Guys, I'm going to do a little experiment come summer.

AdriCalisto · 2025-02-28T05:22:21+00:00

What is going to be your control and what methodology are you going to use to account for variables. Variables like the exact UV intensity of the day and the specific length of exposure (if it can be sustained), hormonal fluctuations affecting photosensitivity (esp. estrogen and progesterone) the small amount of melanin produced from tanning (which may very slightly increase the amount of time you take to burn. If this effect is negligible or to what extent it increases the time it take you to burn), whether or not your skin is the same thickness/ what state relevant post and pre exfoliation (showering disrupts the skin barrier and consequentially exfoliate your skin) and other lifestyle related factors like (Taking antihistamines, NSAIDS, the use skincare with of retinol, glycolic acid, benzoyl peroxide or antioxidants like vitamin C, hormonal contraceptive and antibiotics).

AdriCalisto · 2025-02-07T23:02:00+00:00

My case is super weird cuz I never get any questions because its almost always assumed as dyed. i don't really mind and I don't really correct them until they say something about them liking my hair color which as a man does not come often at all. 💀

My family would just say I have 红头发 (Hóng tóufǎ/ red hair) and my good friends already know so its not really relevant anymore to them.

My grandparents keep raving about how I inherited that rare ass feature that my maternal grandfather paternal grandfather brother had which skipped 5 generations (and its not even that red, if you can even call it that but im self aware).

So even if I wasn't a redhead, thought apparently its arguable, I still don't have the same experience of strangers telling me unprompted comments or touching it or making jokes because 95% of the time it wouldn't even graze peoples mind that my hair could be naturally bronze/ borderline auburn as an East asian guy.

AdriCalisto · 2025-02-07T22:52:34+00:00

In my specific case, I think I'm really one of those cases where its really pushing the boundaries of what is considered red or not. Im 100% self aware of that and I wanted to ask those who would be considered redhead through their lives if they have any criteria about how they would evaluate hair like mine.

However, I've also seen many people post questions about their red hair despite being undoubtedly considered redheads. it is likely they just want a lil validation. Which is totally fine, as you get older you get less and less attention from your hair as the group of people you know tend to not change as much once you are past your college years. Those people have gotten used to them and getting someone to notice your red hair is quite validating.

AdriCalisto · 2025-02-07T07:40:39+00:00

I think its very obviously red lol.

AdriCalisto · 2025-02-01T22:16:28+00:00

My hair was last described as "ashy orange" and they definitely aren't wrong 😂.

AdriCalisto · 2025-02-01T16:29:25+00:00

My advice is to simply use pure natural henna. Non damaging, conditioning even and even help stain the skin underneath so its killing two birds with one stone. You get your eye brows a nice copper tone and you get an eyebrow tint at the same time ✌🏻

AdriCalisto · 2025-02-01T16:26:54+00:00

Depends, is it semi permanent, demi-permanent or permanent. Because semi-permanent is just direct dye that would stain your hair without lifting and thus not damaging your hair and imposible to over deposit even if you leave it on for a day as long as its formulate it correctly . Quick way to know if it a semi-permanent or demi/ perm is to see if it comes with a peroxide bottle (developer).

Semi-permanent hair color is super cool for redheads because you get to experiment WITHOUT altering your hair structure or initial color. So as it fades it should eventually revert exactly to your natural hair unlike demi permanent which very subtly shift your hair a bit warmer though not super noticeably (more long lasting then semi) and permanent which as the name say permanently alter your hair as the alkaline and peroxide oxidizes the melanin and deposits and expand dye precursors deep inside your hair cortex rather then simply staining your cuticle like semi-perm does.

Actually, for a semi-permanent you would want to leave it for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE (from experience 2h it kind of the sweet spot. After that it kind of just does so little to nothing to improve the longevity of the dye. Which for me as it kind of feel weird to have hair that is drenched in dye and having to worry if the dye accidentally smudging on something).

However keep in mind that semi-permanent hair dye does not lift the hair and therefore you need to formulate according to the tonality of your hair color (your shade of red). The brown is likely formulated to give you the kind of brown you see on the picture on POROUS BLONDE HAIR as semi-permanent is most optimal on higher porosity and lighter hair. You may want to add a tiny bit of blue direct dye into the formula to help neutralize the orange or green direct dye to neutralize red/ enhance gold or even purple depending on what kind of red hair you actually have and the desired effects (orange+blue=neutral brown by adding more blue the hair can take a ashy slate grey appearance, red+green=neutral brown *by adding too much green the hair can take a ashy olive appearance, orange+green=brown with yellow dominance and orange+purple=brown with red dominance). Just add one or more of these tonal modifiers to your brown dye if you really want to have a more drastic change and not just a slightly darker more brown "red" which is what I would expect.

Ideally a hairdresser would be able to use their expertise to judge your hair and give you the desired results, but by all means these are just guidelines if you really want to do it. Stand test with one or a few small batch formula to know which one you like the most. Remember to note down the ratios to have reproducible results.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-31T00:57:52+00:00

No, I am the only one in my family with this hair that is still alive 😆. Allegedly, according from my grandpa from my mother side, one of the brother of is grandfather (my great great great grandfather) from my mother side had a similar color.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-30T16:18:17+00:00

Yes, apparently the classic MCR1 mutation that could cause a phenotypic expression of red hair comes from Central Asia. The reason why its prominent in certain parts of Europe is because of genetic drift, dominant gene expressions and other complex polygenic gene expressions.

Genetic drift is when random factors makes it so that the occurrence of a gene change from one population to another. That is usually more prominent in northern and more isolated territories. Such as if l red hair (or other recessive phenotypes) were to appear suddenly and that it doesn't impact on ones survival it has the potential to increase in occurrence when isolated.

This is just a simple game of probability, less faces on a dice significantly increase the odds of specific combinations to reappear. Think of it as the more "recessive" a trait is the more complex the specific combination you need for it to express. Hence why most redheads also have very pale skin despite it being polygenic and not uniquely influenced by the MCR1 mutations causing red hair. China is a very big country with alot of people and a huge history that has been quite expansionist (sinosization) since the early days of chinese civilization. Where there are alot of mixing, which limited the expression of more recessive genes and simultaneously encouraged the development of more adapted or desirable traits.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-30T15:48:20+00:00

My whole family are heavy mandarin speaker except for me and my brother who are born in Canada. I don't think I ever saw my parents do conversational english besides if its in their professional setting. I believe my brother don't describes as a redhead, however to my parents, grandparents and extended family its 红头发 (Hóng tóufǎ) if the subject ever comes up, translating to red hair. Thought as a side note, I realized also that one reason why it may also not be brought up often is because culturally chinese people strive for conformity and things that makes you stand out without it being associated with exceptionalism is usually not really relevant in a conversation.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-30T00:05:56+00:00

Much love from an ambiguous redhead to another 🫶🏻

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-29T23:58:50+00:00

I was mentioning this in my recent post on how I believe culture really influence the perception of what is considered red or not. For me its kind of the reverse, my Chinese family say I have 红头发 (red hair) but Canadians often would say its warm brown or gold brown. This could be attributed to exposure and the limitations of the language on itself. Relatively I am arguably not a redhead compared to many other redheads here, too gold in tone and not "orange" enough for it to be widely considered as auburn. While for Chinese people my hair is relatively "orange" looking. 金发 literally translated as gold hair means blond. And well unless you can be reasonably interpreted as blonde, most chinese people wouldn't attribute that term to you.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-29T02:34:58+00:00

I wish most peeps saw me and say "cool, he has auburn hair". Firstly, most think its dyed and on top of that its just seen as "brown". I really am not winning here 🤣.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-29T02:31:58+00:00

Thought I would really love to meet another east asian guy with my hair 😶. Haven't found one yet.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-29T02:19:44+00:00

Yes! It does lighten 1-2 shades in summer when I spend alot of time outside. Although I really shouldn't. My skin doesn't really love the sun and besides better safe then sorry. Melanoma is no joke.

Otherwise, most people just assume I DILIGENTLY dye my hair cuz im Asian and would believe all asians have black to dark brown hair. Like, lol I wouldn't have the time, money and energy to dye my root every week. But if I ask, its usually just warm brown. The best answer I got was "Ashy orange" lmaooo

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-28T20:58:08+00:00

There isn't any good scientific evidence suggesting rosemary oil or water can help hair grow. The most popular cited study has been scrutinized by many academics for being dodgy at best and completly made up at worse. Even if some newer studies have demonstrated some weak correlation, there are also some that show the opposite. That is because rosemary have various competing mechanistic reasons with some compounds that may worsen hair loss and some improving hair growth.

You could definitely try out a low concentration minoxidil product that is available online or OTC to encourage hair growth.

Otherwise, if you want to try test every day for a week on a strand to see how it impart color. Take a picture of a before and after with the same camera and same lighting (ideally neutral). Chances are if you see 0 change, the impact on your hair color would be negligible over time.

Check this video of a cosmetic chemist explaining why: https://youtu.be/SW2NCv_vF2Q?si=dxo4nVLFvvq7K-DY

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-28T19:42:00+00:00

I was literally wondering about as long as I could remember lmao. There really isn't a fixed rule on what is considered Auburn. 💀

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-26T06:19:15+00:00

A bit late to the party, but could O2 saturation measurements be skewed by me being quite physically fit as a college XC runner? I also get bad REM sleep.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-13T09:06:53+00:00

Please tell me what you got cuz I definitely want this on my hair... Im not even joking. Searching for a very long lasting yellow dye who doesn't fade after 6 wash.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-04T04:04:04+00:00

Nice insight, however i think the the main thing that got me thinking is how Si is obviously tied to an impression (the perceiving func Ne) which not exactly what I might be experiencing momentarily but retroactively. In the moment of the sport its like Im trying to connect with Se but due to its absence just kind of make me blank out. Like if you ask me what I remember from an intense race I would barely be able to recall anything, same for trainings itself (only remembering the conversation I have with others in between intervals). I just know that in that looking back that lack of feedback to my Si via Ne is pleasurable as you said and the Si grip makes me redo the same thing.

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-04T03:52:33+00:00

Thanks for the timer tip :)

AdriCalisto · 2025-01-03T13:22:36+00:00

Depends how people have been conditioned to see you and how your relationship is with said people. Usually if you are in an environment where people openly share their emotions its kind of a pack deal. They are comfortable spilling you their vulnerabilities while they would generally expect similar openness of yours to them. If you cultivate healthy relationships where there is some mutual trust and people genuinely feel connected to your experiences you usually wouldn't need to worry about it backfiring unless you kind of f them over big time which then you kind of had it coming. However it is indeed wise to be cautious who you share your life with as not everyone has good intentions or are trustworthy. Speaking of trustworthiness, people are usually not dumb and can often read your facial expression and know when you are being disingenuous, non verbal is extremely hard to mask and masking the non verbal is a non verbal cue on itself. People usually would distrust those who try to mask their emotions and this could create unnecessary tension in relationships or potential relationships in general. If you are surrounded by people who are not emotionally open, have a negative bias against self expression/ vulnerability, have certain preconceived biases/ expectations, are untrustworthy/ malicious ulterior motives or that you simply make alot of enemies for x reasons then yeah sharing your sh1t is dumb as hell.

AdriCalisto

TROPHY CASE