Redheads Are Tougher Than The Rest Of Us, Research Finds

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Blondes, they say, have more fun, but redheads, it seems, are tougher.

Actually, the theory that blondes have more fun has never been proven.

But, according to new research, redheads do, indeed, have a higher tolerance for pain.

Danish researchers injected subjects with capsaicin, the main ingredient in chili peppers, to produce pain. It turns out that redheads were less sensitive than others to the injections.

"Our tests showed that redheads are less sensitive to this particular type of pain. They react less to pressure close to the injected area, or to a pinprick. They seem to be a bit better protected, and that is a really interesting finding," professor Lars Arendt-Nielsen of the Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction at Aalborg University, told ScienceNordic.

Scientists are looking at whether redheads are genetically wired differently, thus making them more pain tolerant.

Redheads make up an estimated 2 percent of the world's population.