8 facts that prove redheads are amazing

Fiery personalities and red hair are often associated with one another.

But these are the facts you need to know about red hair that proves it's the best shade out there.

SEE ALSO: What your eye color says about you

They're (technically) mutants:

Red hair is caused by a genetic mutation -- the MC1R gene is recessive and even if both parents have red hair, a child only has a 25 percent chance of inheriting it.

They're rare:

Only about 140 million people on earth have red hair -- that's only about 2 percent of the population.

They have sex more often:

Two different studies found that on average red-haired women had sex more often than their blonde and brunette counterparts.

Their hair is magical:

Not really -- but it does seem that way. Red hair retains its pigment longer than others shades so it's less likely to grey. They also have less hair strands, but each strand is thicker than other shades.

They're mysterious:

People used to think that redheads were vampires during in Ancient Greece, and they were witches during the 13th-16th centuries.

They react differently to pain:

The gene that causes their red hair also affects how their body processes pain. Because they feel pain more than others, they need 20 percent more anesthesia

They create their own vitamin D:

Redheads can't absorb enough vitamin D because of low concentrations of eumelanin. Instead, their bodies have to generate their own vitamin d to compensate.

They are more likely to be left-handed:

Because recessive genes sometimes come in pairs, redheads are more likely to be left-handed, another recessive trait.

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