Redheads make up only about 2% of the world’s population, but they’re here to stay

Red hair is a recessive trait that’s inherited.

Parents can be carriers for recessive genes, carrying instructions for making red hair hidden in their DNA.

Redheads carry two copies of the MC1R gene, which governs the production of melanin.

Red-haired individuals are at a much higher risk for skin cancer than brown-haired people.

A 2016 study found that people who had two copies of the MC1R gene (which confers red hair) appeared as many as two years older than people who did not hold both copies.

Redheads ' melanocytes (pigment-producing cells) release factors that effectively favor the signals to the brain that say “don’t feel pain” over “feel pain’s” A study found higher levels of a precursor to vitamin D (calcidiol) in redheads.

Redheads may have more children, despite having more fertility problems.

Redheads seem to start having children earlier in life.

Some research has shown that women with red hair are more sexually active, but experts question whether it’s due to their suitors.

“Perhaps it's the exotic novelty factor,” says Frost .