I Tried an Ancestry DNA Kit from 23andme
I Tried an Ancestry DNA Kit from 23andme
I tried an Ancestry DNA Kit from 23andme. For those of you who don’t know, 23andme offers a home dna test so that you can essentially spit into a tube and mail it off to get the results. It takes about 6 weeks or so to find out the results. I chose to get the Health + Ancestry Service for $199, but you can get just the Ancestry Service for $99. I was definitely surprised by some of my ancestry results!
23andme purchased by me. What I’m wearing PR + purchased by me.
What I’m Wearing in the Video
Necklace
Bunny Paige Spiked Volcano Heart Necklace
Face
Kat Von D Lock-It Powder in Light 42
100% Pure blush in Mauvette
Makeup Geek Celestial highlighter
100% Pure Green Tea Brow Gel in Medium Brown (this is new, it needs to come in black!)
Lips
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Perversion
Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Perversion
Urban Decay Special Effects Lip Topcoat in Reverb
How the Ancestry DNA Kit from 23andme Works
1. You place an order at 23andme’s website.
2. They ship you the DNA collector.
3. You follow the instructions and spit into the tube. It takes a whole lot of spit.
4. You seal it up and mail it off.
5. You wait around 6 weeks for your results.
6. They email you saying your reports are ready.
7. You can then login and review your reports.
I Tried an Ancestry DNA Kit from 23andme Video
My friend Brittany is the one who inspired me to finally do the 23andme at-home dna kit. She did it back in February and it spurred me into doing it myself. When I told my friend Jessie I was doing it, she did it as well. We were able to compare our results directly in the 23andme interface. It was interesting to see how we differed ancestry wise.
I had to wait for Ray to get home to look at my results. Since I got the email early in the morning that they were ready, the anticipation nearly killed me! Once he got home, we filmed this video. So this is really our reactions to my results.
I wanted to do the Health portion because I was curious about my results. I came back negative for all 41 Carrier Status reports, which was good to hear.
In the video I talk about some of the traits it says I’m likely to have or not have. For example, the results said that I had a 68% chance to have light blonde to light brown hair. My natural hair color is very close to black. so I’m in that 32% chance for dark hair. I also had a 99% chance to not have red hair. In the video, you can actually see the natural color of my roots because the semi-permanent black dye that I used has all washed out. My natural hair color is actually darker than my husband’s hair, and his hair is pretty dark too!
Here’s my refer-a-friend link if you want to get your DNA tested.
What do you think of the 23andme ancestry kit? Have you done it? Were you surprised by the results?
More to See
Courtney, see above comment. Yes I would definitely do Ancestry, you will be able to find out a lot of information, even photos, about people in both sides of your family-and a lot about your heritage. So for me to find out a lot about my American side(that is English mostly and Scottish-my cousin and I actually have Mayflower descendants on that side-we had heard that but it was wonderful not only for me but for my cousin-her mom has been severely disabled since she was 6, so it was only through us and my grandmother that she found was able to find all these relatives, we were able to actually see them, and though there wasn’t information on her maternal grandfather(we were able to tell her about him, but some things are better left unsaid) but there was so information on the rest of the family, and she was able to see her great great grandmother-everyone in that family and see photos that we had never seen. And we actually able to trace back to 14/15 c England, anyway it was nice for her and I to share that, and for my mom to see, too. That is interesting that you say your maternal grandfather was Jewish-I meant to ask you what European heritage you had because of your eye color etc 🙂 So perhaps you do have Ashkenazi(European Jewish) heritage. It would be great for you and Ray to do together.
No back hair? Whaaaaa?! Ha! I’m so glad you did this!
Sounds great…it is not that easy. I have been fortunate enough to hire a genealogist from Utah (the hub of genetic history)
I am sure your results are very general and you see no common thread between your personal self and what is found.
It is fun and expensive…..but with the ‘tidbits’ you buy and general information you receive you are promoting a business that is not working for you alone and named ancestors on your family tree. When you get results with familiar names and links then it will be worth and it will not be found in the latest ‘fun project’
I literally just mailed mine off yesterday! And yes, that was a LOT of spit!
That was so awesome, I wish I could have that done but it is expensive, for a good reason. I also have to say, everyone knows I love skulls, and now you do too, lolol that shirt is adorable I love it. Great video, thanks for sharing your ancestry with everyone. xoxox <3 <3
Thank you! I picked up the shirt at Hot Topic last year I think. I actually like bats better than skulls, but this one is cute. I usually like the sugar skull style design more than a traditional skull.
I’ve heard Ancestry.com is cheaper and provides different info. I may look into doing that next.
I really want to do one of these. My mother was adopted, so that side of my heritage is complete mystery. I know on my dad’s side, it’s pretty much German.
You should definitely look into it! It’s really neat.
I also found out that I am Ashkenazi Jewish, which I had suspected from some immigration docs I found for grandmother. What I didn’t expect is that I am +52%. Ashkenazi Jewish basically means of European origin. I was a pretty emotional experience actually as there is ALOT I still don’t know about my family and I’m glad I waited to look at the results together with my husband.
I did the one from myheritage.com.
Wow yeah I can see that being very emotional. I knew my maternal grandfather was Jewish but that’s all I really knew. I’ve heard both myheritage and ancestry are great sites for doing this too.
Wow, @gail that is a very profound, emotional experience. I am 75% Lebanese, 100% from dad, and 50% from my mom(maternal grandfather was 100 percent Lebanese, so my mom being half Lebanese-my maternal grandmother being the only American side I have-my maternal grandmother’s great niece, my second cousin(her mother and my mother are first cousins-my cousin(we’re very close) she is Ashkenazi Jewish. Her father was a wonderful man, Ashkenazi Jewish, from Hungary-he was a Holocaust survivor, and I feel blessed that I got to know him well and have a relationship with him. He and his brother were the only survivors in the immediate family. He passed away 9 years ago, when she was only 16, unfortunately(her father was quite a bit older than her mother) So it was very emotional for me to hear the stories of his life experience. So, when I lived in Paris, she came to visit me-and we took a trip to Hungary and also to Poland to visit those places. Her grandmother Shirley(my grandmother Betty’s sister) passed away before she was born, and we were able to share with her all that my grandmother knew about her maternal grandfather, great grandfather etc. My grandmother passed away last year. And she went on Ancestry and was able to find a family tree going far back(with really nice black and white photos) on that side of the family. And even though I’m really close to her, we felt closer and she was able to find out about and see all the people that my grandmother had told us about, and people in our family going far back like our great great grandmother on that side. It was a really great experience I definitely recommend it as well @phyrra