Natural Hair Color Might Affect Chemical Processes

Believe it or not, natural redheads often have a harder time taking perms and relaxers than people with other hair colors. The reason has to do with the special hair protein, keratin.

The keratin in naturally red hair contains up to twice as much sulphur as other natural hair colors. This sulphur forms very strong chemical links called disulphide bonds that join the keratin chains together. In fact, disulphide bonds are some of the strongest bonds known to nature.

In order for a perm solution or relaxer to work, it must break the disulphide bonds and soften the keratin. The hair is forced into its new shape, usually with rollers, then a neutralizing lotion is applied to reform the bonds and harden the hair. Since redheads have more disulphide bonds to break, a regular perm solution or relaxer may not be strong enough to reshape the hair.

A stronger solution can be used but should only be applied by a knowledgeable professional. Otherwise, the disulphide bonds could be irreversibly damaged, leading to massive breakage.

What gives hair its color? Cells in the hair bulb called melanocytes produce a pigment called melanin. The melanin is carried into the cortex as the hair grows upward. Phaeomelanin is the name of the pigment found in red and blonde hair; Eumelanin is a darker pigment found in black and brown hair.

On an interesting note...

A new study shows that natural redheads need some 20% more anesthesia during surgery than blondes and brunettes.

Dr. Edwin B. Liem, an anesthesiologist at Louisville’s Outcomes Research Institute, discovered that red hair “is apparently an important element” in the decision of how much anesthesia will safely render a person unconscious while increasing pain tolerance and suppressing memory.

Although Dr. Liem says no one knows exactly why red heads need more anesthesia, he says he gueses that “it’s somehow related to the dysfunctional melanocortin 1 receptor.”

These receptors are responsible for hair color. According to the BBC, “Liem believes a dysfunction of this receptor triggers an increase of the hormone that usually stimulates the cells. This happens to be the very same hormone that stimulates a receptor in the brain that governs pain sensitivity.”

"Redheads are likely to experience more pain from most stimuli — surgery is just one example — and therefore require more anesthesia to alleviate that pain,” Liem says.

So, if you’re a natural redhead, be sure to have a long talk with your anethesiologist before going under the knife!