Eye color, iris color, is one of the most distinctive features of our faces. But in reality, everyone’s irises are brown. Let me explain…
Like all colors, eye colors, are a result of light being absorbed or bounced off a surface. Depending on the surface, the light that is absorbed, or reflected, will result in different wave lengths. We perceive the length of these waves as colored light. When we see a white desk, we are not actually seeing a white surface. We are perceiving the photons’ wavelengths that bounce off the surface. And if they bounce in such a way that their wavelength is perceived as white by our eyes, well then it’s white. Similarly, surfaces which absorb all light, and thus bounce none of it back for us to perceive, are black.
When we look at someone’s eyes, we see their colored irises, right? No. Everyone’s irises are brown. Yes, even yours green-eyed girl. It is a layer atop the eye, known as the stroma, which plays tricks with light as it passes through and causes us to perceive people’s eyes as colored. People have variations in their stroma. It is these variations which cause different light wavelenghts to be absorbed or reflected and voila your eyes are colored.
Depending on where you live in the world, the popularity of each color, or shade, will differ. For example, while globally green eyes are only present in about 2% of the global population, if you live in Northwest Europe, they would be present in more than 15% of the population.
But even if you are not one of the lucky ones to have green eyes, just remind them, they are all brown underneath 🙂
Oh, and if you want to change your eye color checkout these options.
