red hair

People with blond hair are called blondes. The same goes for brown-haired beauties, who are known as brunettes. If you have red hair, you're known as a redhead — whether it's copper, auburn, strawberry, or colored with reddish-violet undertones. Easy.

But when it comes to those with raven locks, why isn't there an official name designated for those with the darkest strands? Is it simply that black-haired is, in actuality, the most appropriate description? If you could give those with the darkest hair their own alias, what would it be? Ravenettes? Inkhairs? Blackheads? Nah, none sound quite right. Whether it's for virgin hair or it's dyed black, what's the best description you can conjure up?

If you've seen the South Park episode "Gingervitis," you know how Cartman feels about gingers, or fair-skinned, freckled redheads: they're less than human. While most people viewing the episode probably took it as, at best, a morality lesson about arbitrarily discriminating against others, and at worst a joke in poor taste (maybe both), it isn't so funny in real life.

A group of students in Calabasas, CA, instead decided to institute "Kick a Ginger Day" at their middle school, and proceeded to beat up some of their classmates. While this is an example of the worst sort of juvenile stupidity, it does point out the underlying prejudices redheads have to deal with, whether it's jokes about their "fiery tempers" or sexual harassment. Even Christina Hendricks's character Joan on Mad Men continuously gets called "Red" and has comments made about her. And in the UK, ginger discrimination is wel -known — to the point where redheads have been awarded settlements after workplace harassment tied to their hair color. What do you think about all this? Are there more pejorative connotations connected to having red hair these days, or are people just now paying more attention to a long-extant problem?

Recently, I made my yearly — OK, it's been more than a year — trip to the eye doctor. I've worn glasses for about 14 years now, and from one "trendy" frame to another, I've had lots of different looks. Since some were good, and others I'd prefer to forget, that was the inspiration behind this series of posts on choosing eyeglass frames. Since we've already looked at face shape, eye color, and skin tone, for the final installment of this series, let's look at how your hair color can help guide you when making a choice between those funky green shades or whimsical yellow specs. To check out some tips, just keep reading.

Blondes may stereotypically have more fun, but some studies show those born with red locks might feel more pain. So we all need to treat our ginger-headed friends more gingerly since research shows they're more sensitive to hot and cold, and strangely, redheads also require more anesthesia to become numb.

For those with brown, black, and blond hair, the Melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene produces melanin, which gives our hair and skin color. In redheads, this gene is mutated and produces pheomelanin instead, causing pale skin, freckles, and strawberry tresses. MC1R mutations also affect carrot tops' perception of pain and the effectiveness of drugs that are used to block the sensation of pain.

Not only is this research interesting (and may explain why your friend screamed her red head off when she got her ears pierced), but it may also help scientists design drugs that are more person-specific based on an individual's genetic profile.

If you're a redhead, please share your thoughts on this hairy subject.