Pheomelanin is responsible for which hair color?

• A. Red hair
• B. Reddish-yellow hair
• C. Blonde hair
• D. Black hair

Answer: (B)

Pheomelanin creates warm pigments in hair that range from reddish to yellowish tones, while eumelanin is the pigment that produces the darker browns and blacks. The reddish-yellow color described aligns with the range pheomelanin contributes, which is why it’s the best match. Blonde hair tends to be light from very low overall melanin, and black hair comes from high eumelanin, not the reddish-yellow hues produced by pheomelanin. So the hair color associated with pheomelanin is the reddish-yellow category.