Red hair

Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of Northwestern European ancestry, typically those of Celtic ancestry, and smaller amounts in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive allele on chromosome 16 that produces an altered version of the MC1R protein. Red hair varies in hue from a deep burgundy or bright copper, or auburn, to burnt orange or red-orange to strawberry blond. Characterized by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin, it is typically associated with type I of the Fitzpatrick scale, freckles, and sensitivity to ultraviolet light, although it is also frequent in darker skinned individuals of different races. Cultural reactions to red hair have been varied. The term "redhead" has been in use since at least 1510, while the term "ginger" is sometimes used, especially in Britain and Ireland, to describe a person with red hair.