Ask Ms. Jessica #57 – Mutant Hair Color (Patreon)

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Hello Ms. Jessica,

I’ve noticed that there are a variety of mutants with unique hair colors, such as pink, blue, green, etc. If this is a result of a mutation, if you were to cut off the hair would it grow back a different color? What if mutants have two tone hair, like a different color at the tips. If you cut it off is it gone forever?

Ah a very interesting question, but an easy one to answer. Simply put, hair is not just what we see. Hair is rooted in hair follicles in our scalp, which is what mutates to create the different colors of hair.

Hair gets its pigment from melanin, and this is true in mutants with interesting hair colors as well. However, even normal melanin breaks down. In non mutant hair, you might notice that hair in general is more faded near the tips. Mutant hair is essentially doing the same thing when it appears two tone. The compounds that give it its unique colors break down over time, causing the tips to appear as a secondary color. If the tips are cut off, eventually the melanin in the new tips will break down again, creating the secondary color once more.

There’s no crazy mutated bodily process here. It’s just the same process that non-mutants go through. It’s just that sometimes mutations can make it more visible.