# Red head thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843 "2004-03-17T14:28:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/61 "2004-03-19T00:59:32Z")
Well, let’s see… My maternal grandmother was a redhead, but was yellow to gray during the years I knew her (she was 36 or 37 when she had my mom, so she was well into going gray by the time I came along). Her hair was pure white long before she died. My aunt, my dad’s sister, is a redhead. It was a medium-red when I was first old enough to notice the hair color, and has gradually gotten lighter and lighter until it’s gray now. My cousin, back on my mom’s side of the family, is a redhead. She had fairly light red hair, which had gone more to a dark blond now that she’s in her 30s. And finally, my nearly-3-year-old niece has gorgeous, brilliant, bright red hair. My sister is a blonde, and her husband has black hair. But both of our families have a large percentage of Scottish blood in our veins, so that explains it. No redheaded males in my family, though. Well, there’s my stepfather, but he’s not blood kin. I lost my virginity to a redhead. Yes, carpet and drapes 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/62 "2004-03-19T01:03:06Z")
Feria #63. Sparkling Amber ---
**Author:** ![Sinshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sinshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinshine)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/63 "2004-03-19T07:13:56Z")
Natural red-head of the auburn variety checking in. My hair was strawberry-blonde as a child, but has gotten darker over time. I have loved it all my life, but I do sometimes resent the attention I get, at least when it is very intrusive. When I went to university in Toronto, a woman ran up to me on the street and held me by the arm while she asked me where I had gotten my hair dyed that shade of red. I told her it was natural, and tried to walk away, and she held on harder and kept insisting it had to be a dye job, what was the name of my colorist, and what dye did s/he use??? I took her hand off my arm, and told her, “it’s not dyed, its genetics.” She wanted to know if that was spelled with one X or two. Um, two, I told her. If she wanted to not hear the truth, why tell her? I have been told that red hair is a recessive gene, and that there have to be quite a few “red-hair” markers in the gene pool for it to appear in every generation, or even in most generations. I don’t know from science, though, and am open to correction. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/64 "2004-03-19T18:01:18Z")
My hair was chestnutty when I was a child & teenager, but it has in recent years morphed into a sort of dark auburn - redness increases as the humidity increases. It changes quite a bit, it seems; my best friend swears that my hair’s a slightly different color each time I see her. And yeah, I’ve been asked numerous times whether my hair color is real. Come to think of it, my hair’s also odd because it gets curlier as it gets _longer_, but that’s neither here nor there. As for the carpet/drapes question: Oddly, the carpet is slightly redder than the drapes. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/65 "2004-03-19T18:53:14Z")
> [@Cosmopolitan](#): > > Come to think of it, my hair’s also odd because it gets curlier as it gets _longer_, but that’s neither here nor there. How did that happen? I am so jealous. Mine is just wavey when it’s long. Which it has been for years. > [@Cosmopolitan](#): > > As for the carpet/drapes question: Oddly, the carpet is slightly redder than the drapes. Just the opposite for me-- lighter down under. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Carm6773](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@Carm6773](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carm6773)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/66 "2004-03-20T00:14:37Z")
My hair is a dark brown with some blonde and dark copper highlights. The more I am in the sun, the more the highlights show up. Do I get to hang with y’all? ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/67 "2004-03-20T00:42:02Z")
> [@Ace309](#): > > I have brown hair, but a red beard. Can I hang with the cool people in here? Heck yeah! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![catnoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@catnoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catnoe)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/68 "2004-03-20T02:57:47Z")
Over the last 40-something years my hair has gone from so pale as to seem bald to platinum to golden to dirty blond/almost light brown. Only these days I have red/auburn highlights, the natural kind. I tried to dye my hair blond or lighten it last week but it only intensified the highlights. (And my grays aren’t gray, they’re white and I don’t have all that many of them.) ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/69 "2004-03-20T04:56:44Z")
I’m thinking that whether the carpets matched the drapes should be a moot question. I’m always hoping there is no carpet. 😃 Oh, and redheads are yummy. ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/70 "2004-03-20T05:34:31Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > Red Head here :::raises hand::: Since I was 15 😛 > > If you’re a really good friend, I’ll show my blonde roots. 😉 You wanna be friends, maybe really good friends? ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/71 "2004-03-20T05:35:02Z")
[QUOTE=Yookeroo] I’m thinking that whether the carpets matched the drapes should be a moot question. I’m always hoping there is no carpet. 😃 Hey, its trimmed – not totally 70’s bush like. > [@](#): > > Oh, and redheads are yummy. For the second time today, I have to say Heck yeah.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![i\_like\_bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@i\_like\_bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_like_bacon)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/72 "2004-03-20T14:02:31Z")
carpets matching the drapes? mind your own business!! one thing i always hated about being a red head, tho, was little old ladies constantly touching it and saying “ohhhh where did you get that pretty red hair?” Um hello??? my great grandmother, my mother, my aunt and my older sister all have the same color! weird thing tho, i have one red headed nephew out of 4 daughters in my family. the nephew is the son of one of the two that didn’t have red hair. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/73 "2004-03-20T16:36:55Z")
I’m a redhead! And it’s all natural :insert wiseass “all over” comment: 😃 My hair was much lighter when I was a child. Now it’s a dark auburn that looks brown in indoor pictures. My daughter has brown hair with red highlights but her father had black hair so I guess it’s just an even mix. Yes, I hated my hair as a child and went through several colors before I decided redheads are hot. Now that it’s darker (with a few grays here and there) I’m considering brightening it up again. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/74 "2004-03-20T19:11:58Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > I’m thinking that whether the carpets matched the drapes should be a moot question. I’m always hoping there is no carpet. 😃 > > Oh, and redheads are yummy. My sweetie has auburn hair, but no carpet to offer proof… she IS yummy tho! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/75 "2004-03-20T20:16:04Z")
Hi, Natural red-head here, dark auburn. My hair was actually black when I was born and lightened by the time I was 3. Now though I’m having a red-head crisis- I get it highlighted with blonde/dark high & low lights and people keep saying “oh, you went red!” Huh? The red is MINE, the rest is cosmetic. Inside/under low light my hair does look more chestnut brown but its definitely red in the sun. And the carpet too 😉 . I’m the oldest of four redheads- all different shades. My dad is a red-head but my mom isn’t. Funny story is that I used to think I got my hair from my grandma, but she fell in love with the color of my hair when I was 3 and dyed it red for years after that. I think I was a teenager before I saw an old picture of her and she had blondish brown hair. I did hate it when I was kid- especially when I went somewhere with my siblings- it felt like being a freak show (four redheaded kids does attract alot of attention). But now I love it and get pretty upset/defensive if someone suggests I’m not a real red-head. Its definitely something you earn when you are a kid- not easy being a carrot-top but I love it now. Jaime ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/76 "2004-03-21T02:10:40Z")
**misstee** : I dunno what’s with my hair, but when it was mid-back length it was insanely curly & now that it’s short, it’s not that curly at all. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/77 "2004-03-21T03:47:35Z")
> [@if6was9](#): > > My sweetie has auburn hair, but no carpet to offer proof… she IS yummy tho! 🆒 Yeah yeah…rub it in. In about a month, I’m gonna dye some of my dreadlocks bright red (doing to for the Coachella Festival). Does that count? Supposedly, it will glow under black lights. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/78 "2004-03-21T03:53:55Z")
Not really redheaded here. A slight reddish tint in the sunlight, maybe. However, my cousin has real, bright, red hair. It’s RED, not orange or auburn. And curly. It’s amazing. I’ve only seen it in pictures, so I can only imagine it must be even more intense in real life. And as for the curly when long, straight when short hair, count me in. My hair has loose, wide curls that don’t show up until my hair is past my chin. I’ve never had it past my shoulders, though. Right now it’s a little shorter than chin length, so only the ends of my hair are curly. ---
**Author:** ![moonstarssun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@moonstarssun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moonstarssun)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843/79 "2004-03-21T04:19:46Z")
Natural redhead here. It was black when I was born, then fell out and grew in orange. It’s dark auburn now. I’ve always loved being a redhead. I got the red hair from my dad, but got my mom’s dark brown eyes and ability to tan, so I’m kind of an atypical redhead. Mr. moonstarssun is blond, but with a reddish cast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-head-thread/234843.md?page=3)