Stupid Question About Hair & Eye Color

My genes are Russian/Ukranian, and I have dark blond hair and blue eyes.

And I know what you mean about light sensitivity - whenever it's really sunny, I find I have to almost close both of my eyes completely to even be able to function! Usually I find I close my left eye and leave my right one open a crack. I can't handle sunlight at all.

Hazel eyes, Blonde hair (full head, no gray pushing 50) Fair complection.
My sun reaction is rapid deep tanning. It has always taken solar abuse to achieve anything resembling sunburn. English and German ancestry.
My sister has the same charactoristic, but is sun reactive.

Random variation. That is what makes evolution work.

Interesting topic! I have reddish blonde hair that gets more blond in summer sun, I have freckles on my upper arms and no where else.

Like someone said, it's all just varying degrees of browness or melanin that makes certain colors when the light reflects off of it. Ever notice how blonde hair lookd dark brown or black when wet? LOL! It's all how the light plays on it. Same with blue eyes, its how the sunlight reflects off the melanin in the eyes, just like the sky is not really blue, it just appears that way when it's clear out, same with eyes. That's why the person who said her eyes are blue in summer and green in cooler months, just like how the sky is bluer in summer months and grayer in cooler months. There is no blonde pigment in hair, it's just very little melanin in hair that makes the sunlight reflect off of it to give the appearence of blonde hair. As we grow older our bodies produce more malanin gradually which is why hair and eyes usually get darker as we grow older. Red hair is different though, it doesn't work like regular coloring, if you want to wonder about any hair color it's red hair!

Melanin protects us from the deadly rays of the sun and originally the harsher and more sunny the climate, our bodies developed a shield against it which is melanin. In less harsher climates, the body responded by producing less melanin sort of like muscles you don't use gradually getting weaker, melanin production became weaker till it was very little melanin produced. In places where the sun rays are so weak, the body makes less melanin so that some sun rays can be absorbed because we all need some sun rays to live. Once global travel became possible, you can have all kinds of mixtures appearing anywhere! Even some little african children have blonde hair! LOL! What I really wonder about is albinos! Now that is just wierd! I don't know how or where albinoism came from, that's an interesting trait.

Originally posted by synchronicity
Hazel eyes, Blonde hair (full head, no gray pushing 50)

That's interesting because how soon we get gray hair is genetic also! My grand mother was like 70yrs old and she only has gray hair on the sides! the rest was still her natural color! She also got her grey hair later, it didn't show up till she was like 55 and over. Some people get grey hair at 30! I saw one friend of the family she's only 40yrs old and her hair is all grey and it happened fast too because I just saw her like a year and a half ago and she had no grey. LOL!

I also heard that dying your hair often makes it get grey sooner is this true?

Hair colour has something to do with bodyheat I think, Blond people usually have slightly lower body temps. If you stuck your head in a freezer for a month, your hair would go blonde or white.

haha, good beauty tip Billing, save money on hair-dye!

I dated a green eyed girl once... she was off her rocker. freaking crazy. she would just trip out and wanted to fight everybody for no reason... glad i got away from her

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[edit on 3-1-2005 by synchronicity]