Are blue eyes prettier, or sexier? Really? A lot of people think so, and colored contact lenses are available, but they are inconvenient and look somewhat artificial.
There will certainly be a lot of interest in an investigational laser treatment that lightens dark eyes to turn them green or blue.
All normal eyes, regardless of the color, have the same melanin pigment that is present in our skin. If there is absolutely no pigment in the eye, then the person has a rare condition know as albinism and the eyes are pink. A mild amount of the melanin pigment in the eyes results in blue eyes. More pigment, and the eyes are green. With a greater amount of pigment, the eyes are brown.
Theoretically, if we remove some of the melanin pigment from the iris (the colored part of the eye), the eye will lighten from brown to green or blue. This can actually be achieved with a very quick and painless laser treatment. Right now, we know that the treatment works to lighten the eyes, and is safe in the short run, but we do not know if this is a safe treatment to do for the long run. Further testing will tell!
Stay turned… in a few years, we may be able to choose our own eye color, for real.