Eye-popping risks: what you should know about cosmetic eye colour surgery

IOL News

10-07-2025

Melanin, the pigment responsible for hair and skin colour, also determines your eye colour.
Image: Angela Roma /pexels
Scrolling through TikTok or Instagram lately? You might have spotted someone showing off brand-new ocean-blue eyes, except they weren't born that way.
The trend of changing your eye colour permanently through cosmetic surgery is gaining clicks, shares, and a hefty dose of controversy. But what's really behind these dreamy peepers? And at what cost?
Let's break it down: for decades, people have turned to coloured contact lenses to switch up their look safely.
Marilyn Monroe is even rumoured to have worn them back in the 1950s!
For most people, the shade you're born with is the one you'll keep though it might get lighter with age.
Image: Maksim Goncharenok /pexels
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But in our age of instant transformations, some are ditching contacts for more drastic, permanent solutions like iris implants, laser depigmentation, or keratopigmentation procedures that claim to give you the eyes you've always dreamed of, for life.
Sounds tempting? Here's why experts say: Not so fast.
The science of eye colour, can it really change?
Naturally, your eye colour is determined by melanin, the same pigment that affects your hair and skin. For most people, the shade you're born with is the one you'll keep, though it might get lighter with age. Sudden changes in just one eye, however, can be a red flag.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), conditions like Fuchs' uveitis syndrome, pigment dispersion syndrome, or even using prostaglandin eye drops for glaucoma can darken or alter your iris.
If you're just in it for the look, colored contacts remain the safest bet, approved by health authorities, customizable, and easy to remove.
But once you cross into permanent surgery, you're in very different territory.
The safe ways to experiment with eye colour
If you just want to switch up your look for a night out or a photo shoot, there are safer ways.
Colored contact lenses remain the most popular and FDA-approved option. You can go subtle or dramatic and even get prescription lenses if you need vision correction.
Beware of eye colour–changing drops sold online; they aren't FDA-approved and can cause inflammation, infection, or even vision loss.
But what about permanent eye colour change surgery?
That's where things get controversial and risky.
Juliana Priscila changed her eye colour permanently from deep brown to water green
Image: FLAAK/TikTok
Inside the surgeries that promise to change your eye colour forever
There are three main surgical methods people use to permanently change eye colour, according to Very Well Mind. None are approved for cosmetic use in the United States, and leading specialists warn against them.
Laser keratopigmentation (corneal tattooing)
This procedure uses a laser to create tiny tunnels in the cornea, where colored pigments are added to mask the iris below. The eye doesn't become blue or green; it just looks that way. Though it's usually painless under numbing drops, it can cause complications if pigment spreads or if infection occurs.
Laser depigmentation
Aimed mainly at people with dark eyes, this technique uses gentle laser beams to strip away melanin from the iris, revealing lighter shades beneath.
It's done over several sessions. Although the treatment itself isn't invasive, it's still relatively new and poorly researched, raising concerns about long-term effects.
Iris implant surgery
Originally developed for people missing part or all of their iris (due to congenital defects or trauma), iris implant surgery involves folding a coloured artificial iris, inserting it through the cornea and placing it over your natural iris.
It sounds futuristic, but the risks include permanent vision damage, inflammation, increased eye pressure, and, in severe cases, blindness.