyola Marymount University, told NBC news, “I think it’s the novelty factor. The challenge that these companies have is breaking through the advertising clutter. The first job for a traditional 30 or 60-second commercial, because they’re so fleeting, is to make us pay attention. That’s where the redheads come in.”
23. National Redhead Day has been a thing since 2015
Besides the summer festival in the Netherlands, people with red hair also have their own day of celebration each November. Yes, November 5 marks National Redhead Day, or Love Your Red Hair Day. It all began in 2011 when two sisters named Stephanie and Adrienne Vendetti stood up against a website called Kick a Ginger Day.
The siblings, who both have red hair, duh, decided to start a site of their own, dubbing it How To Be a Redhead. From there, they worked towards establishing the inaugural National Redhead Day in 2015.
24. The Romans believed red-haired slaves were good-luck charms
There was no escaping slavery during the time of ancient Rome. According to the British Museum, experts suspect that around 10 to 20 percent of the population across the Roman empire were slaves. In terms of numbers, that’s 5 to 10 million people!
But when it came to purchasing said slaves, the Romans kept their eye out for one group in particular. Yep, redhead captives were a must-have back then because they were seen as lucky. Buyers would pay over the odds to secure them.
25. A Polish tradition suggests three redheads could make you very rich
Superstitions are a funny thing. Regardless of how outlandish they may be, some people swear by them. For our money, though, one of the craziest can be found in Poland. Apparently, redheads may hold the key to securing a fortune for those living in this European nation.
Tradition says that if you walk past three red-haired people on the bounce, you’ll take home the main prize during the next state lottery draw. We’d love to know if that’s ever happened!
26. Some British and French superstitions see redheads as bad luck
However, in some places, red hair is equated with ill fortune. Take the United Kingdom as an example. One of the superstitions there relates to the first phone call you receive on New Year’s Day. According to legend, brunettes provide the “best” luck, but redheads? Not so much.
Red-haired callers on New Year’s Day bring very bad juju. Then, there’s the French island of Corsica. Superstition here states that you’ve got to spit on the floor should you come across someone with red hair in public to swerve bad luck!
27. You don’t have to be ginger to have a redheaded baby
Despite what you may think, even if you aren’t a redhead yourself, there’s still a chance that you could have a red-haired baby. You see, people can still be carriers of the gene, regardless of their hair color.
If you’re in that category and have a partner with red locks, there’s a 50 percent shot of producing a ginger kid. The odds go down slightly for non-redhead couples, and those who don’t carry the mutation at all cannot produce a fiery-haired child.
28. Redheads don’t always look their age
Aging can be a sensitive topic at the best of times, but it’s especially tough for certain people with red hair. How come? Well, a 2016 research project in Current Biology uncovered some troubling information.
If a redhead harbors a pair of mutated MC1R genes, there’s a very good chance that they’ll appear two years older than their actual age. The analysis found that the gene was linked to issues such as drooping skin around the jaw and thinning lips!
29. Queen Elizabeth I made red hair popular in the Tudor years
For lovers of history, few periods are more fascinating than England’s Tudor years. It spanned more than a century and produced some iconic figures, two of which were redheads! While you might not be able to tell from his portraits, King Henry VIII did indeed have red hair.
And of course, his daughter Queen Elizabeth I was an iconic redhead, making the color popular across the whole nation. Apparently, folks in the royal court even dyed their hair to match!
30. Napoleon was a redhead... sort of
With the release of Ridley Scott’s movie, Napoleon Bonaparte was once again thrust into the public spotlight hundreds of years after his death. But here’s something you might not know about the former Emperor of France: he was a redhead — of sorts.
Russian poet Denis Davydov claimed, “The hair on his head was not black, but dark reddish-blonde.” It was further proved in a 2021 study shared in the International Journal of Sciences, too. Following a detailed DNA analysis, researchers confirmed that Napoleon had the mutated gene that leads to red hair.
31. Do red-headed women smell different?
Back in 1886 Dr. Augustin Galopin wrote Le Parfum de la Femme, which caught the attention of a lot of people. Dr. Tom Smith explained to The Guardian, “He had the weird theory that redheads had the strongest scent of all women. They ‘smelt of amber’ — brunettes smelt of ebony, and blondes of violets.”
As bizarre as that may sound, Dr. Galopin might have been on the right track. It’s since been pointed out that perfumes and other aromas change scent when they’re used by a redhead. Their skin is said to be more acidic than anyone else’s!
32. The health advantages and disadvantages of being a redhead
If you’re a guy with red hair, then this news could come as a relief. The British Journal of Cancer shared a report that claimed you were over 50 percent less likely to get prostate cancer compared to blond and brown-haired men.
Yet it’s not all good news: as cited in the 2010 International Journal of Cancer, research found redheads were at real risk of developing skin cancer. Plus, a paper in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology also suggested that folks sporting the red shade could have a higher chance of getting Parkinson’s disease.
33. Technically, redheads are mutants
Red hair is a result of a mutated gene, but for the longest time, scientists didn’t actually know that. It only came to light following studies conducted towards the end of the 1990s. To break it down, readheads all have the MC1R gene.
Usually, it pumps out melanin into our system. The mutated variants don’t do that, though: they make pheomelanin as an alternative. So yes, while redheads are technically mutants, they’re not quite the X-Men!
34. Many of the Thracians were redheads
Centuries before Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey became the countries we know them as today, they were home to an ancient group called the Thracians. Those people roamed the lands in 1,000 B.C., and one of their most defining physical features was the color of their hair.
Yep, a good percentage of the Thracians were ginger! And in keeping with that, they also bowed before blue-eyed deities who shared their hair color. Could their violent nature have fueled the myth about fiery-tempered redheads?
35. The first redheads emerged tens of thousands of years ago
Even though the Thracians were around thousands of years ago, they weren’t the first-known redheads to walk the Earth. You actually have to go back a lot further. We’re talking the time of the Neanderthals here!
After they began to leave Africa for less sunny climes, their bodies adapted to the conditions, which led to the MC1R mutation. But this might surprise you: three variations cropped up in different places. One emerged in Europe some 30,000 years ago, while the other couple appeared 70,000 years ago in western Asia.
36. Cleopatra dyed her hair red
Back in ancient Egypt, red was considered to be a color that denoted power. So, several rulers from that time decided to dye their locks with henna. Even Cleopatra did it! Yes, the world-famous Egyptian Queen altered her hair to give it a fiery shade.
The discovery was only made when a mural painting was found in Pompeii, showcasing Cleopatra with the unique look. And just to verify: it almost certainly would’ve been dye. Due to her Greek roots, there’s not much chance her mane was a natural red.
37. There are lots of celebrity redhead fakes
You’d think that compiling a list of famous natural redheads would be pretty easy, right? After all, we’ve seen plenty of celebs rocking the color over the years. But there’s a good chance that a chunk of your top choices of celebrity redheads wouldn’t be valid.
A lot of them are actually faking it! Famously redheaded stars, such as Cynthia Nixon, Amy Adams, Julia Roberts, Emma Stone, and Gillian Anderson, all have naturally blonde locks. Meanwhile, the likes of Debra Messing, Molly Ringwald, and Alyson Hannigan are actually brunettes. We feel lied to!
38. Brunettes can’t touch the redhead Disney princesses
After Snow White became the first Disney princess back in 1937, she opened the door for a host of other female characters to grab the title in the decades since. From Cinderella to Jasmine, it’s quite the list. This might shock you, though: from the line-up of “official” princesses, Belle stands alone as the only brunette.
That means redheads actually outnumber them thanks to Ariel and Merida. And even accounting for the “honorary” and “unofficial” royals, the red-haired women are still on top!
39. Mark Twain’s redhead views
When it comes to the famed writer Mark Twain, we wouldn’t blame you for not knowing what his natural hair color was. After all, the vast majority of photos of the guy are from when he was older, sporting white hair and a matching mustache.
But during his younger years, Twain was a proud redhead. He even came up with a cool quote that served to show how different red-haired folks were. The author said, “While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats.”
40. The active-love-life myth started way back
Of the many myths surrounding redheads is the claim they have more active love lives than anyone else. Is it true? Well, it depends who you ask. While sex expert Dr. Werner Habermehl suggested it had merit, HuffPost questioned her accuracy. As for the myth itself, it seemingly started via stories from the Bible.
According to the Jewish take on Adam and Eve, Adam had a previous lover in the form of Lilith, who was a passionate woman. She later dumped Adam to avoid becoming submissive to him, a move that led to her being villainized. The “sinful” Lilith was subsequently depicted with red hair!