Many people are born with brown eyes that darken over time. But is it possible for brown eyes to lighten as a person ages? The short answer is yes, brown eyes can appear to lighten somewhat with age. However, the underlying cause is usually not an actual change in eye color but rather changes in the composition of the eye that affect how light reflects and absorbs in the iris.
What Determines Eye Color?
Human eye color is controlled by the amount and type of pigment in the iris. This pigment is called melanin and it comes in two forms:
- Eumelanin – A brown/black pigment responsible for brown, black, and some hazel eyes.
- Pheomelanin – A red/yellow pigment responsible for green, hazel, and amber eyes
People with brown eyes have a high concentration of eumelanin in their irises. This gives the eyes a rich, dark brown color.
The amount of melanin in your eyes is determined by genetics. Eye color genes are inherited from your parents and remain fixed throughout your lifetime. So the concentration of melanin in the iris does not change with age.
Why Can Brown Eyes Appear to Lighten?
While true eye color does not change over time, the outer appearance of brown eyes can lighten somewhat for a few reasons:
Loss of Pigment in the Iris
Over time, the pigmented cells in the iris known as melanocytes can start to reduce in number and concentration. As we age, the eyes are constantly exposed to sunlight and free radicals. This can cause oxidative stress and damage to the melanocytes, reducing the overall level of melanin in the iris.
This natural depletion of melanin pigment with age can allow more light to reflect out of the eyes, making them appear slightly lighter.
Development of Fat Deposits in the Stroma
The stroma refers to the fibrous tissue that makes up the bulk of the iris underneath the pigmented epithelium. With age, fatty deposits can gradually build up in the stromal layer. These deposits cause a slight change in the refractive index of the stroma, altering how light scatters and reflects out of the iris.
This can create a subtle lightening effect in brown eyes over time. The eyes don’t actually lighten at the pigment level but may seem lighter overall.
Changes in Eye Structure
Our eyes undergo natural anatomical changes as we age. Two age-related shifts in eye structure can contribute to a lighter appearance in brown eyes:
- The pupil opening tends to get smaller. With a reduced pupil size, more of the lighter-colored tissues surrounding the pupil are exposed. This can add a lighter tint to brown irises.
- The crystalline lens gradually yellows over time. A yellowed lens can block some melanin-absorbing blue light from reaching and saturating the iris. This filtering effect results in eyes reflecting more light, looking less dark.
Can Brown Eyes Turn Hazel or Green With Age?
It is not possible for brown eyes to shift to a true green or hazel color later in life without external intervention. The deposition of melanin that determines eye color is set by the time a baby is around 1 year old.
However, some people with mild to moderate amounts of brown eumelanin may notice their eyes taking on more greenish-brown or golden-brown hues with age.
Several factors can account for this change:
- Reduced melanocyte pigment and thinning of the iris stroma allows more light to penetrate and reflect out of the iris, revealing underlying tones from pheomelanin pigment.
- A buildup of cholesterol or protein deposits in the stroma can scatter light to produce yellowish specks.
- The lens yellowing has a filtering effect which brings out traces of other color in the iris.
So while the eyes may develop more hazel-like qualities over time, the basic genetic makeup remains unchanged. If you start with purely brown melanin, the eyes cannot transition to a true green or hazel that requires pheomelanin.
Can Anything Permanently Lighten Brown Eyes?
While brown eyes may lighten somewhat naturally with age, the only way to permanently and drastically lighten brown iris color is through medical intervention. A couple options exist:
Laser Eye Surgery
Laser treatment is sometimes used for cosmetic lightening of brown eyes. A laser is used to remove the outermost pigmented layer of the iris to visually reduce melanin content. However, this method carries major risks like permanent eye damage, vision impairment, infection, and cataracts. Most doctors advise against the use of lasers for simply lightening eye color due to the threat to eyesight.
Implantable Contact Lenses
Implantable contact lenses involve surgically inserting a colored contact lens underneath the surface of the eye. The colored lens functions like a permanent filter, overriding the natural eye color to produce a brighter tone. However, there are concerns over long-term safety and vision changes with implantable lenses as well.
Neither lasers nor implants actually reduce the melanin content in the iris – they only mask the brown color. Additionally, these treatments may not yield predictable or consistent results. Some people experience only minimal lightening while others report unnatural-looking eyes.
The Takeaway
It is normal for brown eyes to take on subtle lighter hues with age. This results from natural reductions in melanin, accumulation of deposits in the stroma, pupil contraction, and lens yellowing – not an intrinsic change in iris pigment. While certain medical procedures can produce a color change, they carry significant risk and may not work as desired.
For the vast majority of people with brown eyes, it is healthiest to embrace their natural color and simply enjoy any potential shift toward lighter brown tones that comes with aging. Our eyes, regardless of color, are windows to who we are on the inside.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you permanently change your eye color?
No, the melanin content and distribution that determines eye color is set by age 1. Medical procedures like lasers and implants can artificially lighten brown eyes by removing or masking melanin. But they do not change the actual genetic eye color and have serious risks.
Do eyes get lighter with cataracts?
As the lens becomes cloudy and yellowed with cataracts, it can block some melanin-absorbing blue light. This makes the iris reflect more light, causing brown eyes to appear lighter. But it’s not a true color change – just a filtering effect that alters perception of the eye.
Can brown eyes turn green with hydrogen peroxide?
No, hydrogen peroxide cannot turn brown eyes green. While it may lighten the shade slightly, hydrogen peroxide is extremely dangerous if put directly in the eye. At most, it removes surface pigment temporarily but cannot alter the deeper melanin content responsible for eye color.
Can brown eyes turn amber?
Brown eyes may develop amber hints, but cannot turn a true amber color later in life. Amber eyes get their color from a high concentration of lipochrome (pheomelanin) pigment. Those born with brown/black melanin cannot transition to having predominantly lipochrome pigment. However, amber tones may emerge in aging brown eyes due to iris changes that reveal other colors.
Do all babies have blue eyes at birth?
No, many babies are born with brown, hazel, or gray eyes that stay the same throughout life. However, all babies are born with blue-gray eyes while melanin builds up gradually. Darker eye colors like brown typically develop over the first year as melanocyte cells become active and deposit pigment in the iris.
References
- U.S. National Library of Medicine. “Eye color”
- Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. “Age-Related Changes in the Antioxidant Capacity, Antioxidant Enzymes, and Oxidative Damage in Human Eye Structures.”
- Journal of Glaucoma. “Iris Color Change and Photophobia in Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration.”
- JAMA Ophthalmology. “Five Myths About Blue Light.”
- Journal of Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus. “Can Your Eyes Really Change Color?”
- International Journal of Trichology. “Iris melanosis and melanotic changes of the sclera.”
- JAMA. “Safety and Efficacy of BrightOcular for Iris Color Change in Brown Eyes.”