The melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), localized on chromosome 16q24.3, is a G-protein-coupled receptor expressed mostly in melanocytes. Melanotropic ligands such as α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and adrenocorticotropic hormone act via MC1R and regulate the proportion of the photo-protective melanins eumelanin and pheomelanin, which may contribute to ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced skin damage (1) by favoring the synthesis of eumelanin. Individuals with red hair have a predominance of pheomelanin in hair and skin and/or a reduced ability to produce eumelanin, which may explain why they fail to tan and suffer from increased cutaneous UV sensitivity and why UV irradiation is more dangerous for them. Fair skin and red hair are also associated with an increased risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma (2)(3). Recently, some polymorphic variants of MC1R have been associated with red hair and found to be overrepresented in individuals with fair skin (4)(5)(6)(7), particularly the Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, and Asp294His variants (1)(4 …