totally random: red hair

[vettechick99]

I have noticed that if one of the parents has red hair, almost always the kids have red hair. But I know that red hair is a recessive gene. So I was wondering how a recessive gene could be so powerful that the kids almost always end up with red hair?

So my thoughts: if mom has red hair she has (rr). If dad has brown hair but some red hair down the line somewhere, he has (Br) and the kids end up with red hair.

Now what if mom has red hair (rr) and dad has brown hair with no recessive red gene (BB). These kids end up having what color hair? Brown? How do they get brown if mom has red (rr)?

Just curious. I am potty training so I have lots of time to just sit around and think.

 

[princess momma]

I had red hair when I was younger. It's darkened into auburn now.

Nobody in our family has red hair, not mom, dad, siblings, grandparents, etc.

So where did my red hair come from?

 

[PrincessKsMom]

My aunt had 7 kids. 2 had red hair. No immediate family member had red hair, but a second uncle to my aunt did, so go figure.

 

[jrmasm]

My mom has red hair, my dad very, very dark brown (no red in his family). My bother and I both have red hair.

My husband had brown with no noticable highlights. Neither of our girls have red hair.

My uncle (my mother's brother) has dark brown hair, his wife has brown hair. Three of their four kids have red hair.

I think it's a crap shoot.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I have noticed that if one of the parents has red hair, almost always the kids have red hair. But I know that red hair is a recessive gene. So I was wondering how a recessive gene could be so powerful that the kids almost always end up with red hair?

So my thoughts: if mom has red hair she has (rr). If dad has brown hair but some red hair down the line somewhere, he has (Rr) and the kids end up with red hair.

Now what if mom has red hair (rr) and dad has brown hair with no recessive red gene (RR). These kids end up having what color hair? Brown? How do they get brown if mom has red (rr)?

Just curious. I am potty training so I have lots of time to just sit around and think.

Ok, red hair is simple recessive, rr. If dad is homozygous for brown hair BB, there will be no red headed children or offspring. If dad is heterozygous for red hair Br, he'll have brown hair but have the gene for red. Having reddish highlights or an auburn tint to the brown hair is not the same as red hair-it's just some variation on the brown gene. Carrying the gene for red hair is completely invisible.

So, if rr marries BB, the kids will all have brown hair but some will carry the gene for red, ie you'll have BB kids and Br kids, but no rr kids.

If rr marries Br (brown but carries red), you will have no homozygous for brown children (BB), but you will have heterozygous brown Br and red haired children, rr.

Clear as mud, right

 

[jrmasm]

Clear as mud, right

Yeah.

Why are both my kids blond?

 

[Hercules10]

Haven't the foggiest. When I grew my beard it was red, but yet I'm blonde. Then the beard went almost all gray and still no gray hair on my knoggin (oh...the beard got shaved!)

 

[vettechick99]

Kickapoo, oh yes! Clear as mud, but I get it. Sorry, I should have used BB instead of RR. Not sure what I was thinking! Potty training has turned my brain to mush. I'll go back and change it so others get my drift.

And OPs brought up that other point - how do kids get red hair is neither parent has red hair? And is strawberry blonde not the same as the red hair gene? My friend has light brown hair, dad has blonde and kid has strawberry blonde - and getting redder every day. ??

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Yeah.

Why are both my kids blond?

Your husband has Bbl-carries the blonde gene but has brown hair, uhhh, I think it's possible for you to be rbl, I'd have to dig out my old biology books but I think there's a spectrum of gene expression along the red to blonde, they're both recessive colors.

I can't help Bundy, maybe he got hit on the head one too many times and that changed the color?

My Dh has black hair but carries the gene for blonde, Bbl, and I have brown hair and carry the gene for blonde Bbl, one daughter has blonde hair and one daughter has dark brunette hair (very dark brown).

From what I remember (and this was like, 20 years ago) there is also expression of the gene as well as the gene itself, which totally messes me up as well...

What you CAN'T have is two blondes producing black or dark brown hair, or two redheads producing anything other than red (or reddish blond) hair. Recessives can't produce dominant.

Same with 2 blue eyed/green eyed/gray eyed parents can't produce a brown eyed kid. Brown's dominant, blue/breen/gray's recessive.

Hazel just messes me up, can't remember what that is.

 

[luvmyfam444]

Well none of the redheads in our family have kids with red hair.
My dad's 2 sisters are redheaded - typical fair skinned freckles all over. None of the 3 (including my dad) have kids with redhair but each of them have 1 granchild with red hair. There are 2 girls & 1 boy that are redheaded - out of a total of 22 grandkids there are only 3!

Them my mom's mom's TWIN sister was redheaded - my grandma was blonde - & none of them had kids with redhair - but my grandma has 1 greatgrandchild with redhair. And both the parents a brunette AND both siblings are brunette - the redhead sits in the middle!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Kickapoo, oh yes! Clear as mud, but I get it. Sorry, I should have used BB instead of RR. Not sure what I was thinking! Potty training has turned my brain to mush. I'll go back and change it so others get my drift.

And OPs brought up that other point - how do kids get red hair is neither parent has red hair? And is strawberry blonde not the same as the red hair gene? My friend has light brown hair, dad has blonde and kid has strawberry blonde - and getting redder every day. ??

Two parents with not red hair, let's say heterozygous brown with a red gene, Br-if Br marries Br, you'll get kids that are BB, Br, Br and rr. 25% chance of having red hair.

I think the blonde and redhead genes, both being recessive, have some links.

Your friend with the light brown hair is Br, dad is bb (blond blond) or br (blond red), so the kids can come out brown or blonde or red.

I'm not sure if you can carry the, uh, allelles? I think it's called, for more than two colors, like Bbr (brown expressed carry blond and red).

Owie, my head hurts now!

 

[DWGal210]

I have a cousin who is literally the only one in the extended family with red hair; both of his parents have dark hair, and his siblings are either blond or brown haired. We call him the milkman's baby.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Well none of the redheads in our family have kids with red hair.
My dad's 2 sisters are redheaded - typical fair skinned freckles all over. None of the 3 (including my dad) have kids with redhair but each of them have 1 granchild with red hair. There are 2 girls & 1 boy that are redheaded - out of a total of 22 grandkids there are only 3!

Them my mom's mom's TWIN sister was redheaded - my grandma was blonde - & none of them had kids with redhair - but my grandma has 1 greatgrandchild with redhair. And both the parents a brunette AND both siblings are brunette - the redhead sits in the middle!

If none of the redheads have kids with red hair, it's because they married homozygous browns or homozygous black or homozygous blonds, or heterozygous and the gene was not expressed but instead carried.

That carrying gene is why redheads will show up down the line-marry somebody else with the redhead gene that's carried and pow! redhead offspring.

 

[mommytoe]

On my dad's side of the family almost everybody has red hair.

My hair is strawberry blonde. It was white blonde when I was little.

All my dc had white blonde hair when little. Ds now has light brown hair. Dd(11)'s hair is getting darker, but still blonde (gets lighter when she spends more time out in the summer). Dd(7) still blonde, even blonder in the summer.

Oh, dh dark hair.

 

[monkey68]

And OPs brought up that other point - how do kids get red hair is neither parent has red hair? And is strawberry blonde not the same as the red hair gene? My friend has light brown hair, dad has blonde and kid has strawberry blonde - and getting redder every day. ??

What color is the mailman's hair?

 

[AlternateEgo]

My biological parents had Black hair (mother) and Blonde hair (father). I have red hair

My daughters' paternal grandparents have redish blonde hair (grandmother) and brown (grandfather) and their dad has brown.

All three of my daughters have brown hair.

Now eye color... thats where everything gets bazaar.

I have light brown eyes. The girls' father has blue eyes (his parents had green and brown). All three girls have deep dark beautiful brown.

 

[vettechick99]

What color is the mailman's hair?

She has blonde.

 

[Ephany]

DD's a red-head, but I'm blond and DH has very dark brown (almost black) hair. My mom's a red-head, and my dad's brunette so I carry the red and blonde alleles, but my blonde's dominant over the red. DH is brown-red (his beard has a few random red hairs) so his brown is dominant over his red. Red hair is very common in both our families though, from the bright orangey-red to the deep copper red. It's funny though, I'm blonde and got the red-head DD, while my SIL is red-haired and got the blonde DD. People come up to us all the time and ask if i dye my DD's hair?! Honestly, who dyes a 6 year old's hair?

 

[robinb]

I have red hair and my DH has brown hair with red highlights. Much to my disappointment my DD has blond hair .

 

[AlternateEgo]

I have red hair and my DH has brown hair with red highlights. Much to my disappointment my DD has blond hair .

Haha! I feel the same way, I thought I would get at least some red highlights out of the girls.