What is auburn hair?
Red hair varies from deep burgundy to bright copper, auburn, reddish-orange, burnt orange and strawberry blond. Auburn or red hair can be natural.
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 |
| Black | Large amount of eumelanin |
| Brown | Moderate amount of eumelanin |
| Blond | Scanty amount of melanin (of which around 95 percent is eumelanin) |
| Red | Abundant 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.
FAQs
What is auburn hair? Red hair varies from deep burgundy to bright copper, auburn, reddish-orange, burnt orange and strawberry blond. Auburn or red hair can be natural. Yes, auburn or red hair can be natural.
How do you know if you can pull off auburn hair? ›
Since auburn ranges in shades from light to dark and cool to warm, it can be customized to flatter any skin tone. If you have a cool complexion, ask your colorist for an auburn hue with cool undertones. For those with warm undertones in their skin, auburn shades with warm, copper undertones will work best.
Is it possible to have dark red hair naturally? ›
Natural red tresses are typically a reddish-brown color. As with any hair hue, there are variations to it based on how light or dark the hair color is. This means you can have natural, light red hair or natural, dark red hair.
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.
What hair color is considered natural? ›
Predominantly, human hair can be of five different colors: black, brown, blond, white/gray, and rarely red. Among these major colors, different shades also exist.
What is the difference between red hair and auburn? ›
We classify auburn as a deeper shade of red somewhere within the medium to dark brunette category. Auburn is often considered a “cool tone” because it has a slightly blue undertone to it.
What is the hardest hair color to pull off? ›
First and definitely the hardest by far is GREY & SILVER!!!! This colour is definitely the trickiest on any level. This includes platinum or white, and any silvers or grey, even dark slate grey. For a start, its HARD to achieve as you have to get almost white blonde for any silver.
What does natural auburn hair look like? ›
For those of us who crave a wild and fiery mane, natural dark auburn red hair is the way to go. This gorgeous hue has been coveted by redheads for its vibrant shades of copper, ginger, and mahogany. Whether you're born with it or get some help from your stylist, this warm-toned hair shade can give your look an edge.
What's the rarest natural hair color? ›
The rarest natural hair colour is red, which makes up only one to two percent of the global population.
What color eyes do 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.
Ireland has the highest number of red-haired people per capita in the world, with the percentage of those with red hair at around 10%.
What do you call someone with auburn hair? ›
In England, a redhead is “ginger” haired. Redheads come in many different varieties, from bright red dyed hair to coppery auburn and strawberry blond. Many natural redheads have pale skin that burns easily in the sun and light-colored eyes.
What eye color goes best with auburn hair? ›
Auburn. Red sits opposite of green on the color wheel, which makes auburn one of the best hair colors for green eyes.
What is the rarest eye color? ›
Of those four, green is the rarest. It shows up in about 9% of Americans but only 2% of the world's population. Hazel/amber is the next rarest color after green. Blue is the second most common and brown tops the list, found in 45% of the U.S. population and possibly almost 80% worldwide.
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 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!
Is auburn hair dominant or recessive? ›
Inheritance of red hair
MC1R is a recessive gene. This means that two copies (one inherited from each parent) are required for the trait to be observed. In this case, two copies of the variant are required for the child to be a redhead.
