Predict your baby hair colour including black, brown, blonde, and red using polygenic pigment inheritance and MC1R gene analysis from both parents and grandparents.
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Generated at traitgen.com, Free genetics education. Not medical advice.
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⚠️ Educational only. Probability estimates based on genetic models, not medical advice.
Red hair is most common in Ireland and Scotland, where up to 13% of the population are redheads. The MC1R variant responsible for red hair is thought to have originated in Europe around 50,000 years ago.
Hair colour is determined by two pigments: eumelanin (brown and black shades) and pheomelanin (red and yellow shades). The ratio and total amount of these pigments produces everything from jet black to strawberry blonde.
Black and dark brown hair result from high eumelanin. Multiple genes regulate exactly how much is produced, creating the continuous spectrum from jet black to light brown. Dark shades are generally dominant over lighter shades in inheritance.
Red hair is caused by variants in the MC1R gene that shift pigment production toward pheomelanin. Both parents must carry at least one MC1R variant for a child to have red hair, making it effectively recessive. Red hair affects about 1-2% of the global population.
Blonde hair results from reduced eumelanin production due to variants in the KITLG gene and others. Blonde is recessive to brown and black, meaning both parents must carry blonde alleles for a blonde child to result from darker-haired parents.
Hair colour is polygenic , each child inherits a different random combination of alleles from both parents. This is why siblings from the same parents can range from blonde to dark brown, and why a red-haired child can appear in a family of brunettes.
Red hair follows a recessive inheritance pattern through the MC1R gene. A child must inherit two copies of the MC1R variant , one from each parent , to express red hair. Parents with dark hair can be silent carriers, which is why red-haired children can appear in families with no visibly red-haired parent. If both parents carry one copy, the probability is roughly 25% per child.
Yes, if both parents carry recessive blonde alleles. In this case there is approximately a 25% chance per child of blonde hair. This is more likely when light-haired grandparents are present, indicating carrier status in the parent generation.
Yes, commonly. Many babies are born with lighter hair than their eventual adult colour. Melanin production in hair follicles increases over the first 2-3 years. A fair-haired baby can develop medium brown or dark hair by school age. The final colour is usually established by early adolescence.
No. These are probability estimates based on established genetic models. Actual outcomes depend on which specific alleles the child inherits, which is always random within the genetic framework the parents provide. The results are for education and curiosity only.