Magic Eye ★

Usually, for African-American, Hispanic, and Asian babies are almost always born with dark eyes that stay dark. But Caucasian babies are usually born with dark blue or even slate-gray eyes that may change several times before a baby’s first birthday.

What’s responsible for this magical transformation in the baby’s eye color? The answer depends on the amount of melanin present in the iris (the colored part of the eye) — and that in turn is determined by the genes the baby has inherited — as well as other factors.

The role melanin plays in baby’s eye color. Melanin, produced by cells, is the pigment that’s responsible for giving you the color of your skin and hair (or at least the hair color you had as a kid). Just as sunlight turns the skin a darker shade, it does the same thing in the iris. When your baby enters the world (and into the bright lights of the birthing room), the light kick-starts melanin production in the iris, which can lead to eye color changes.

The most dramatic changes will probably occur when your child is between the ages of six months old and nine months old. By that point, the iris has stashed enough pigment so you’ll be able to better predict what the final hue will be. But even so, your baby’s eye color may still hold some surprises — you may continue to notice subtle eye color changes (green eyes slowly turning hazel, say, or hazel ones deepening into brown) until she’s three (just don’t expect baby browns to revert back to blue — dark eyes tend to stay dark for most babies). And in about ten percent of people, eye color can continue to change even into adulthood.