What Are Some of the Rarest Eye Colours?

To all the beautiful people out there, you must have heard the phrase that says- ‘eyes are the windows to the soul.’ Well, these pretty ‘windows’ come in a plethora of colours and hues. Needless to say, eyes reflect our deepest emotions, feelings and expressions without even having to communicate by words.

While expressive eyes are definitely responsible for turning heads, we cannot ignore the beauty of different eye colours that are often unique and attractive. If you are keen to learn about some of the rarest eye colours, we will be more than glad to provide you with some crucial insights. Stay tuned till the end and explore the unusual eye colours at a quick glance.

What Determines the Colour of Your Eyes?

The main determiner of eye colour is the variations in our genes. The genes directly impact the production, transportation and storage of a pigment known as melanin, which is responsible for the diversity in humans’ eye colours.

Eye colour is proportional to the amount of melanin in the front layers of the iris. People with brown eyes have a large proportion of melanin in the iris, while people with blue eyes have much less of the pigment.

What Are the Top 6 Rarest Eye Colours?

• Violet or Red Eyes

  
  

  Caption: Red or violet eyes exist, but because of a health condition

  If you have ever wondered if red eyes are real, then we have the answer. Well, red eyes are a real phenomenon, caused by blood leaking into the iris or albinism. As albino people have little to no pigment in their eyes, they end up having this extremely rare and attention-seeking eye colour.
  
  Also, individuals exposed to albinism develop violet eye colours as well. In such cases, one needs to use proper eye protection while hitting the streets on a bright sunny day.

• Grey Eyes

  
  

  Caption: Grey eye colour is rare

  Grey is another rare eye colour that often features brown and gold spots in the iris. Theories say that people with grey eyes have lesser melanin when compared to people with blue eyes. However, the stroma layer sets these grey eyes apart from blue eyes.
  
  Since grey eyes come well-equipped with the right amount of stroma, it changes the way light reflects and scatters colours. According to some internet studies, it is found that nearly 3% of individuals have these grey-coloured eyes.

• Green Eyes

  
  

  Caption: Green eye colour is rare

  There is an ongoing debate, wherein a group of people consider green to be the rarest colour while others say it has been dethroned by violet, red and grey eyes. Some of the factors responsible for causing green eyes include a lot of lipochromes, little melanin and the Rayleigh scattering of light.
  
  Studies say that about 2% of the individuals in the world have green eyes. Emma Stone, Adele, Jon Hamm, Amanda Seyfried, Kate Middleton, Eddie Redmayne, Gael Garcia and Clive Owen are some of the famous celebrities with green eyes.

• Amber Eyes

  
  

  Caption: Amber eyes are rare

  While amber eyes and hazel eyes look alike, both of them are quite different! Amber eyes have a dark orange and solid colour. Also, amber eyes have a lot of lipochromes and little melanin. Also referred to as wolf eyes, amber eyes highlight yellowish and strong golden shades.
  
  These types of colour pops are more common in animals like cats, wolves and owls. However, very few people do have this type of rare yet pretty ‘windows.’ Some of the celebrities with amber eyes are Nikki Reed, Nicole Richie, Darren Criss, Evangeline Lilly, Joey Kern and Rochelle Aytes.

• Hazel Eyes

  
  

  Caption: Hazel eyes are rare

  While rare hazel eyes come with a lot of variations, they typically sport a brownish-yellow hue with green, brown and gold specks. These types of eye colours contain enough melanin- just like brown eyes.
  
  Hazel eyes are capable of changing shades quite frequently. Do you know why? It’s because they know how to reflect light, thus changing the colours.

• Blue Eyes

  
  

  Caption: Blue eyes are rare

  While blue eyes are not that rare, individuals with this eye colour might get exposed to ocular cancer, age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Since these people are prone to damage caused by the ultraviolet rays, one needs to invest in glasses that have 100% UVB and UVA protection.

Some Interesting Facts and Figures about Eye Colours

Sometimes, numbers speak volumes. So, let us go through the stats once:



Eye Colour and Melanin Content

Take a look at the table below and you will be able to grab some solid details related to eye colour and melanin content:



Reference Link: https://owlcation.com/stem/Rarest-Eye-Color-in-Humans

Eye Conditions and Eye Colours

Now that we have touched upon the different rarest eye colours, let us dabble into some eye conditions that can change the hues of human eyes.

• Heterochromia : It is an eye condition that creates different eye colours in an individual. For instance, a person with heterochromia might have one blue eye and one brown eye. Heterochromia can occur for several reasons such as eye surgery, injury, glaucoma, diabetes etc.
• Arcus Senilis : It is an eye condition that creates different eye colours in an individual. For instance, a person with heterochromia might have one blue eye and one brown eye. Heterochromia can occur for several reasons such as eye surgery, injury, glaucoma, diabetes etc.
• Arcus Senilis : It is one of the most common eye conditions that correlate with high cholesterol levels and ageing. As a result, one might develop eye colours that are blue or grey.
• Anisocoria : It is a type of heterochromia that exposes a person to unequal pupil sizes. In these cases, one of your eyes will appear darker than the other one. Some of the symptoms of Anisocoria are high stroke risk, nervous system problems, previous eye damage, viral infection, horner syndrome etc.
• Albinism : Here, the amount of melanin produced in a person’s hair, eyes and skin is affected to a great extent. People dealing with albinism especially have violet, light blue, red or pink eyes.
  

  Caption: Albinism changes the eye and hair colour

• Hyphema : In hyphema, the blood gets collected inside the eye’s front portion. By covering the pupil along with the iris with blood, this eye condition makes your eyes appear red. Hyphema is often caused by sports injuries.
• Cataracts: When the natural lens of an eye becomes cloudy, it leads to cataracts. Here, the person’s eyes might be grey or white.
• Uveitis : Uveitis is nothing but inflammation in the eyes that mainly takes place because of toxins, infection and injury.

Final Thoughts

So, there we have it, a crisp overview of the rarest eye colours that tend to stand out. Everyone has beautiful eyes. All you need to do is take care of them! Pick up the perfect pair of glasses and sunglasses, as they are functional and fashionable possessions that are crucial to keep your eyes healthy and of course, happy.