Daughters hair color

[Julescarm]

My daughter is about 3 months old now. She was born with a good amount of hair and none has fallen out. My mom had mentioned today that her hair is reddish color. My husband has dirty blond and mine is dark brown. I noticed what my mom mentioned before, but never voiced it. I'm rather confused and eont put too much thought into her hair color, but figured if I'd ask if blonde and brown could make red? Does this make sense? I have some Irish on my family side but it would have been my grandfather. And I don't know about them as I was adopted.

[Joules]

My best friend has bright orange hair. None of her parents are redheads. I read somewhere that a lot of people carry a red hair gene, but it's recessive so it doesn't show up that often.

Also my 13 year old cousin has red hair. His mother and father both have brown hair, but his mother's brother is a redhead, so maybe the recessive gene theory is correct.

[Alila]

Yes blond and brown can create red.

My mum has brown hair and my dad had blond hair in his youth (it darkened to brown later. Hair is weird.)
My great grandma had red hair.(On my mothers side)

I ended up with dark red (auburn) hair. My two siblings are brown and blond.

I'm not 100% sure on it but this is the best explanation I have:

It's less that blond and brown "mix" into red and more that brown hair color can hide red genes. (This is also why red haircolor can skip generations)
The combination of brown and blond allow the red genes to become "visible".

Brown is a dominant gene while red and blond are recessive. You inherit two hair color genes. (One from each of your parent)
As long as one of the genes is brown your hair will be brown.

In order to get red the scenario has to look like this:
The parent with brown hair has one brown and one red gene.
The parent with blond hair has two blond genes.
The child now inherits the red gene and one of the blond genes. (assuming that red is more dominant that blond, the child get's red hair)

Sadly hair is more complicated than this though. If it worked like this the probability of ending up with red hair in this sencarion would be 50% and it would be impossible to get blond hair.
But it's a start I think ^^

[iforgotmylogin]

^ It doesn't work like that. I wish it were that simple

[milosmomma]

My hair is brown withreddish tones especially in sunlight, bdf has dirty blonde that lightens in the sun with no reddish tones, but his beard has red strands with I have heard means he carries a recessive. Our son turned out with light brown/dark blonde with reddish tones. Hes 1 and a half now but at birth his hair was much darker, still with the reddish tinge to it. I have heard, if remembering correctly, if both you and your husband carry the recessive for red that you can create a child displaying the dominant red gene. But if only one parent has it, the child can only inherit it as a recessive that doesnt display visually. This is how families can go generations with no red head only for one to pop up down the line, as far as I have learned anyways. I could be wrong so take with a grain of salt :)

[Obsidian]

My exhusband and myself both are blond, our daughter is a red head. She is the only redhead in the family but we both have Irish ancestors.
Hair color is a result of genetics, not a mixing of parents colors. Red is recessive, simple as that.

[lapushka]

It's always a surprise, I guess. Enjoy the color her hair is now, because at 3 months old, that can still change.

I was born with pitch black hair (a tiny pixie) and it fell out and grew back in white blonde after about a year. I was bald at 9 months old with sprites of blonde coming on through.

ETA/ do not freak out if it all falls out, that is perfectly normal with babies and *can* (doesn't always) happen.

[Entangled]

My daughter is about 3 months old now. She was born with a good amount of hair and none has fallen out. My mom had mentioned today that her hair is reddish color. My husband has dirty blond and mine is dark brown. I noticed what my mom mentioned before, but never voiced it. I'm rather confused and eont put too much thought into her hair color, but figured if I'd ask if blonde and brown could make red? Does this make sense? I have some Irish on my family side but it would have been my grandfather. And I don't know about them as I was adopted.
Yep! That’s my brother. Though for us, my parents both had one parent that was a redhead. Genetics are a messy business!

[Genne]

My daughter is about 3 months old now. She was born with a good amount of hair and none has fallen out. My mom had mentioned today that her hair is reddish color. My husband has dirty blond and mine is dark brown. I noticed what my mom mentioned before, but never voiced it. I'm rather confused and eont put too much thought into her hair color, but figured if I'd ask if blonde and brown could make red? Does this make sense? I have some Irish on my family side but it would have been my grandfather. And I don't know about them as I was adopted.

Hello,

Genetics means both parents have 2 genes to offer and the child will get one from both and show the dominant one if there is one. However if a recessive gene is shown, then that is all the child will have to offer to her children, (i.e. two brown eyed people can have a blue eye child if they both have a blue recessive gene that lines up but, two blue eyed parents cannot have a brown eyed child because they do not have a brown gene to offer.) As I understand it.

Blonde is a recessive gene but, babies hair develops and changes AND a brown haired person can start out as a blonde. Also red highlights can definitely happen in ash colored hair. My hair is naturally dark ash blonde, (was white until middle childhood.) If the sun hit mine often I would get auburn highlights. I also have some Irish. So, this sounds it will be a VERY fun observation to see what is going to develop on your little girl!!
Jen

[LittleHealthy]

My daughter is about 3 months old now. She was born with a good amount of hair and none has fallen out. My mom had mentioned today that her hair is reddish color. My husband has dirty blond and mine is dark brown. I noticed what my mom mentioned before, but never voiced it. I'm rather confused and eont put too much thought into her hair color, but figured if I'd ask if blonde and brown could make red? Does this make sense? I have some Irish on my family side but it would have been my grandfather. And I don't know about them as I was adopted.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I dreamed of having a ginger haired baby.
My partner has brown hair, and mine is blonde. No red heads in either family.
Both my daughters have been born with beautiful, strawberry/orange hair. It’s like a dream come true. It’s jist the way things are sometimes I suppose. There is red in other more extended parts of my family, which perhaps could explain it. But in general there’s no way to explain my children’s hair colour either! And I did not sleep with the postman :laugh:

[spitfire511]

^^^ All the genetics info above.

My mother was a chestnut brown (was more red in her youth but never truly ginger) my father solidly brunette. However my father's mother was a redhead (before she went grey at something like 35 - I guess 6 kids will do that).

I have red hair and blue eyes (blue only on both sides.)

My ex - kiddos dad has dark brown hair and brown (hazel-ish) eyes. However has blue recessive on both sides. (His father is blue as is his mother's mother.)

I have one child that matches his tones (though her brown is lighter and brown/haze eyesl)
Second was born with red/strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. (His hair has now shifted to medium brown - he is 9)

Other interesting item of note - I am one of 4 kids (same parents) while we all have blue eyes, hair is as follows:

1: Medium brown hair - straight (like father).
2: medium brown hair - very curly (like a 4 - like my grandfather on mother's side.)
3: Platinum blonde, fine VERY straight (we have no idea... but she's over 50 and still naturally VERY blonde.)
4: (ME!) Ginger, medium, wurly.

I LOVE GENETICS! :D

[iforgotmylogin]

The gene to do with red hair only has to do with whether or not you end up with pheomelanin in places (not just your hair) where eumelanin should be. It has nothing to do with the genes for how much eumelanin you will have in your hair, i.e. whether you are fair- or dark-haired

[spitfire511]

The gene to do with red hair only has to do with whether or not you end up with pheomelanin in places (not just your hair) where eumelanin should be. It has nothing to do with the genes for how much eumelanin you will have in your hair, i.e. whether you are fair- or dark-haired

Hey iforgotmylogin can you elaborate on this a little bit? (I'm not trying to be contentious at all just trying to understand!)

Based on a bit of quick research, I understand (in a very basic fashion) what you indicate above - but everything I am reading indicates that the bulk of this is determined by how well the MC1R gene functions (or doesn't - and whether or not it is 'turned off' due to loss of functionality and therefore causing the melanin pathway to only produce pheomelanin resulting in red hair) and that the level of functionality in offspring is in some level determined by the level of functionality in the gene when it is inherited from the parents? Is that right?

I guess what I'm wondering is - are you indicating that two people - each with brown hair and no history of a 'turned off' MC1R gene in their family (resulting in red hair) able to pass on partially functional MC1R genes to a child that will result in red hair? (Or can this gene have other factors that affect it and result in Pheomelanin-only production?)

SERIOUSLY not trying to argue at all here - assuming that you know WAY more about this than I do - I'm just fascinated and trying to understand (as best I can from the layman's perspective).

[Genne]

When I was pregnant with my first child, I dreamed of having a ginger haired baby.
My partner has brown hair, and mine is blonde. No red heads in either family.
Both my daughters have been born with beautiful, strawberry/orange hair. It’s like a dream come true. It’s jist the way things are sometimes I suppose. There is red in other more extended parts of my family, which perhaps could explain it. But in general there’s no way to explain my children’s hair colour either! And I did not sleep with the postman :laugh:


Hahaha, No postman.

This sounds wonderful, you prayed and asked it into existence, pulled from your family genetics into being. :)!!

Sweet.
Jen

[The-Young-Maid]

I got the recessives, blue eyes and strawberry blonde as a baby. (Both parents have brown hair). Now i'm more of a light golden brown/chestnut color. Some people think it's red but I'd definitely consider it more of a brown. Either way genetics are crazy and often unpredictable lol

[RadioactiveLily]

I don’t have much to add to the genetics explanations, but just wanted to check in as a redhead who came from a blonde mother and brunette father. We have no idea where it came from on my mother’s side, all we know is that she has French and Irish heritage. My great grandfather on my father’s size was a redhead though. I have two kids now, and both have the same dark greyish blonde hair color as their father. Their eye color is more like an average of mine and my husband’s. Mine are greyish green, his are bright blue, and the kids’ are greyish blue. Genetics are cool! We thought that we might end up with red headed kids since my husband’s grandmother and cousins all had red hair. I’m beginning to think that he doesn’t carry the recessive gene anywhere though. I’ve heard before hat men with the recessive gene often have red in their beard, even if it’s not their dominant color. My husband’s hair and skin are cool toned, and he has zero red in his beard.

[Hailwidis]

If that thing about the red beard hair is true, then all of my siblings probably carry the red recessive gene. My sister and I are both brunettes that shine red in the sunlight, and my brothers have cooler toned light brown hair but reddish-brown beards.

[Ylva]

I could get behind the red beard thing. My ex had medium brown hair and a reddish beard. He was from northern England.

[CuteCrow]

Just wanted to share my bit here. Hair, eye and skin colour are more complicated than just dominant and recessive genes. There are around 16 different genes that are known to participate on hair and eye colour.

For example, mutations in the MC1R is just ONE of the characteristics that has been proved to be shared by most (but not all) redheads.

As a personal example, my father has blue eyes and blonde hair, my mother black hair and brown eyes. My brothers and I are all brown-haired but our eyes are all different colours, two green eyes, one hazel and one brown (by the simplified dominant-recessive genetics green eyes can't be born from blue-brown parents).

TL,DR: Genetics are complicated, a redhead from no-redhead families is completely possible

[Dark40]

I agree with Alila. Blonde and brown does make red. Because, my hair is a natural dark brown, and when I first started coloring my hair I used a blonde shade, and it turned my hair to a fiery red. Now, as I color my hair I use a blonde shade to get it to turn red, and it works.

[Ylva]

I agree with Alila. Blonde and brown does make red. Because, my hair is a natural dark brown, and when I first started coloring my hair I used a blonde shade, and it turned my hair to a fiery red. Now, as I color my hair I use a blonde shade to get it to turn red, and it works.

It doesn't work like that. You can read a lot of the other replies to this thread to get an idea about how it works. It has nothing to do with "x and z colour making red".

[lapushka]

It doesn't work like that. You can read a lot of the other replies to this thread to get an idea about how it works. It has nothing to do with "x and z colour making red".

Yes genetics is not like mixing hair dye, Dark!

[Dark40]

Yiva and lapushka, I wasn't referring to the genetics. I was referring to mixing hair dye!

[Ylva]

Yiva and lapushka, I wasn't referring to the genetics. I was referring to mixing hair dye!

This thread is not about mixing hair dye. :lol:

[lapushka]

This thread is not about mixing hair dye. :lol:

Yeah, I'm like, where the heck did that come from. LOL!

[Dark40]

This thread is not about mixing hair dye. :lol:

Well, now I see and understand that. :lol:

[lapushka]

Well, now I see and understand that. :lol:

Hmm, yeah, how can you miss that though? ;) The child is a 3 month old. Not like she is using hair dye, right?

[Genne]

Just wanted to share my bit here. Hair, eye and skin colour are more complicated than just dominant and recessive genes. There are around 16 different genes that are known to participate on hair and eye colour.

For example, mutations in the MC1R is just ONE of the characteristics that has been proved to be shared by most (but not all) redheads.

As a personal example, my father has blue eyes and blonde hair, my mother black hair and brown eyes. My brothers and I are all brown-haired but our eyes are all different colours, two green eyes, one hazel and one brown (by the simplified dominant-recessive genetics green eyes can't be born from blue-brown parents).

TL,DR: Genetics are complicated, a redhead from no-redhead families is completely possible

Agree, they are complicated, (a recessive gene passed down and down here and there from both sides can keep things really interesting.)

Jen

[Dark40]

Hmm, yeah, how can you miss that though? ;) The child is a 3 month old. Not like she is using hair dye, right?

No, I didn't miss that the child was a 3 month old, and no it wasn't like she is using hair dye! I was going by the question she asked, "can blonde make brown hair red?" I didn't think that she was meaning genetically!

[iforgotmylogin]

You can't really judge the presence of a red hair carrier by beard hairs. Individual hairs as well as patches of hair can have variations in the type and amount of melanin deposited, not to mention strand thickness, cross section and density of strands can affect perceived colour

Brown is, after all, dark orange. Because hair colour is subtractive and hair is somewhat translucent, a lot of light (like bright daylight) can make brown hair look more red

[Crystawni]

Just to add to the variations mix, some of us have all the hair colours growing from our scalps as individual strands--black, brown, red, blonde, white, and silver, but mine comes across from a distance as tawny/auburn with white streaks and mottling underneath as I transition to non-pigmented hair. I was also adopted, with my birth father having auburn hair, and my birth mum tawny hair. With my hubster, I had three kids--one with dark brown hair like their dad's that was white as a kidlett, one with dark brown and black hair with highlights of red, and one strawberry blonde. The reddish blonde tones have also gone to the next generation with three of my grandkids (two from parents with strawberry blonde + blonde, one from parents with dark brown + brown), with the other two (from parents with dark brown + brown) getting their darker brown locks on.

[pailin]

Red is recessive, so it's not common but not strange. But you really don't know yet at three months. Her haircolor can change still. My niece had reddish hair at that age, but then it went to tow headed blond and only became red again when she dyed it in high school.

[lithostoic]

My cousin is a redhead. Bright orange, freckles and all. His dad is dirty blonde/brown and his mom had dark reddish brown hair. Mom was a redhead in childhood but it was a soft red.

[Julescarm]

Sorry guys! Just now read, or would it be "red"(?) All the comments. Some of them had me cracking up. Little girl shows no interest in hair dye yet, so we can rule that out. Lol. It probably is a recessive gene, and it will be interesting to see what happens. I do know she is the first baby I had who can find a single strand of hair and hold on for dear life. That's for sure. Keeping my own hair up has suddenly become easier after prying it out of two little hands while she screams. I love having a daughter though. :)

[Longlegs]

My husband is a redhead and our firstborn is a redhead. That's the 1st thing I asked when they said they could see the babies head! , it was quite a shock when our daughter did'nt have red hair. it was black but now she's older it's a sandy blonde colour. That's the other colour that runs in my husbands family if your not a redhead. I'm a brunette. But I too don't know my family history. my sons hair is a lovely colour, ginger with strawberry blonde highlights , it would have been so lovely on a little girl. I'm looking forward to seeing what our grandkids hair will be like - but it will be a while before that happens.

Red hair and blue eyes are a rare combination that our son has. my eyes are blue and my husband is the typical redhead with green eyes. But it's far less common for a redhead to have blue eyes.

[gnome82]

My Dad had a red beard, my husband has red in his beard. My Son has light brown hair (red tone to it though) my daughter was born with brown hair but is blonde now. I assume her hair will get darker like my husband and my Fathers hair did (both blonde when young). To look at me though people only see my Melanesian genes.

[Ylva]

My husband is a redhead and our firstborn is a redhead. That's the 1st thing I asked when they said they could see the babies head! , it was quite a shock when our daughter did'nt have red hair. it was black but now she's older it's a sandy blonde colour. That's the other colour that runs in my husbands family if your not a redhead. I'm a brunette. But I too don't know my family history. my sons hair is a lovely colour, ginger with strawberry blonde highlights , it would have been so lovely on a little girl. I'm looking forward to seeing what our grandkids hair will be like - but it will be a while before that happens.

Red hair and blue eyes are a rare combination that our son has. my eyes are blue and my husband is the typical redhead with green eyes. But it's far less common for a redhead to have blue eyes.

I thought red hair with (true) green eyes was the rarest combination of all hair and eye colours?

[spitfire511]

Just wanted to share my bit here. Hair, eye and skin colour are more complicated than just dominant and recessive genes. There are around 16 different genes that are known to participate on hair and eye colour.

For example, mutations in the MC1R is just ONE of the characteristics that has been proved to be shared by most (but not all) redheads.

As a personal example, my father has blue eyes and blonde hair, my mother black hair and brown eyes. My brothers and I are all brown-haired but our eyes are all different colours, two green eyes, one hazel and one brown (by the simplified dominant-recessive genetics green eyes can't be born from blue-brown parents).

TL,DR: Genetics are complicated, a redhead from no-redhead families is completely possible


cutecrow THANK YOU!! This is what I was wondering and thought to be the case - but obviously trying to school yourself on genetics in brief from the internet (even when from quite reputable sources) does not an expert make! :D

[Alex Lou]

Each parent must contribute a recessive gene for red hair. But there may not have been a redhead in either family for generations if no one had 2 copies. There are a separate set of genes involved in lightness or darkness of the hair (Brown, blond, etc) that are not so simple as dominant and recessive.

I kind of figured my chances of producing redheads were low since my husband has none in his family. And his brother also married a redhead and their kids have brown hair. But then I wouldn't think my dad has the gene, but here I am!

[Alex Lou]

Also it's not uncommon for kids to have red hair that changes to another color. That's because genes can be switched off/on and non-working genes for melanin make for red hair.