Is the number of redheads in the world increasing?

A new study led by researchers at Harvard University, and reported on by Live Science, suggests something quite unexpected.

The report states that human evolution hasn’t slowed down, which is what was expected. In some cases, it may be quietly shifting in favour of characteristics like red hair in the form of natural selection.

Looking at genetic data over thousands of years, researchers found that certain traits linked to lighter pigmentation (including fair skin, freckles and red hair shades) appear to have become more common over time. At the same time, others, like male-pattern baldness, seem to have decreased.

Are there actually more redheads?

Much to our dismay, not in any dramatic sense, no. But, this new report is all the more interesting as there were claims a few years ago that redheads might be dying out (which got happily debunked, by the way). If anything, this points to something more subtle. It suggests that red hair has been quietly part of ongoing evolutionary change, rather than sitting outside it.

But the reason why isn’t fully clear just yet.

What we do know is red hair is linked to variations in the MC1R gene, which affects how pigment is produced in the body. Those variations have often been associated with lower-light environments, where lighter pigmentation may have been helpful. For example, red hair is more prominent in the Northern hemisphere, where whether is cooler. And of course, there’s that fun fact that redheads are better at generating their own vitamin D, so that fits in too.

This study suggests something slightly different: that these traits haven’t just stuck around, they are selected for through natural selection, alongside other biological advantages.

Exactly why is still being figured out. If anything, it’s a reminder that red hair isn’t as static as it’s often made out to be. Instead, it’s part of the same slow, ongoing process as everything else. Changing gradually, over time, in ways that aren’t always obvious.