# How many redheads on the Dope? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 24, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466 "2005-01-24T20:46:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/81 "2005-01-27T01:07:01Z")
What’s left of my hair is red. Though it’s become browner since I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/82 "2005-01-27T11:41:28Z")
> [@Salem](#): > > Any other older redheads not going gray quickly? I’ve got a few here and there, but considering I’m in my 40’s, seems like there should be more. Maybe my birth certificate is way off and my mother never noticed. My mom is in her late 40s and you can’t really see gray, her hair is just lighter than when she was younger. Her grandmother, who was the only previous redhead in the family, died in her early 60s and hadn’t gone gray. I’ve heard red takes the longest to look gray because we have different colors in our hair anyway, from white to blood red, which is more pronounced than other colors’ variations from strand to strand. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/83 "2005-01-27T12:15:46Z")
> [@gum](#): > > I’m 5’6" tall, 110 lbs, [my hair is long and my skin is very white, yes] 5 freckles on my left knee and my eyes are grey. > > And let’s not talk about my personality. 😃 Hello nurse!! How **you** doin? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![brix11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@brix11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brix11)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/84 "2005-01-27T15:58:55Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Well, there were “personal family” reasons for not wanting red hair, which, now that I am an adult, are silly reasons, but as a child, if my mother and grandmother said it was bad, by default, it was bad for me, too. This reminds me of the story that my grandfather keeps repeating (because of the impending birth of my child) of how terrible it was to see bright red hair on his newborn son’s (my dad’s) head. He’s never explained why it upset him (my hunch is some kind of superstition), but it bothered him enough to keep my dad’s hair cut so short as he was growing up that he came to be called Butch. We hope our kid has flaming orange hair just to spite him. At any rate, he seems to be OK with my [reddish-brown mane](http://homepage.mac.com/brixius/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2004-05-23%2005.31.36%20-0700/Image-78C4955AACB311D8.jpg). It’s slowly but surely becoming tinged with gray…at the tender age of 26! Carpet is a duller shade of the curtains, but my facial hair is noticeably redder. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/85 "2005-01-27T16:11:10Z")
Is your grandfather Italian, **brix**? There’s an old Italian superstition that redheads are bad luck. **elfkin** , my grandmother (also a redhead) started going grey when she was 19, and had white hair by the time she was 30. I’ve found a few strands over the past couple years, and I’m not liking it. ---
**Author:** ![brix11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@brix11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brix11)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/86 "2005-01-27T16:15:44Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > Is your grandfather Italian, **brix**? There’s an old Italian superstition that redheads are bad luck. Germanic origins, but Roman Catholic. That probably explains it! ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/87 "2005-01-27T16:16:10Z")
> [@brix11](#): > > We hope our kid has flaming orange hair just to spite him. Could happen. I’m told, or rather was told by my mother, that when my sister brought a friend home to see the new baby her friend blurted out, “But, Eleanor, he’s got ORANGE hair!” ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/88 "2005-01-27T16:19:20Z")
> [@brix11](#): > > At any rate, he seems to be OK with my [reddish-brown mane](http://homepage.mac.com/brixius/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2004-05-23%2005.31.36%20-0700/Image-78C4955AACB311D8.jpg). It’s slowly but surely becoming tinged with gray…at the tender age of 26! Carpet is a duller shade of the curtains, but my facial hair is noticeably redder. Yes, sadly, I have to add that my hair also has a shock of silvery gray hairs, on the front right. I’m only 26, as well, however, I’ve had this gray hair since I was _14_. My mother went gray early, as well, so it might not necessarily be red hair, but genes unrelated to red hair. Perhaps genes related more to gray hair 😉 She never went completely gray, though, and at 46, she still looks incredibly young. Both she and my grandmother are Roman catholic, as well. I never thought of the connection before - must have been a double threat, then! Cursed by a redhead, cursed with red hair… oh, whatever are we to _do_? Bah! ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/89 "2005-01-27T16:45:47Z")
Me. Starting going grey at around 16, so I “clean up” the color every couple of months or so, as close to natural as I can find. Carpet matches. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/90 "2005-01-27T16:53:55Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > … and at 46, she still looks incredibly young. As, in fact, she is. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/91 "2005-01-27T17:23:23Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > **Draelin** , for another! He beat me to it. But another redhead checking in! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/92 "2005-01-29T21:08:23Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > As, in fact, she is. Of course, but what I mean is that she looks like she’s MY age! So maybe “incredibly young” was the wrong phrase… let’s just say, she looks at least as young as her baby girl - ME 😃 I’ll see if I can find a cite for that one… I say she’s a freak. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/93 "2005-01-29T21:40:29Z")
Another checking in. I have dark auburn hair, but with brown eyebrows, and brown body hair. But down below is a color of something fierce! (Something I’m sure you all wanted to know. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![DreamWorks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DreamWorks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreamWorks)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/94 "2005-01-29T23:04:04Z")
I’m a redhead, although I’ve been called “strawberry blonde”, “copper”, and “ginger.” Oh, and I’m a lefty which makes me a total freak. Hooray! ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/95 "2005-01-29T23:43:03Z")
I used to have a red beard. Now it’s gray. ## Tris “In my opinion, there’s nothing in this world, Beats a '52 Vincent, and a red headed girl.” ~ Richard Thompson ~ ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/96 "2005-01-30T00:03:25Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Of course, but what I mean is that she looks like she’s MY age! So maybe “incredibly young” was the wrong phrase… let’s just say, she looks at least as young as her baby girl - ME 😃 > > I’ll see if I can find a cite for that one… I say she’s a freak. 😛 I was merely commenting on the relativity of “old” and “young.” When I was in the Army I looked at our squadron commander as, not “old” exactly but certainly “mature.” He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1940 so in 1944 he was all of 26. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Like\_Tears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@Time\_Like\_Tears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Like_Tears)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/97 "2005-01-30T00:10:30Z")
My hair was red when I was little, up until I was about 12 or 13. I come from a large family of redheads, ranging from a natural burgundy to very light strawberry. My mom has auburn hair, or she did until it started going grey. See [here](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/timeliketears/Sarah_Hair_1985.jpg), warning, nekkid kid pic. I have no idea what to call it now, it’s darkened to somewhat of a very dark ashy blonde. No gold, very little red left, it’s sort of no color. Odd. Oh, and I don’t have a single recent pic of me since I went back to my natural color. I actually prefer [my hair dark](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/timeliketears/09_12Ab.jpg), now that I’m grown into my face and stuff. I have always been very fair, with light freckles and rather dark eyebrows, grey eyes. The carpet’s sort of odd, too, burgundyish. ---
**Author:** ![Pigs\_in\_Space](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@Pigs\_in\_Space](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pigs_in_Space)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/98 "2005-01-30T05:56:45Z")
Flaming red, sometimes with blond highlights. All auxiliary hair is dark brown with red highlights. ---
**Author:** ![Mdm.President](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@Mdm.President](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdm.President)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/99 "2005-01-30T15:23:23Z")
I’m an orange head, exactly 5’2, 130lbs but _russian voice_ I’m strong like bull, blue eyes at birth but now sea green. My hair is 3 feet long from scalp to tip, gaudy I know but I’m growing it out for locks of love… or life, whatever. It’s thick enough to separate into two braids when they cut it so I will make 6 wigs!! Yea me. I am a goddes. Bring me grapes. And men. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466/100 "2005-01-30T15:30:23Z")
> [@DreamWorks](#): > > I’m a redhead, although I’ve been called “strawberry blonde”, “copper”, and “ginger.” Oh, and I’m a lefty which makes me a total freak. > > Hooray! I’m a lefty redheaded freak, too! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-redheads-on-the-dope/286466.md?page=6)