Pretty!

Compared to blondes or brunettes, redheads are mais than twice as likely to avoid going to the dentist—and they may have good reason. The same genetic variant that explains their fiery locks also makes redheads resistant to local anesthesia, such as Novocaine, explaining their dread of dental procedures, universidade of Louisville researchers reported in Journal of the American Dental Association.

In fact, redheads may need 20 percent mais anesthesia, researchers from the same center reported in an earlier study, in which women with bright red hair were compared to those with dark tresses. And...

A common belief about redheads is that they have fiery tempers and sharp tongues. In Anne of Green Gables, a character says of Anne Shirley, the redheaded heroine, that "her temper matches her hair", while in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield remarks that "People with red hair are supposed to get mad very easily, but Allie [his dead brother] never did, and he had very red hair."

During the early stages of modern medicine, red hair was thought to be a sign of a sanguine temperament.[50] In the Indian medicinal practice of Ayurveda, redheads are seen as most likely to have a Pitta temperament....

In his book "I Say No" Wilkie Collins (1885) wrote "The prejudice against habitual silence, among the lower order of the people, is almost as inveterate as the prejudice against red hair."

In modern-day UK, the words "ginger" or "ginga" are sometimes used to describe red-headed people (and are at times considered insulting),[58] with terms such as "gingerphobia" (hatred towards redheads)[59] or "gingerism" (prejudice against redheads)[60] used por the British media. In Britain, redheads are also sometimes referred to disparagingly as "carrot tops" and "carrot heads". (The comedian "Carrot Top"...

Genetics

The alleles Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, Asp294His, and Arg142His on MC1R are shown to be recessives for the red hair phenotype.[26] The gene HCL2 (also called RHC or RHA) on chromosome 4 may also be related to red hair.[27][28]

In species other than primates, red hair has different genetic origins and mechanisms.

Evolution

Origins

Red hair is the rarest natural hair color in humans. The non-tanning skin associated with red hair may have been advantageous in far-northern climates where sunlight is scarce. Studies por Bodmer and Cavalli-Sforza (1976) hypothesized that lighter skin pigmentation prevents...