ALL THAT ZAZZ

By Mary N. DiZazzo

Let’s Talk About Redheads!

Ciao bella,

Sign at The Max Factor rooms in The Hollywood Museum in LA

I was always a true Brunette. However, as soon as the grays started making their way in I knew I wanted to go Auburn. After all my Nana was a beautiful deep Auburn and I always loved her in that color. Being born into cosmetology was definitely a perk since our choice of hair color and hair style was endless! Looking the Pandemic in the eye I decided to go Red. It makes me feel empowered in a world that had a fading existence within the walls of conformity. So looking into the history of Redheads was quite interesting. Two percent of the world’s population are true Redheads. It’s an anomaly. The Redhead gene has a mutation. These variants are responsible for hair color, freckles, how sensitive you are to hot and cold, how much anesthesia you require (often more than average) and how you smell, which is sweet according to statistics.

Red hair was so rare that the Romans, Greeks, and Christians thought it was the mark of the devil. The variant for Red hair is more common in European populations. Just about 5 percent of Scottish and Irish people have Red hair ... just like our fav Ginger Scot Jamie Fraser from Outlander!

Artists grabbed attention with using Titian-haired women in their portraits. Elizabeth Siddal who was a stunning Redhead served as the muse for Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holden Hunt, and John Everette Millais. These certain Pre-Raphaelite artists would often paint Redheads in the nude or as temptresses.

According to 17th century pagans, redheads symbolized magnetism and mysticism. As quoted by Tobias Anthony, author of Ginger Pride: A Redheaded History of the World.

Redheads are not going away. They are here to stay.

So go out and scout out some pretty Gingers today!

Buona Giornata and God Bless the USA!

Mary N. DiZazzo-Trumbull


Read prior weeks' "All That Zazz" columns at www.allthatzazz.com. Mary is a third-generation cosmetologist. She may be contacted at mary@mary4nails.com.