Human hair color

Human hair color is the pigmentation of hair shafts, determined mainly by the types and amounts of melanin deposited by pigment cells in hair follicles.

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Melanin: Melanin is a family of pigments that gives color to hair, skin, and eyes and helps absorb ultraviolet radiation. Hair color depends primarily on which melanin pigments follicles produce and how much they deposit.
MC1R: MC1R is a gene encoding a receptor that influences pigment production in melanocytes. Some MC1R variants shift pigment production toward pheomelanin and are associated with red hair.
Hair graying: Hair graying is the progressive loss or reduction of pigment in growing hair. It is a common age-related change in the follicle's ability to produce and transfer melanin.
Hair texture: Hair texture describes properties such as strand shape, diameter, and surface feel. Texture is a separate hair trait, even though it can affect how color appears visually.
Eumelanin: Eumelanin is a brown-to-black melanin pigment found in hair, skin, and eyes. Its abundance largely determines whether naturally pigmented hair appears brown or black.
Melanogenesis: Melanogenesis is the cellular process by which melanocytes produce melanin pigments. Changes in this process alter the kinds and quantities of pigment entering hair.
Hair dye: Hair dye is a product that changes hair color by depositing or chemically forming pigments in the hair shaft. Dyes create colors beyond those produced naturally by follicular melanin.
Skin pigmentation: Skin pigmentation is the coloration of skin produced mainly by melanin in skin cells. It shares melanin biology with hair but involves distinct tissues and patterns of pigment distribution.
Pheomelanin: Pheomelanin is a yellow-to-reddish melanin pigment found in hair, skin, and eyes. Higher pheomelanin contribution helps produce red and golden hair shades.
Genetics of hair color: The genetics of hair color concerns inherited variants that influence pigment production and distribution in hair. Hair shade is polygenic, with many inherited variants contributing to its range.