How is it possible for me to be blonde?

Question

I was born with black hair, but it fell out and since then i have had blonde hair. The thing is, both my parents and my brother have dark hair. I am the only one in my family with blonde (I also have paler skin and eyes). If blonde is recessive, how is it possible for me to have this colouring?

Answer 1

First, some general information.
As Terracin has already stated, eye colour, like hair colour, is multi-factorial - it uses several genetic loci and the simple dominant/recessive rules of inheritance do not apply to hair, eye and skin colour for that reason.
There are many shades of eye colour which still look blue, and many shades of colour which still look brown. Similarly with blonde hair/ brown hair. Most people have a blend of both, but the brown is most noticeable.
That being said, eye colour, again like hair colour, is most likely going to be influenced by the parents' colour. The chances are, that if both parents have blue eyes, then there are not many brown-eye genes around, and their child will have blue or pale eyes, not brown. If both parents have dark brown eyes, then chances are, the child's eyes will be brown. If they have light brown eyes, then the child's eye colour is less certain.
Going from more blue genes to least, eye colours are:

Pale blue
Blue
Green
Hazel
Brown
Dark Brown
(there are uncommon variations within all these, like "Purple")

(You could make up a similar list for hair colour)
In your case, you have a mixture of brown and blue, but the there must be more blue eye and blonde hair genes just for it to be obviously visible. Your parents also have a mixture, but the balance is obviously the other way.

In any case, I would ignore the responses about being illegitimate, adopted etc, etc. The simplest explanation is that you have inherited your parents' genes, but in a combination which makes you paler than them.

Simple as that.

.

Answer 2

So far none of the answer are correct. First of all, the color of your hair depends on the amount of melanin. Melanin is the material that your hair, skin and nails are made of. It is used to protect you from the harmful rays of the sun. The more melanin you have, the darker your hair and skin gets. If you are black or have black hair and you don't go out in the Sun very often, the extra melanin is not needed you lose some and your hair or your skin becomes lighter. It also works vice versa. That's why Africans are black and Europeans are white, because the Sun's rays hit more directly Africa than Europe since Africa is located in the tropics and Europe in the far north. In Africa the melanin is necessary while in Europe it isn't.

So your hair became blonde probably because you don't go out in the Sun too much.

Answer 3

Your parents may have been blond in youth and then outgrew it. My mother had blond hair until she was 15 or 16. My dad was blond as a child. Currently I am the only on who is still blond. It has to do with your ancestry. As far as being born with black hair, that's unusual. And for all those "smart" brunettes who try to cut down the blonds, try learning how to spell.

Answer 4

Skin, eye and hair colour are multifactorial, that is, they are a combination of several different genes. People with brown hair and eyes could also have blue eye and blond hair genes, but they are just not apparent. Very few people have all brown hair genes or all brown eye genes. The chances are, your family have a combination of these genes (heterozygous). Your parents have mostly brown hair and eye genes, but have both given you a lot of their blond hair and blue eye genes. The fact that you once had dark hair displays that you, too, are heterozygous, but have mainly blond hair blue eye genes, otherwise they would not be apparent. True homozygous blond hair and blue eyes are uncommon.

Answer 5

I have no idea how, but I am the same way. My parents had dark hair, and all 3 of my siblings have dark hair, although one does have blue eyes. I am blonde & blue, and pale like you. I've always been the "white sheep" in the family. I do have scandanavian in my background, so I guess that's where it came from. Maybe you do too?

Answer 6

It could be a recessive gene. But I've heard of people who went through chemotherapy, and their hair grew back in red (no one in the family has or ever has had red hair that we know of). It probably is a recessive gene.

Answer 7

It is possible to skip generations, and I was very blond when I was a kid and now I am kind of dark/dirty blond.

and hey, WHO CARES? You got blond hair without having to dye it! Blond is the most coveted color in girls so be thankful :P

Answer 8

You're correct, blond is recessive. Several things might be at play though....and they are not pretty. For one, you could be albino. My two other thoughts could be that your genes could be from other people besides the one you know as your father (am I being clear here?)...or, you could have been adopted. I hope none of these apply, but these are my thoughts.

Answer 9

If you are not born from blond ancestry then it is unlikely that you will be a blond. So you will have to dye your hair blond, and be a "bottle blond".

Answer 10

Its about blood lines. Was your grandmother blond at one time? your mom? your aunt? on your mom's side, dad's side? I was blonde until I had my first son. Now my hair is lt. brown.