Why Babies’ Eye Color Changes from Blue to Another Color

Why Babies’ Eye Color Changes from Blue to Another Color

You may have noticed that your best friend’s newborn baby’s eyes are now brown. But you could have sworn that at the baby’s coming home party, they had blue eyes. Well, you can stop with the brain-wracking because no tricks are being played here. In fact, it’s a pretty common occurrence.

Recent studies have discovered that a baby’s eye color isn’t necessarily determined by if their parents have blue eyes. In fact, studies have shown that there may be up to 15 genetic traits that determine a baby’s eye color! We’ll get to explain this in just a bit.

But first, some frequently asked questions:

Why Babies’ Eye Color Changes from Blue to Another ColorAre all babies born with blue eyes?

The simple answer is no. Not all babies are born with blue eyes, although most Caucasian babies are. Babies with more skin and hair pigmentation are less likely to be born with blue eyes. Those of African American and Hispanic ethnicities, for example.

Because Caucasian babies have less pigmentation in both the skin and hair, most are born with blue eyes. But, many of them don’t stay that way. Only 17 percent of adults have blue eyes. The reason for this is that babies’ eyes change to either brown or green.

When do babies’ eyes start to change?

A baby’s eye color normally changes within the first six months of being born. However, it can keep changing until the age of three! There is also no guarantee that your baby’s eyes will change. They may get lucky and get to keep those piercing baby blues!


How can I know if my baby’s eyes will change?

There is an easy trick to know if your newborn baby’s irises will change color in the next few months. This trick isn’t foolproof, but it is a good way to guess what color your baby’s eyes will be.

Take a look at you baby’s eye from the side. This will eliminate any light reflecting off the iris. If there are flecks of gold in the blueness of the eye, then this means your baby’s eyes will change. Either to green or brown as they grow. If there are minimal or no flecks of gold, then chances are those blue eyes are here to stay!

Why do babies’ eye colors change?

Remember that stuff mentioned about pigmentation? The pigmentation of our skin and hair is determined by the amount of melanin we’ve inherited from our parents. Melanin is a type of pigment that is also present in the eyes. It’s a simple concept to understand; the more melanin present in a baby’s eye, the darker their eyes are likely to be.

That’s not to say that babies with a high amount of melanin will often have brown or hazel eyes. Babies with a “medium amount” (that’s about as specific as it gets) will likely have green eyes. Babies with very little melanin will have blue eyes. This lack of pigmentation is also the reason why we find a majority of blond babies to have blue eye.

The reason for this pigment change in babies’ eyes is that they aren’t born with their full amount of melanin. As they grow older, the melanin levels increase to the amount your baby should have. Thus giving your baby their permanent eye color.

How is eye color determined?

A baby’s eye color, like any other physical trait is inherited through their parents’ genetics. But then why do some babies have blue eyes when both parents have brown eyes? The answer is simple: eye color determination is a lot more complex than we had assumed it to be.

The pigment of a baby’s eyes is a polygenic trait, or rather a trait determined by multiple genes. As of now, experts have estimated that there are 15 genes that play a role in determining eye color. Parents may have babies with different eye colors than themselves because eye color depends on so many factors.

We put a lot of emphasis on melanin being the decider of eye color. The truth is it counts as only one of potentially 15 genes that have the final word. Researchers are working on finding what genes are in fact the deciding ones. As of now, we only know the basics.

When a baby is conceived, they inherit one chromosome from each parent. A chromosome is a strand made up of pieces of DNA called genes. Genes determine what a baby will look like. The two genes experts agree are the most important in determining eye color are OCA2 and HERC2.

HERC2 genes are the genes that cause babies to have blue eyes and keep their blue eyes. But then we have the OCA2 gene, which gives babies green or brown eyes. So how do blue eyes happen? Researchers believe that to have blue irises, OCA2 genes must be inactive for the HERC2 gene to dominate.

Let’s break these genes down a little more, just for fun. Genes are made up of alleles, which carry the code for specific genes. Theses alleles are inherited through the parents. For every trait, including eye color, a baby would inherit two, one from each parent.

If two alleles of the same nature are inherited, they are called homozygous. Chances are if a baby inherits two alleles for brown eyes from their parents, they will have brown eyes. However, there is an exception. Though brown may be the dominant pigment in both parent’s eyes, one could carry a blue or green gene, too. In cases such as this, a baby of brown eyed parents may have blue or green eyes.

On the other hand, if a baby inherits two different alleles, this is called heterozygous. In this case, the dominant allele will be the determining factor of eye color. Brown is generally the dominant over green and blue; and green the dominant over blue.

Whatever the eye color, you love your baby. Take care of their eyes and your own. Visit our eye vitamins page for more information!

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One response to “Why Babies’ Eye Color Changes from Blue to Another Color”

  1. Gigi says:

    I recently came upon this web”sight” {pun intended} which sells eye drops to change the color of your eyes. How do you feel @ this & it’s ingredients?

    Ingredients: Sterile Aqua, Glycerin, Carboxymethylcellulose, Sodium, N-acetylglucosamine, Potassium Bicarbonate, Boric Acid, Purified Benzyl Alcohol


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