The Claim: Eye Color Can Change as We Age (Published 2005) (2024)

FAQs

Is it possible for your eyes to change color as you age? ›

There is a possibility of minor changes in eye color as an adult. For example, long-term sun exposure may cause your eyes to darken slightly, while a small percentage of Caucasian people's eyes lighten as they age.

If a person wants to change their eye color temporarily, this is most often accomplished with contact lenses. There are many types available that provide different effects. For people hoping to alter their eye color permanently, iris implant surgery is available.

Just as in your skin changing with the sun, eyes become darker, or even develop freckles. Genetics– The amount of melanin in the iris will decrease over time, just as hair color changes as we age, and can vary due to genetic determination.

Baby eye color usually changes in the first three to six months of life, although some children can have significant changes up until their first birthday. In a few children, eye color changes can continue for years. Most children have a stable eye color by the age of 6 years old.

Natural changes in eye colour are typically subtle and gradual. Some factors that might cause slight variations include ageing, hormonal changes, and prolonged sun exposure. For example, up to 15% of Caucasians with lighter eye colours may notice a gradual change in their eye colour as they age.

Yes, it is possible for a person to have purple, violet, or lavender eyes, though it is extremely rare. This occurs when the irises (the colored part of the eyes) have a purple or violet hue. Purple irises can result from a genetic mutation that may or may not be related to a condition called albinism.

Eye color change procedures, none of which are FDA-approved, carry with them risks that include severe light sensitivity, glaucoma, cataracts, corneal disease, vision loss and blindness.

The procedure typically costs between $5,000 and $7,000. The surgeon unfolds a prosthetic iris and spreads it on top of the natural iris. It takes five to 10 minutes per eye. Risks include: endothelial cell loss, ocular hypertension, chronic uveitis, deformed pupil and alteration of cornea.

The colors in your environment, including lighting and your clothes, can give the illusion of eye color change. "The factors that can cause eyes to change colors—or appear to have different colors—include genes, diseases, medications and trauma," said Omar Chaudhary, MD, an ophthalmologist in Potomac, Md.

Just like other eye colors, grey eyes can vary in their appearance—from lighter to darker shades. Grey eyes may have flecks of gold or green in them. And, similar to hazel eyes, it's possible to see variations in coloring. Blue-grey, green-grey, and even hazel-grey hues are possible.

Why are green eyes so rare? ›

Only about 2 percent of people in the world have naturally green eyes. Green eyes are a genetic mutation that results in low levels of melanin, though more melanin than in blue eyes. Green eyes don't actually have any 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.

When broken down by gender, men ranked gray, blue, and green eyes as the most attractive, while women said they were most attracted to green, hazel, and gray eyes. Despite brown eyes ranking at the bottom of our perceived attraction scale, approximately 79% of the world's population sports melanin-rich brown eyes.

Conclusion: Most individuals achieve stable eye color by 6 years of age. However, a subpopulation of 10% to 15% of white subjects have changes in eye color throughout adolescence and adulthood in the eye color range that can be expected to reflect changes in iridial melanin content or distribution.

The cause of Fuchs heterochromic iridocycl*tis isn't known and it can sometimes be difficult to treat. Symptoms include atrophy of the iris, a loss of pigment in the iris so that the color of the eye changes, cataracts and inflammation in the eye.

“The changes are always going to go from light to dark, not the reverse,” Jaafar says. “If you have brown early on, they're not going to become blue.” What's more, about 10 percent of babies will continue to experience changes in eye color (albeit subtle) until they're adults.

Gray eyes may be called “blue” at first glance, but they tend to have flecks of gold and brown. And they may appear to “change color” from gray to blue to green depending on clothing, lighting, and mood (which may change the size of the pupil, compressing the colors of the iris).

If your color vision deficiency is genetic, your color vision won't get any better or worse over time. You can also get color vision deficiency later in life if you have a disease or injury that affects your eyes or brain.