What if our hair told the story of the world's diversity? From jet black to fiery red, some hair colors are much more common than others.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, dark hair colors are by far the most prevalent worldwide. According to commonly accepted estimates<\/a> , black (or very dark brown) hair accounts for approximately 75 to 85% of the world's population, making it by far the most common hair color. It is found primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Southern and Eastern Europe. Next comes chestnut, or lighter brown, the second most common color, with about 11% of the population having this hair color. It is particularly prevalent in Europe and in countries with large populations of European descent.<\/p>\n Contrary to popular belief, natural blonde hair is quite rare: it affects only 2 to 3% of the world's population. It is concentrated mainly in Northern Europe, where some local populations have much higher rates. The impression that we see more of it is because blonde is also the most popular artificial hair color: nearly three out of four Caucasian women try it at least once in their lives. This seriously skews our perception of the true number of natural blondes.<\/p>\n The prize for rarity goes to red hair, which affects only about 1 to 2% of the world's population. This shade is linked to a variant of a gene, MC1R, which is inherited in a recessive manner: to have red hair, one must inherit the mutated version of the gene from both parents. This is why red hair is concentrated in certain regions, particularly the British Isles\u2014Scotland and Ireland having the highest proportions in the world.<\/p>\n But where does this diversity come from? It all comes down to melanin, the pigment that also colors skin and eyes. Two types coexist: eumelanin, responsible for brown and black shades, and pheomelanin, which gives red and golden highlights. Their proportion determines each person's hair color. The phenomenon is eminently genetic. The largest study conducted on the subject, involving nearly 343,000 participants from the UK Biobank<\/a> , identified the majority of genes involved in hair color, confirming just how hereditary this trait is.<\/p>\n From the ultra-dominant black to the discreet red, the world map of hair colors implicitly traces the map of human populations and their migrations. A fascinating mosaic that reminds us that behind every head of hair lies a long genetic history\u2014and an irreducible element of chance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What if our hair told the story of the world's diversity? From jet black to fiery red, some...","protected":false},"author":8264,"featured_media":443268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_msn":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5719],"tags":[97833,97240],"class_list":["post-443267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-coiffure","tag-actu","tag-cheveux"],"image":{"medium":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blond-brun-roux\u2026-quelles-sont-les-couleurs-de-cheveux-les-plus-repandues-dans-le-monde-_-200x113.jpg",200,113,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blond-brun-roux\u2026-quelles-sont-les-couleurs-de-cheveux-les-plus-repandues-dans-le-monde-_-500x281.jpg",500,281,true]},"custom":{"td_video":"","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blond-brun-roux\u2026-quelles-sont-les-couleurs-de-cheveux-les-plus-repandues-dans-le-monde-_.jpg","author":{"name":"Ana\u00eblle Gayon","avatar":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Agayon-96x96.jpg"},"categories":[{"term_id":5719,"name":"Hair","slug":"coiffure","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5887,"taxonomy":"category","description":" The Hair section of The Body Optimist brings together haircut, color and styling ideas, plus hair care advice for every type of hair: fine, thick, straight, curly, coily, color-treated or gray. Our guiding principle: choose what feels like you and makes your life easier, with no age rules and no body-type rules.<\/p>\n A great haircut starts with your hair type, even before your face shape. A sharp, blunt bob makes fine hair look thicker, while layers take weight out of thick hair. Curly and coily hair benefits from being cut dry, curl by curl, to account for shrinkage as it dries. Think about your real routine too: bangs need regular trims, and a very structured cut needs daily styling. At the salon, bring photos of looks you love.<\/p>\n Curly to coily hair is often drier than straight hair, because the scalp\u2019s natural oils travel less easily down a spiral-shaped strand. A few habits make a big difference:<\/p>\n For our editorial team, no haircut is off-limits after a certain age and no style is reserved for one body type. Our face-shape pointers are there to highlight your features, never to lay down rules. Gray hair is a color in its own right, and coily hair doesn\u2019t need to be straightened.<\/p>\n A round face is flattered by vertical lines and lengths that fall below the chin: an angled bob, a long bob (lob), layered shoulder-length hair or a side part. Long, wispy or curtain bangs work better than thick, blunt bangs. Short cuts are still an option, with volume on top rather than at the sides.<\/p>\n Highlights or a light balayage blend regrowth into color-treated lengths, a shorter cut removes the old color faster, and a gloss softens the contrast for a few weeks. Once the transition is complete, an occasional purple shampoo neutralizes yellow tones in white and gray hair.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no universal rule: it depends on your scalp and your hair texture. Fine hair or a scalp that gets oily quickly can be washed very often with a gentle shampoo. Curly, kinky and coily hair usually does better with less frequent washing, often once a week. The comfort of your scalp is the best guide.<\/p>\n Keep exploring: browse the whole Beauty<\/a> section, our face and body care routines<\/a> and our everyday beauty tips and tricks<\/a>.<\/p>","parent":6141,"count":441,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5719,"category_count":441,"category_description":" The Hair section of The Body Optimist brings together haircut, color and styling ideas, plus hair care advice for every type of hair: fine, thick, straight, curly, coily, color-treated or gray. Our guiding principle: choose what feels like you and makes your life easier, with no age rules and no body-type rules.<\/p>\n A great haircut starts with your hair type, even before your face shape. A sharp, blunt bob makes fine hair look thicker, while layers take weight out of thick hair. Curly and coily hair benefits from being cut dry, curl by curl, to account for shrinkage as it dries. Think about your real routine too: bangs need regular trims, and a very structured cut needs daily styling. At the salon, bring photos of looks you love.<\/p>\n Curly to coily hair is often drier than straight hair, because the scalp\u2019s natural oils travel less easily down a spiral-shaped strand. A few habits make a big difference:<\/p>\n For our editorial team, no haircut is off-limits after a certain age and no style is reserved for one body type. Our face-shape pointers are there to highlight your features, never to lay down rules. Gray hair is a color in its own right, and coily hair doesn\u2019t need to be straightened.<\/p>\n A round face is flattered by vertical lines and lengths that fall below the chin: an angled bob, a long bob (lob), layered shoulder-length hair or a side part. Long, wispy or curtain bangs work better than thick, blunt bangs. Short cuts are still an option, with volume on top rather than at the sides.<\/p>\n Highlights or a light balayage blend regrowth into color-treated lengths, a shorter cut removes the old color faster, and a gloss softens the contrast for a few weeks. Once the transition is complete, an occasional purple shampoo neutralizes yellow tones in white and gray hair.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no universal rule: it depends on your scalp and your hair texture. Fine hair or a scalp that gets oily quickly can be washed very often with a gentle shampoo. Curly, kinky and coily hair usually does better with less frequent washing, often once a week. The comfort of your scalp is the best guide.<\/p>\n Keep exploring: browse the whole Beauty<\/a> section, our face and body care routines<\/a> and our everyday beauty tips and tricks<\/a>.<\/p>","cat_name":"Hair","category_nicename":"coiffure","category_parent":6141}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8264"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443267"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":443458,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443267\/revisions\/443458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Blonde hair is rarer than it seems.<\/h2>\n
Red hair, the rarest color<\/h2>\n
A matter of melanin and genes<\/h2>\n
What you\u2019ll find in the Hair section<\/h2>\n
\n
How do you choose a haircut that suits you?<\/h2>\n
How do you care for curly, kinky and coily hair?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach<\/h2>\n
Our articles to get you started<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What haircut is best for a round face?<\/h3>\n
How do you go gray without a harsh regrowth line?<\/h3>\n
How often should you wash your hair?<\/h3>\n
What you\u2019ll find in the Hair section<\/h2>\n
\n
How do you choose a haircut that suits you?<\/h2>\n
How do you care for curly, kinky and coily hair?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach<\/h2>\n
Our articles to get you started<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What haircut is best for a round face?<\/h3>\n
How do you go gray without a harsh regrowth line?<\/h3>\n
How often should you wash your hair?<\/h3>\n