We all know that there are more than just two hair colors. This means that there can be more than just two forms of a gene. These different forms of a gene are called "alleles." Some alleles are dominant, which means they'll "take over" the other gene no matter what. Others are recessive, which means that there have to be two of them for the trait to be "expressed" (that means visible). There are different alleles for black hair, blonde hair, red hair, brown hair - and lots of shades in between!

The allele for red hair is recessive - which means that if you have red hair (naturally, of course!), you got a gene for red hair from each of your parents. If you have one gene for brown hair (which is dominant) and one for red hair, what color hair do you think you'll have? If you guessed brown - you're right and you're ready to learn even more!