topic Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type in Community Chat

Question about genetics, and hair color/type

BaileyandBella — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:01:22 GMT

My baby Granddaughter is going to be born soon, and I am hoping she has her mommy's gorgeous hair!

My DIL has deep red, curly hair.

My son has stick straight, blonde hair.

I am curious how it genetics work......could the baby have red hair, but stick straight, or have blonde and curly?

I know, I just need to be patient

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

stilltamn8r — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:06:26 GMT

Curly hair is dominant, I believe....we have two curly and two straight in our family and one parent of each....

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

VioletEyes — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:09:38 GMT

Yes, curly hair is dominant but both blonde and red hair are recessive. So your new grand may have blonde or red curly hair.

Congratulations on becoming a grandmother very soon!!!

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

Sushismom — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:11:47 GMT

You would also need to go back one generation, to the baby's grandparents. Dominant genes will show up 3/4 of the time. But it's often just a toss of the dice.

My mother is 100% Japanese, as were her parents. My father, however, is 1/2 Native American and 1/2 English/Irish. My sister and brother both have straight, dark brown hair and brown eyes. I have wavy, reddish brown hair and hazel eyes. I take more after my paternal grandmother's side of the family.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

lulu2 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:12:32 GMT

Non-red hair is dominant over red hair.

Curly is dominant over straight but a curly haired parent and a straight hair parent can have a child with wavy hair.

With genetics, what you see is not always what you get. If both parents carry the same recessive trait, you can end up with a trait that is not visible in either parent.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

Ziali — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:13:26 GMT

Red hair is a recessive gene so there is a slim chance she will be red headed.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

NoelSeven — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:13:33 GMT

On 8/13/2014 Sushismom said:
You would also need to go back one generation, to the baby's grandparents. Dominant genes will show up 3/4 of the time. But it's often just a toss of the dice.

My mother is 100% Japanese, as were her parents. My father, however, is 1/2 Native American and 1/2 English/Irish. My sister and brother both have straight, dark brown hair and brown eyes. I have wavy, reddish brown hair and hazel eyes. I take more after my paternal grandmother's side of the family.

It is. Anyone could be that one in four.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

BaileyandBella — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:16:01 GMT

On 8/13/2014 Sushismom said:
You would also need to go back one generation, to the baby's grandparents. Dominant genes will show up 3/4 of the time. But it's often just a toss of the dice.

My mother is 100% Japanese, as were her parents. My father, however, is 1/2 Native American and 1/2 English/Irish. My sister and brother both have straight, dark brown hair and brown eyes. I have wavy, reddish brown hair and hazel eyes. I take more after my paternal grandmother's side of the family.

No red hair with any of the grandparents, there is with the great-grandparents though.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

BaileyandBella — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:16:29 GMT

This is so fascinating!

Thanks all!

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

Topaz Gem — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:16:30 GMT

You never know, that's what is so much fun about a new baby in the family. I grew up with a family of 8 kids in my neighborhood and both parents had very dark brown hair, almost black. Four of the kids ended up being towheads, with their natural hair color the same shade as Tiger Woods' ex-wife Elin. Where it came from, I do not know, but it must have been somewhere in their family tree.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

BaileyandBella — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:19:00 GMT

I was also reading that redheads are not always born with red hair....so it might take a while even after she is born!

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

straykatz — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:20:43 GMT

On 8/13/2014 Ziali said:
Red hair is a recessive gene so there is a slim chance she will be red headed.

50% of my immediate family and my cousins have red hair....it wasn't too recessive for us.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

RedTop — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:21:19 GMT

Mom had brown hair, Dad had black hair, and I came into the world as a redhead thanks to that recessive gene from Mom's side of the family. My red hair and my husband's blonde hair produced two blondes.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

NoelSeven — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:24:27 GMT

On 8/13/2014 BaileyandBella said:
I was also reading that redheads are not always born with red hair....so it might take a while even after she is born!

I'm pretty sure I carry the recessive red gene, I was hoping for a red haired girl. Didn't get it, but she has incredibly beautiful hair. Mine is straight but she has lovely natural waves.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

BaileyandBella — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:25:02 GMT

Here is another thing I find interesting. How people can have brown hair an adult, but yet were blonde as a child.

I was blonde as a child and still am.....LOL

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

straykatz — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:27:29 GMT

On 8/13/2014 BaileyandBella said:
Here is another thing I find interesting. How people can have brown hair an adult, but yet were blonde as a child.

I was blonde as a child and still am.....LOL

One of my sisters was blonde as a child and has brown hair now....well....some call it a a dirty blonde but it's closer to brown than blonde in color.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

missy1 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:27:29 GMT

On 8/13/2014 BaileyandBella said:
Here is another thing I find interesting. How people can have brown hair an adult, but yet were blonde as a child.

I was blonde as a child and still am.....LOL

Not sure why hair changes color so drastically. Blonde to dark brown.

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

MaggieToo — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:29:02 GMT

Dad = Blond, blue eyes (If dad grew a beard, it was reddish blond)

Mom = Dark hair, brown eyes

Me = Blond curly (from maternal grandma) , brown eyes (my hair darkened as I grew older, starting at about 5 or 6)

Ex-DH = Dark hair, blue eyes

DS = Blond straight, blue eyes,

DD - Brown straight hair, brown eyes

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

straykatz — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:30:22 GMT

On 8/13/2014 NoelSeven said:
On 8/13/2014 BaileyandBella said:
I was also reading that redheads are not always born with red hair....so it might take a while even after she is born!

I'm pretty sure I carry the recessive red gene, I was hoping for a red haired girl. Didn't get it, but she has incredibly beautiful hair. Mine is straight but she has lovely natural waves.

The first thing out of my mouth when my DD was born was "What color is her hair..please don't say red!!!"...LOL

Re: Question about genetics, and hair color/type

BaileyandBella — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:33:06 GMT

My sister has dark brown hair, but she was really blonde as a child.

My boys were both white blonde, but their hair is kind of sandy now. It gets really blonde again if they are at the beach a lot.