But, surprisingly, our eye colour doesn't always remain constant throughout our lives – in fact, a wide range of external influences can change it, from injury to infection and sun damage. And sometimes the change appears to happen spontaneously.
Eye color can change over time, but only slightly. The eye color of most babies will darken in the first few years of life. During this time, the body produces a darker pigment, known as melanin. Expansion or contraction of the iris can also lead to minute changes in eye color.
Natural Age-Related Eye Color Changes
As they are exposed to light, melanin production increases, causing the color of their eyes to shift. However, eye color changes can also occur as a person ages. Those with lighter color eyes – especially Caucasians – may see their eyes lighten over time.
In most people, the answer is no. Eye color fully matures in infancy and remains the same for life. But in a small percentage of adults, eye color can naturally become either noticeably darker or lighter with age. What determines eye color is the pigment melanin.
The genetic switch is located in the gene adjacent to OCA2 and rather than completely turning off the gene, the switch limits its action, which reduces the production of melanin in the iris. In effect, the turned-down switch diluted brown eyes to blue.
In as much as 15 percent of the white population (or people who tend to have lighter eye colors), eye color changes with age. People who had deep brown eyes during their youth and adulthood may experience a lightening of their eye pigment as they enter middle age, giving them hazel eyes.
Green is considered by some to be the actual rarest eye color in the world, though others would say it's been dethroned by red, violet, and grey eyes. Green eyes don't possess a lot of melanin, which creates a Rayleigh scattering effect: Light gets reflected and scattered by the eyes instead of absorbed by pigment.
As you grow up, the melanin level increases around your pupil, making the eye darker. However, 10-15% of Caucasian eyes change to a lighter color as they age, as pigment in the iris changes or degrades.
A blue/white/gray arc or ring around the irises of your eyes is called arcus senilis if you're 50 to 60 years old or older. It's seen as a normal part of aging. If you're younger and you have them, you should see your provider about possible underlying health conditions.
When your pupils shrink or dilate, the color of your eyes may seem to change. For example, if your pupils widen, not as much of your irises are exposed, and the remaining irises look darker. On the other hand, when your pupils are smaller, your eye color may appear lighter.
In sunlights, the pupil constricts and the iris stretches and the melanin pigments also stretch over a larger area and the color of the eye appears to become lighter in color.
A blue and a green-eyed parent will have all hazel-eyed kids. This is one of the reasons I like the modifier gene explanation so much. It can help explain how green and blue-eyed parents might have hazel-eyed kids.
The pupil can change size with certain emotions, thus changing the iris color dispersion and the eye color. You've probably heard people say your eyes change color when you're angry, and that probably is true. Your eyes can also change color with age. They usually darken somewhat.
Complete heterochromia is definitely rare — fewer than 200,000 Americans have the condition, according to the National Institutes of Health. That's only about six out of every 10,000 people. It's currently unknown how rare central heterochromia is, but we do know that it isn't quite as rare as complete heterochromia.
As you age, the structure and appearance of your body change. This is natural and not typically a cause for concern. As your skin, bone structure, and hair color change due to aging, your eyes may change, too. It's not unusual for blue-tinted rings to appear around your iris — the colored part of your eye.
Brown eyes may also have some green in them. However, it is not nearly as noticeable as it is when someone has hazel eyes. With brown and hazel eyes, the other colors may appear as rings or flecks of color.
Unfortunately, no. Just like your hair and skin color, the color of your iris is genetic. That means that unless you break down your genetic code or cell structure, your eye color cannot be changed permanently without surgery.
Both parents with brown eyes: 75% chance of baby with brown eyes, 18.8% chance of baby with green eyes, 6.3% chance of baby with blue eyes. Both parents with blue eyes: 99% chance of baby with blue eyes, 1% chance of baby with green eyes, 0% chance of baby with brown eyes.
Did Elizabeth Taylor have violet eyes? These days, thanks to colored contact lenses, anyone can have violet-colored eyes . Taylor didn't come by her purple peepers that way; the first tinted contact lenses weren't commercially available until 1983. Taylor's eye color was the real deal.
Yes, natural purple eyes are possible. There are many different shades of blues and greys out there and many in-between colors. Although very rare, some people's natural pigmentation can even be violet or purple in color.
Eye colors can be many different shades of: Amber, which some people describe as copper, gold or very light brown. Blue or gray, which occurs when someone has no pigment (melanin) in the front layer of the iris.
Opaque: Opaque-tint lenses are solid and non-transparent, offering a complete color change. This type of tint works best for people with dark eyes who want to go dramatically lighter, such as going from dark brown to ice gray. The most popular opaque colors include: blue.
Eye Color Matters
Lighter-colored eyes have less pigment to protect against sun damage and UV radiation compared to darker-colored eyes. This means that people with green, hazel, or blue eyes are more sensitive to light and more susceptible to UV damage.
Why are hazel eyes so rare? Only about 5 percent of the population worldwide has the hazel eye genetic mutation. After brown eyes, they have the most melanin. . The combination of having less melanin (as with green eyes) and a lot of melanin (like brown eyes) make this eye color unique.
While a full change of eye color as an adult is unlikely, the way it appears to others can change depending on light. Sun exposure causes your body to create more pigmentation, so naturally your eyes can be a touch darker when you're outside.