What is Red Hair?
Hair color is primarily determined by two types of melanin called pheomelanin and eumelanin. Eumelanin determines the darkness of hair color. Eumelanin has two subtypes: black and brown. In the absence of other pigments: • A low amount of brown eumelanin results in blonde hair. • A higher amount of brown eumelanin results in brown hair. • A high amount of black eumelanin results in black hair. • A low amount of black eumelanin results in gray hair. Pheomelanin colors hair red. Although all humans have varying amounts of pheomelanin in their hair, in general, most redheads have higher amounts of pheomelanin and lower amounts of eumelanin. The varying shades of red hair color are caused by a mixture of how much eumelanin and pheomelanin is present in the hair.
