Table of Contents
Many Scandinavians have brown hair, because they are Europeans. Brown hair is the commonest hair colour in Europe outside of Scandinavia. Genetically brown hair is dominant over blond, so many Scandinavians who are born usually blond-haired will later in adulthood have brown hair.
What color hair did most Vikings have?
Genetic research has shown that the Vikings in West Scandinavia, and therefore in Denmark, were mostly red-haired. However, in North Scandinavia, in the area around Stockholm, blonde hair was dominant.
What did Scandinavian Vikings look like?
“From picture sources we know that the Vikings had well-groomed beards and hair. The men had long fringes and short hair on the back of the head,” she says, adding that the beard could be short or long, but it was always well-groomed. Further down on the neck, the skin was shaved.
Note that brown hair and brown eyes are also common in ethnic Scandinavians. This is often attributed to Spanish merchants sailing in the area in the 1600s and 1700s.
However, it has been explained to me that the reason Scandinavians (as well as Celts) have light skin, hair and eyes is that this a natural selection that allows for the greater absorption of Vitamin D in environments where sunshine can be rare for large parts of the year.
Why are so many ethnic Scandinavians blonde?
This also means their genes prevailed over dark ones, this is why many ethnic Scandinavians are blonde-haired or light-pigmented. Though they are all not uniformly blonde there are variations within various parts. Scandinavia as a whole is the most fairest-haired regions of Europe and the world .
However, it’s quite common in places like Ireland to have dark hair combined with very pale skin – much paler than in Scandinavia. On the average I would say Scandinavians are a bit darker in skin color than people in Great Britain.