Why is red hair so rare?
A mutation in the MC1R gene causes red hair. This mutation, which is also a recessive trait, requires two parents to pass on a mutated version of MC1R to reproduce a redheaded child. Due to being a recessive trait, it’s common for red hair to skip a generation. After skipping one or multiple generations, it might reappear if both of the child’s parents have the elusive red hair gene.
Little do people know, redheads aren’t the only hair color that’s endangered. Now, we’ll dive into why blondes are going through a similar struggle.
Are blonds going to become extinct?
Before there were rumors of redheads going extinct, there were blondes. In September 2002, news of blondes disappearing within 200 years swept the headlines and was the subject of TV news shows everywhere. At the same time, a BBC News article pointed to “German scientists” as a source who claimed blondes would vanish by 2202. In the same article, it was said that Finland, which is home to a large population of blondes, would be the place where a blond would be born.
This declaration was based on the notion that not only was blonde hair a recessive gene, but men were turning more to dyed blonds, aka “bottle blonds,” over actual blonds. Some articles citing the same facts claimed that the World Health Organization provided the information.
This claim was controversial, and many prominent people said so. Johnathon Reese, a University of Edinburgh dermatologist, said that only blond hair would become “extinct” if being blond became an evolutionary disadvantage, which, at the moment, it wasn’t despite all the “dumb blond” jokes that exist. Reese commented that although blondes may become less common as time goes on, they won’t simply vanish.
