Hazel eyes play a delicate game of limbo between brown and blue, having less pigment than brown and more than blue. Eye color can change through the years as amount of pigment in the eyes differs based on genetics.
Hazel eyes can often appear to change colors more than other eye colors. Because they contain a variety of pigments, not just a solid hue, they can look very different under different lighting. But, again, your iris itself isn't actually changing color.
And while hazel eyes don't change colors, they can appear to do so according to someone's mood. As we mentioned previously, our pupils contract—not just in reaction to light but to our emotions as well. We see this in all eye colors, but it's more apparent in hazel.
Some folks with hazel eyes observe shifts in their eye color between hazel and green or brown. This is usually caused by a change in environmental factors such as the amount of lighting in a room and the color of surrounding objects. This shift in eye color also depends on the ratio of brown-to-green in the iris.
In most people, the answer is no. Eye color fully matures in infancy and remains the same for life.
Why are my hazel eyes getting lighter? 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.
Hazel eyes are thought to possess the most varied and complex eye color. They are a mixture of green, brown, and gold and can appear to change color in different lighting. Hazel eyes are also considered to be very expressive.
We found that green is the most popular lens colour, with brown coming in a close second, despite it being one of the most common eye colours. Although blue and hazel are seen as the most attractive eye colours for men and women they are surprisingly the least popular.
Hazel eyes are more common in North Africa, the Middle East, and Brazil, as well as in people of Spanish heritage.
People often confuse hazel with brown eyes because of the nearly similar hues. Although rare, hazel eyes have the second-highest concentration of melanin, making them appear light brown in some environments.
Hazel eyes have flecks of gold, green, and brown, so it's best to complement them with warm-toned blondes, browns, and reds if you really want your eye color to stand out. If your hazel eyes have a lot of green in them, rich red shades like auburn and copper will work best for you.
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. Conversely, someone born with hazel eyes might see their irises get darker as they grow older.
We know that those with dark eyes naturally have more melanin than those with light colored eyes, but in the case of hazel eyes, they have a medium amount of melanin that's concentrated on one part of the iris, making the eyes darker in certain areas while the rest of the eye remains light in color.
When I was in my 50s, the color began to lighten. I'm now 62, and the iris color is hazel, a mix of brown and green. Also, my father's eyes slowly changed from hazel to pale blue by the time he was in his 70s. Answer: The color of our eyes is based on the number and color of pigment granules (melanin) in our iris.
A recent survey conducted by CyberPulse, a division of Impulse Research Corporation in Los Angeles uncovered this colorful research. Intelligence was the number one trait associated with brown, the most common eye color in the U.S., by 34 percent of respondents.
Of all eye colors, brown seems to be the only one that could be called “advantageous” from a survival perspective. While more research is needed, darker irises are linked to a number of health benefits, including these: Reduced risk of macular degeneration. Lower melanoma risk.
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.
If your eye color is Hazel, then your eye color personality reveals that you are imaginative, determined, adventurous, and open to trying new things.
Hazel eyes also have areas of green, but their uneven distribution of pigments produces areas of brown or gold as well. One color may appear as a ring around the pupil while the other color may be on the outer edges of the iris. There may even be colored flecks within the iris.
Hazel eyes are fairly rare, and only about 5% of the population has them. Can eyes change color? It's very unusual for eyes to change color in adulthood, but if you really want hazel eyes, you can wear colored contacts to temporarily change how your eyes look.
Your eye color fully matures in infancy. From this early age, you'll have naturally brown, blue, hazel, green, or gray eyes for the rest of your life. Some people wear colored contacts to enhance the intensity or change the color of their eyes.
Violet is the "money color" for hazel eyes, Paré says. "Anything with a purple undertone will make the eyes look lighter." This duo is perfect for beginners, as it has a light violet for daytime and a darker version of the hue for evening.
Much like gray eyes, hazel eyes may appear to “change color” from green to light brown to gold. Individuals whose eyes appear to be one color closest to the pupil, another color a little farther our, and another color around the edge of the iris are likely to have hazel eyes.