Brunettes who do not burn easily in the sun can still be at high risk of developing deadly skin cancer, a new study shows. Scientists warned that they should not feel more confident about sunbathing than fair-skinned blondes, after they discovered a gene variant which increases the chance of developing melanoma more than two fold. 

"Traditionally, a clinician might look at a person with dark hair who did not sunburn easily and classify them as lower risk for melanoma, but that may not be true for all people in the population," said Peter Kanetsky, from the University of Pennsylvania, who led the study.

Variants of a gene called MC1R more than doubled the risk of skin cancer in brunettes but had no effect on blondes or redheads, the study, which analysed 779 patients with melanoma and compared their genetic make-up to 325 healthy patients, found.

The gene also increased the risks eight-fold for people with dark eyes who did not freckle and 9-fold for those with dark eyes who tanned without burning, all thought traditionally to be at lower risk of developing skin cancer.The findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Denver. Just another reason to have a thorough skin exam by a good dermatologist!