Is Auburn Hair Natural? (2024)

What is auburn hair?

Yes, auburn or red hair can be natural. Red hair is in fashion these days. Natural red hair is the rarest hair color in the world. A mere one to two percent of people are born with auburn hair. The prevalence is slightly higher in the northern and western fringes of Europe, especially the British Isles (mainly Ireland and Scotland), than in the rest of the world. The shade of red hair is not the same in all people. It varies from deep burgundy to bright copper, auburn, reddish-orange, burnt orange and strawberry blond.

To understand why red or auburn hair is so rare, let's understand what determines your hair color. The color of your hair is determined by the presence of a pigment called melanin, which is produced by a special type of cells called melanocytes. The relative abundance of two types of melanin, eumelanin and pheomelanin, in your hair imparts distinct color to your hair.

Table. Type and quantity of melanin according to hair color

Hair color Type and quantity of melanin pigment
BlackLarge amount of eumelanin
BrownModerate amount of eumelanin
BlondScanty amount of melanin (of which around 95 percent is eumelanin)
RedAbundant pheomelanin with scarce eumelanin

Thus, a greater amount of eumelanin makes the hair look darker whereas a larger amount of pheomelanin determines how red your hair is. Hair color is not just present in the above-mentioned four varieties. Rather, it ranges over a wide variety of hues. You may find people whose natural hair color may vary from flaxen blond to charcoal black. Several genes determine which type of melanin will be present in the hair and in what quantities. Some of the genes determining the hair color are MC1R, DTNBP1, ASIP, KITLG, MLPH, HERC2, GPR143 and SLC24A.

Besides the presence of the different varieties of these genes, their relative expression also determines what the color of your hair will be. This is responsible for the varied shades of hair color occurring naturally. Of these, MC1R is the most extensively studied gene responsible for hair color. This gene instructs the cells to make a protein called the melanocortin 1 receptor. This receptor is involved in the pathway that produces melanin. It regulates the production of different types of melanin in the cells (melanocytes). Activated or turned on melanocortin 1 receptor stimulates the melanocytes to make eumelanin. A blocked or turned off melanocortin 1 receptor makes the cell produce pheomelanin instead of eumelanin.

Red hair is called a recessive trait. This means that two copies of the gene responsible for red hair must be present to have the natural red or auburn hair. Hence, you may have the gene for auburn hair, but if the second copy of the gene is different, you will not get natural auburn hair. Interestingly, studies suggest that the gene responsible for red hair also makes the person more sensitive to pain. Hence, during a procedure, people who are born with red hair need a higher dose of anesthetics compared with people with another hair color.

Since auburn hair is in vogue these days, many people including celebrities and social media influencers are getting their hair colored auburn. If you wish to give your hair an auburn color, get the help of a professional stylist to get the best results. Auburn hair color must be protected from heat and sunlight. Thus, with this hair color, you might have to ditch heat-styling and washing your hair with hot water. Go gentle on your hair if you get it colored auburn. This includes using mild sulfate-free hair conditioner and shampoo on your auburn locks.

Is Auburn Hair Natural? (2024)

FAQs

Is Auburn Hair Natural? ›

What is auburn hair? Red hair varies from deep burgundy to bright copper

copper
Copper is a reddish brown color that resembles the metal copper.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Copper_(color)
, auburn, reddish-orange, burnt orange and strawberry blond. Auburn or red hair can be natural. Yes, auburn or red hair can be natural.

What nationality has auburn hair? ›

Auburn hair occurs most frequently in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), Britain, Ireland, continental Germanic Europe (Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg), France and northern Iberia, Poland, and Russia.

Is auburn hair considered red hair? ›

Is auburn the same as red hair? Auburn is a variation of red hair, and while all auburn hair is red, not all red hair is auburn. Dark auburn hair leans toward deep reddish-brown, and light auburn hair may appear more orange.

Why is auburn hair rare? ›

Natural redheads are somewhat of an anomaly. According to the National Institutes of Health, the rich, gorgeous hair color is extremely rare as it's associated with a gene mutation that only affects around 2% of the population.

What hair colors are considered natural? ›

Natural hair color can be black, brown, red and blonde.
  • Color shade scale.
  • Image gallery.
  • Black hair.
  • Brown hair.
  • Auburn hair.
  • Red hair.
  • Blond hair.
  • Gray and white hair.

What is the rarest hair color? ›

Yes, auburn or red hair can be natural. Red hair is in fashion these days. Natural red hair is the rarest hair color in the world. A mere one to two percent of people are born with auburn hair.

What is the rarest eye color? ›

Gray: The Rarest Eye Color
Eye ColorU.S. PopulationWorld Population
Gray and otherLess than 1%Less than 1%
Green9%2%
Hazel/amber18%10%
Blue27%8% to 10%
1 more row
Jan 1, 2024

What is the rarest hair type? ›

Type 1A hair is very straight and fine, with no waves or curls whatsoever. This hair type tends to get very oily and requires frequent shampooing. It is the rarest hair type and is common among women of Asian descent.

Does auburn hair age you? ›

Adding warmth to blonde shades in the auburn range gives cooler skin tone and complexion a glowy, youthful radiance.

What is the prettiest hair color? ›

Most Attractive Hair Colour According to Women
Hair colorPercentage
Brunette38%
Blonde36%
Red18%
Black5%
1 more row
Mar 7, 2023

What hair color is most attractive to guys? ›

A third of all men in the poll found brown hair to be the most attractive; 28.6% said they prefer black hair. That means of the total polled, 59.7% said they prefer women with dark hair. When it came to women with other hair colors (yeah, hello!) 29.5% of men preferred blondes and 8.8% of men preferred redheads.

What is the rarest hair color and eye combination? ›

According to an article by evolutionary biology professor Mark Elgar, PhD, of the University of Melbourne, blue-eyed redheads are the absolute rarest, with 0.17% of the population having that combination of hair and eye color. So if that describes you, you're most likely one in a million—or more!

Do redheads go grey or white? ›

One of the many facts about redheads is that their hair will never turn grey. The pigment in their hair that causes it to be red will just fade over time, causing their hair to turn blonde or white, but never grey.

What is the genetic behind auburn hair? ›

The genetic link

A gene called MC1R plays a role in whether someone will have red hair. People who have certain variants in this gene are more likely to have red hair because they have higher levels of pheomelanin.

What ethnicity is most likely to have red hair? ›

Red hair is most commonly found at the northern and western fringes of Europe; it is centred around populations in the British Isles and is particularly associated with the Celtic nations.

What color eyes do most redheads have? ›

Having red hair and blue eyes is the rarest hair/eye color combination possible. The odds of a person having both of those recessive traits is around 0.17%. Instead, most redheads have brown, hazel or green eyes, according to Medical Daily.

Is auburn hair a dominant trait? ›

Since red hair is a recessive trait, the children of two redheaded parents will almost always be redheaded as well. In contrast, if only one parent is redheaded and the other has brown hair, there is a higher chance that the children will display the dominant trait and will have brown hair.

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