Can redheads handle 25% more pain than brunettes?
18 January 2025

Can redheads handle 25% more pain than brunettes?

More or Less: Behind the Stats
About

What has the colour of your hair got to do with your capacity to withstand pain?

We investigate the claim, which regularly circulates on social media, that natural redheads are 25% tougher than their brunette peers.

Pain expert Jeff Mogil explains how it all comes down to something called MC1R.

Presenter: Charlotte McDonald
Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison