Interesting Things About Redheads That You Might Not Know

Redheads make up a tiny percentage of the general population, but they are among the most represented in media, and for good reason. The brightest and boldest of hair colors is associated with some bizarre superpowers and a greater likelihood of some interesting personality traits.

Here’s a list of some things about redheads that you might not know…

Red Hair Doesn’t Go Gray

Surprising as it might sound, red hair doesn’t actually turn gray with age the same way other hair colors do. Instead, red hair loses its pigmentation and goes straight to a light blonde or white color, skipping the in-between gray stage of hair aging entirely.

Redheads are More Likely to be Left-Handed

On average, around 15% of the population is left-handed, and as it’s a recessive gene, that proportion is unlikely to increase. What’s interesting is that red hair is also a recessive gene, and people with red hair are also more likely to be left-handed.

This is an excellent example of how recessive genes slowly disappear over time, except in certain pockets of the gene pool.

Redheads Need Less Vitamin D

Everybody needs Vitamin D to live a healthy life, but unlike many vitamins that are ingested, we get Vitamin D from exposure to natural sunlight.

It’s not too surprising, then, that people with red hair require less Vitamin D, and are even able to produce it themselves within their body, as this is a genetic advantage in parts of the world where redheads are most common: places across Northern Europe where sunlight is scarce.

Redheads Have Fewer Hairs

Yes, red hair can be a very vibrant color, but a little bit of that color goes a long way. On average, redheads have fewer hairs on their heads than people with other hair colors, with only around 90,000 hairs per head compared with as much as 140,000 on blonde heads.