Staring at Light Eyes

Dear Lowdown:

Why do my eyes shift from blue to green?

- Nora Molasky (Chicago)



Dear Nora:

Eye color has always been a source of fascination and fixation for people--it is a marvel in itself. When you first meet someone, face to face, the first thing you usually notice are their eyes; if they are particularly appealing you find yourself getting lost inside their magic and you treat that person differently. Light eyes in particular will always attract special attention because of their rarity and the aura of pureness they offer. Those who possess them casts a spell on anyone who lays eyes on them--because people love to stare at light eyes.

Nora, you would fit into one of those people who are given special attention.
I am not sure if I have ever heard of anyone’s eyes changing from three different shades. Regardless I hope this will help you to understand your fascinating predicament and just how special you are! In the 1930’s eugenicists used the disappearance of blue eyes to rally support for new immigration restrictions, they even mapped out areas in the U.S. with the highest and lowest concentration of blue eyes—feel special?

Eye color has a polygenic phenotypic character, meaning it is determined from the amount and variations of pigment in a person’s iris. The iris is a round structure in the eye that is accountable for controlling the diameter and the size of the pupil, as well as the amount of light that can enter it. Or, more simply, the iris is the colored part of your eye and the pupil is the small black dot in its center. The iris when exposed to light can expand or contract the pupil; this can slightly change the color of the eye, the larger the pupil the more light can enter. A fun experiment, that I myself have tried, is to bring light close to your eye and then move it away paying attention to the size of your pupil; the part of your eye that you are observing only constitutes one sixth of your eyeball—Whoa, I know!

Eye color is determined by multiple genes, however the primary ones are: EYCL 1 which is a green-blue, EYCL2 which is brown, and EYCL3 which is a brown blue. Less common colors such as hazel come from a combination of these genes. Contrary to popular belief, blue eyes are not a recessive trait ; they evolved from a mutation that occurred in a single individual over 10,000 years ago—that means that you and Miley Cyrus have the same ancestor. There are also three main elements that contribute to the iris’ color (genes leading to color and elements leading to color are not to be confused, genes have to do with hereditary traits that are passed on from people while elements of eye color have to do with the levels of variation within the eye physically). They are: melanin, a commonly found pigment that is black and brown; tissue composed of cells, and the melanin content within the iris stroma, a muscular tissue that allows the iris to contract and expand; and cellular density of the iris stroma. In simpler words: the dark pigment from in the iris’ cellular tissue, the muscular tissue, and the cellular density of the iris. And after reading all of this I’m sure you realized that the eye is the most complex organ in the body aside from the brain.

From a very young age you can predict whether a child’s eye color will change over time. Children are born with un-pigmented eyes and melanocyte cells continually produce pigment allowing eye color to change. The larger the levels of melanin in the iris, the darker the eye color and vice versa. You can then logically conclude that people with blue eyes have low levels of melanin while people with brown eyes have high levels of melanin.

There are several different reasons for the changing of eye color, unfortunately sickness being one of them. Dramatic color changes, for example brown to blue, should be reported to a doctor since that would indicate a significant decrease in melanin levels and is not a natural color shift. For sudden slight color changes this can be attributed to the level of lighting. When the iris contracts or expands due to lighting the pupil controls the amount of light entering, thereby lightening or darkening the iris—but only slightly. If your eye color darkens over time, then most likely when you were younger you had very light eyes with a brown color behind the iris waiting to darken those light eyes.

It has been argued that going through puberty as well as traumatic incidents can slightly alter eye color due to increased hormonal levels and chemical reactions in the body—however, I hope a traumatic incident is not what caused your eyes to change. Another theory exploring to eye color change is linked to emotions although it is not backed by scientific evidence, so I have my doubts—personally, with brown eyes I don’t think this is even possible.

There are also ways in which your eye color can change at your command. Colored contacts have been increasingly popular lately as they have improved over time and become easily accessible. The contacts come in two kinds: the enhancer which is meant for people who already have light eyes but want to achieve that shade of aquamarine or jade, and then there is the opaque which is meant for any eye color and can facilitate drastic color changes (such as from brown to blue). However the result of these drastic eye color changes only results in an eye color that looks acceptable on a Barbie but makes no sense on a person. If you ever decide that you no longer appreciate your light green and blue eyes you could simply talk to your local eye doctor and have brown or hazel eyes in no time—I don’t think this would be the case for you since you have the most desired eye colors.

There are also extreme methods for changing eye color one of them being surgery and the other a pill. A company who had previously done procedures for people who suffer from a disease that alters their eye color in undesirable ways now offers a cosmetic procedure. New ColorIris which is inserted into the eye comes in two colors: light blue and green—those coveted colors you possess. The results of this procedure, like the colored contact, create a color that appears unnatural and dull; it seems to lack the vivacious twinkle that appears even in dark brown eyes. There is also pill that was released in 2007 that reportedly can change eye and skin color by adjusting the levels of melanin in the body.

In a society where looks are always important, when does aesthetic pleasure and desire reach the extreme? According to the King James Version of the Bible “ the eyes are a window to the soul” denotes that the eyes shine and provide light to the whole body. If this light were to be replaced by an artificial one, in this case a colored contact, then what does that say about you as a person? Stereotypes are also linked to eye color, the most desired colors, blue and green, each denote something unique. Blue eyes are said to signify being carefree and innocent, as well as eternal youth. Green eyes are said to signify sexiness since they are often the color of cat’s eyes. Do you fell this way about yourself? Blue eyes are especially coveted; in Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” the main character drives herself to insanity wishing for blue eyes so she can be loved by everyone around her. For people, light eyes mean having the world reach out to you gently.

Nora, I would consider yourself to be a very lucky person. Many people attempt to achieve what you have and fail miserably in doing so. Others sit around wanting lovely light eyes secretly wondering inside what it would be like. You in some ways get the best of both worlds: you can be sweet and innocent in one instant, but mysterious in the next. Doesn’t that sound fun? No matter where you are you will always be given special attention since people love to stare at light eyes.



Sincerely,

Montana Fredrick