When a baby is born, the most frequent question among parents and relatives is who he looks like, followed by a question regarding eye color. In this post we will tell you all about eye color, how the tone is defined and why.
Why do the eyes have color? What makes them one tone or another?
When we talk about eye color we are really talking about the appearance of the iris, the muscular ring around the pupil that controls the amount of light that enters the eye. The color depends, as happens with hair or skin, on melanin and the amount of pigment it contains. Blue eyes contain the least amount of melanin, which is why they are the lightest. If there is more it, the eyes may turn green or hazel. When melanocytes generate more melanin, the eyes are brown or black.
Color at birth
Most children have dark blue or grayish eye color at birth, and this is because the melanocytes in the eye have remained in the dark as they develop in the womb. When the baby is born, the eyes come into contact with light for the first time, and that is when the melanocytes begin to do their job, and, little by little, to add pigmentation to the eye.
When is the final color defined?
Around 6 months of age we can have a glimpse of how the eyes will look, although in some cases it takes longer and takes around a year. We can therefore say that babies change their eye color, but rather that it is defined throughout this process.
Genetic factors.
Genetics play a key role in the amount of pigment in the iris, and the most curious thing is that it is totally unpredictable. Mendel, established a series of basic rules for the transmission of eye color that help to understand genetic logic and explain the probabilities that parents with dark eyes have a child with light eyes, for example. However, genetics sometimes lead to real surprises.
In the end, the tone of the eyes is just one more feature, and as you well know, the important thing is the visual health. Keep your eyes protected from harmful rays by using the right pair of sunglasses. Explore our collection to find the right pair for you.