MadSci Network: Genetics |
Hair color is pretty much the same throughout your lifetime, and is dependent on the formation of pigments within your hair follicle (which are the cells in your scalp that make the hair.) Usually, hair color changes do not occur naturally in humans. You do see hair color changes in some animals, depending on the season. For instance, Some rabbits have a grey coat color during the summer, and when winter comes along, they lose their winter coat and grow a snow white winter coat. In your case, the 3-7 red hairs you've found on your head are most likely naturally occuring there. If you look very carefully at the hair on your head, you'll notice that there is a fairly wide variation in the color between single strands of hair. This is because the cells that make each hair produce their pigments individually. This leads to some small amount of variation in each hair strand. As we age, peoples hair gradually turns grey. This again is the result of the loss of pigment production in the follicle cells, so that you start growing "uncolored" hair. All in all, it's pretty safe to assume that your hair is not going to turn completely red any time soon. ;) -j
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Genetics.