A redhead of African descent is about as common as a Caucasian with red eyes. And there's a good reason for this -- being an albino causes them both. Except when people are of mixed ancestry, red hair in Africans is usually caused by a kind of albinism. When people think of albinos, they tend to think of white hair, pale skin and red eyes. While this is true for Caucasians, albinism works differently in people of African descent. There are a few different kinds of albinism in people of African descent, but the one that gives red hair is called rufous albinism.
How many redheads are there in the world? - BBC News
But then also people chuckled and laughed. It consists of photos of people with red hair, shot by Pokroy over a period of two-and-a-half years. Pokroy shot all her subjects in the same way: unsmiling head and shoulder portraits, looking directly at the camera, in white T-shirts against a white background. All the photographs were uncaptioned.
Photographer Explores The Beautiful Diversity Of Redheads Of Color
Fiery locks, freckles and fair skin is often a result of a gene mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor or MC1R, and is seen in about one to two per cent of the global population. It occurs when both parents carry the receptive gene, even if they don't have red hair themselves, and is historically most common in climates where there is little harmful sun exposure. In Ireland and Scotland, about 35 per cent of people carry the gene and roughly 10 per cent have red hair, leading to the trait often being associated with Celtic origins. However, a photo series by French-born and London-based photographer Michelle Marshall , focuses on a more diverse picture of red hair among black and mixed race people. Indeed, her photos feature the portraits of people of varying ages and from different backgrounds.
Red hair or ginger hair occurs naturally in one to two percent of the human population , appearing with greater frequency two to six percent among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive allele on chromosome 16 that produces an altered version of the MC1R protein. Red hair varies in hue from a deep burgundy or bright copper , or auburn , to burnt orange or red-orange to strawberry blond. Characterized by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin , it is associated with fair skin color , lighter eye color , freckles , and sensitivity to ultraviolet light.