Tuesday, 6 September 2016

The Redheads

Vincent van Gogh was born near Breda and to me the most famous redhead.


It is Redhead days in Breda, the Netherlands. This free event takes place the first week in September and all redheads, around the world, are welcome.

Red hair occurs naturally in 1-2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently, 2-6% in people of northern or western ancestry and less frequently in other populations.

Queen Elizabeth I was a redhead and during her reign, red hair was in fashion and desired by women.


Red hair varies in shades of dark burgundy, strawberry blond, burnt orange to bright copper. It contains high levels of the reddish pigment called pheomelanin and low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment.


We associate it with fair skin colour, freckles and sensitivity to ultraviolet light.



 Most have more luminous eyes in shades of grey, blue, green and hazel.

Red hair can darken over time and becomes more brownish and loses some of its vividness.
In some Asian countries, henna and saffron are used to capture or enhance their hair colour.


Cultural reactions have varied through time with some ridiculed others admired. 
The term redhead has been used since at least 1510.

An early artistic rendering of Mary Magdelene depicts her with long flowing red hair. The description of her hair was never mentioned in Scriptures and could cause by the ageing pigment in the paint.


But I have my two redheads, which are my favourites.

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