Why Do People Have Different Eye Colors?

Imagine your eyes are like paint jars. The more pigment, or color, you put in them, the darker they look. People with blue eyes have less pigment, and people with brown eyes have a lot of it. That’s why eye colors are different!

What Causes Eye Color?

Your eyes get their color from something called melanin. It's like magic paint that lives in your eyes. If you're born with more melanin, you'll likely have darker eyes. If you're born with less, you might have lighter eyes.

Sometimes people inherit the right mix of pigments and get green or hazel eyes too! It’s all about how much color your eyes carry.

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Examples

A baby could be born with blue eyes if they get less pigment from their parents.
Two brown-eyed people can have a green-eyed child if the right mix of pigments comes together.
Hazel eyes are like having two colors in one eye, partly brown and partly green.

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Categories: Biology · eye color,genetics,melanin