In Western culture, it used to be that light eyes -- like blue, green or amber -- represented beauty, most likely resulting from their more uncommon occurrence. Additionally, light eyes seem to reflect more light, giving a person a sparkling visage. Although you can easily adjust your eye color with contacts, you may want to try some natural methods for a subtle, yet effective change.
First and foremost, you can adjust your wardrobe. Although this does not work with dark brown eyes, colored light reflected by clothing onto the iris changes the appearance of blue, green and hazel eyes. Additionally, certain dark colors can make your eyes seem lighter by contrast.
With hazel eyes, wear medium gold, yellow or light green to lighten your eyes.
With blue eyes, wear light blues for reflection, or dark chocolates, oranges and blues in darker shades for contrast.
With dark green eyes, wear light yellows for reflection, or deep greens for contrast.
It may seem odd, but some of the foods we eat can effect the color of our eyes. One food in particular is turkey. The tryptophan in turkey converts into serotonin, which dilates the pupils. When your pupils dilate, the colored irises constrict, causing your eye color to darken. Other foods that increase your serotonin production include buckwheat, bananas, eggs, beef, chocolate and seafood.
Additionally, you can decrease your body’s production of norepenephrine by training your mind to not ponder visual ambiguities, such as puzzles.
Reducing your serotonin levels comes with a price, which can lead to many psychological and physical problems, such as fatigue, the inability to focus, moodiness and a lack of willpower. The slight color change granted by changes in norepenephrine and serotonin do not outweigh the negative effects.
Face the light, literally. You can naturally constrict your pupil and lighten your iris by often facing light during conversation. This leads to the appearance of a lighter eye color in hazel, green or blue eyes.
Age comprises one of the largest factors in eye color changes, with a person’s eyes lightening as he grows older.
References
- NY Times: Eye Color Can Be Affected By Clothing
- Glasses Crafter: 8 Ways to Make Your Eye Color Pop
- All About Vision: Eye Color
- Muscle-Health-Fitness: Ten Delicious Bodybuilding Foods That Increase Serotonin Levels!
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: Pupil dilation reflects perceptual selection and predicts subsequent stability in perceptual rivalry
Writer Bio
Donny Quinn has been writing professionally since 2002 and has been published on various websites. He writes technical manuals for a variety of companies, including restaurants, hotels and salons. Quinn is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English at Georgia State University.