We caught up with beautiful redheads around the world (most natural, some not) to explain why red hair is worth gushing over.
Roughly one percent of the world’s population has red hair, and what most people don’t know is that it takes both sets of genes (two parents) to create a redheaded child. In fact, if both parents are beautiful redheads, there’s a nearly 100% chance their offspring will be gorgeous redheads too — while if only one parent is a redhead and the other parent is merely a carrier of the gene, there’s a 50% chance of the redhead gene expressing itself. There’s a 25% chance of a redheaded child if both parents carry the gene but neither parent actually has that gene expressed.
Here’s where it gets wild — according to the American Chemical Society, melanin-producing cells called melanocytes, create two distinct classes of melanin called pheomelanins (they product yellow and red hair and pink areas on your body like genitals and lips), and eumelanin (responsible for darker colors like black or brown hair, deep toned freckles, etc). Eumelanin stands up to ultraviolet light by absorbing it as heat to reduce damage, whereas pheomelanin damages easily. It suddenly makes sense why your blonde and ginger friends tend to burn quicker, doesn’t it (and if you’re wondering, yes, there’s a link between red hair and melanoma)?
Beautiful redheads carry a version of a gene called MC1R that makes those wild melanocytes produce way more pheomelanin instead of eumelanin, and this typically results in pale skin and reddish hair (that hair can range from slightly orange tinted blonde all the the way deep, dark shades with a reddish tint).
Being a redhead is pretty special, though, so we rounded up some of our favorite beautiful redheads to share why their locks make them feel confident and beautiful. Presented in no particular order — we love them all.
Red hair is a great ice breaker.
“I love being a redhead,” shares Monica Olive. “It’s a great ice breaker and it comes with some great stories. I was born a redhead so I have the weird gene that makes painkillers work incorrectly.”
Monica Olive
You don’t have to even consider dying it.
It’s naturally beautiful, and that’s what Natalie Goldberg Klein loves about it. “When I was a child it was really hard to be a redhead. Now everyone tries to duplicate my strawberry blond from a bottle, and at 43 I don’t even have to consider coloring.”
Natalie Goldberg Klein
Beautiful redheads are fire inside AND out.
“I feel like fire inside and out,” shares Karin Chen. We agree.
Karin Chen
It’s versatile.
“As a natural strawberry blonde, I love that my hair can look more red one day but more blonde the next,” shares Lauren Wenning. “All without having to pay an arm and a leg!”
Lauren Wenning
Bottle-reds are in it for the fun.
“I love having my (bottle) red hair,” explains Astar Davidson, a beautiful redhead by choice. “It makes me stand out a bit more than my prior life as a boring brunette. The color exudes confidence and the older I get, the more confident I am with myself.”
Astar Davidson
You’re part of a pretty exclusive club as a redhead.
“Growing up, I didn’t like being a redhead because it made me stand out,” Felissa Benjamin Allard tells us. “In a sea of brunettes, I stood out, looked different, and people always stared. But now I love my hair, it’s part of me and what makes me unique. People always remember the redhead with the unusual name, which sometimes puts me at a disadvantage since I have the worst memory. I love that I never blend in with the crowd. Plus, people expect us to be a little spicy and I have no problem bringing the attitude. So far, none of my children have red hair but I’m hoping the bun in the oven does. There’s just something really special about being a redhead, we’re an exclusive club!”
Felissa Benjamin Allard
Redheads are automatically fierce even if they have sweet, gentle souls.
“I love how it makes me feel fierce and it makes me feel confident,” explains Keren Brown. “Also, I always look made up even when I have no makeup on because it gives me a pop of color.”
Keren Brown
Redheads are magnets.
“I’m a natural redhead, but of course I touch up my gray roots,” shares Susan Korwin. “Being a redhead is like holding a magnet. People are naturally attracted to us because we are rare. I used to hate being different, but now I love being unique!
Susan Korwin
Redheads are approachable.
“I love being a red head because it’s a bold color to match my personality,” shares Lauren Carasso. “I chose to have this color to stand out and make myself more approachable. I’ve learned that having red hair invites lots of conversation starters (for better or for worse!).”
Lauren Carasso
Redheads stand out in a sea of other hair colors.
“I am a model,” explains Bernadett Vajda. “The very fact that my hair is red has set me apart in the mix of blondes and brunettes– and in life, too.”
Bernadett Vajda
It’ll change the way you work (possibly).
“I love having red hair b/c it stands out from the sea of brunettes and blondes,” tells professional colorist Nikki Ferrara. “I’ve always wished I was a redhead and started coloring it the bold shade from age 12. I actually love it so much that I am a hair colorist and it is color that I have dedicated the most time to perfecting.”
Nikki Ferrara
Redheads are often a fun surprise.
“This is me in Wales where you’ll find lots of red heads,” explains Gretchen Kelly. “I was born with brick red hair. My dad was Black Irish with Alec Baldwin-black hair and blue eyes and Mom a brunette so people would joke about the ginger mailman. My red has paled to a strawberry blond but I love the fact that redheads don’t really gray out like other colors and I love our reputation for being fiery.”
Gretchen Kelly
You’ll never drown in a sea of blondes as a redhead, will you?
Marcy Haims loves her fiery red locks. “Being the age I am and living in Floridav,being a redhead has its perks. I’m in a sea of blondes — nothing but blondes! I would be invisible for sure without my red hair, and that wouldn’t be any fun.”
Marcy Haims
It’s a fairytale life as a redhead.
Beautiful redhead Charlee Nolan wants you to know this is her real life. No big deal.
Charlee Nolan, beautiful redheads
Redheads are fiery enough to ask where the redheaded emojis are in the scheme of life.
“Being a redhead makes me more memorable and gives me more of an excuse to be peppy and fiery, but we need a redhead emoji,” says Erin Silver.
Erin Silver
It can be a gorgeous reminder.
“I love my red hair, I inherited it from my dad,” explains Stephanie Maslow-Blackman. “He passed away when he was young so now my hair brings me joy because it reminds me of him!”
Stephanie Maslow-Blackman
Redheads are shiny souls — inside and out!
“I love my red hair because not many people have red hair and it shines!” says Jo Lorraine, a super vibrant nine year old from New York.
Jo Lorraine
Having that “it’s natural” moment.
“I did not appreciate my fiery locks until later in life,” Mollie Kyler tells Luxury Spot. “I was teased in middle school and different than the other girls. Often I asked my parents to let me dye it and luckily they never let me and I never have. It was some time around 18 that I truly started to appreciate how beautiful my hair was and how unique it was to me. It helped me stand out in a crowd and it is now my favorite feature about myself. I mean who doesn’t love saying ‘it’s natural’ and seeing the gasps from other beautiful women. Lovely enough, I met and fell in love with a redhead. You can often hear us banter over who has the best red hair, and spoiler alert, it’s me.”
Mollie Kyler and husband
Beautiful redheads exude joy.
Ronit Polin-Tarshish
Are you a beautiful redhead with some inspiring hair-related wisdom to share? Upload your thoughts and photos in the comments section below!
As a redhead, I learned a lot from this article! Thank you for that, and thank you for honoring us redheads who, probably like me, felt like outcasts as kids because we didn’t look like everyone else. You rock!!