Are there red eyes? Eye color makes a person unique and can tell a lot about him. Eye color: interesting facts

Eyes are the mirror of the soul. You can drown in their bottomless depths, you can pin them to a place with your gaze or captivate your heart forever... Masters of words often use such epithets. And indeed, sky blue eyes enchant, bright green eyes enchant, and black eyes pierce through. But how often can you meet green-eyed people in real life, and what eye color is the rarest? Read on for answers to these questions.

What eye colors are there?

In reality, there are only 4 pure eye colors - brown, gray, blue and green. But the mixing of colors, pigmentation, the amount of melanin, and the network of blood vessels together create many shades. Thanks to this effect, there are people with light brown, amber, black and even red eyes.

This is theoretically possible, but practically no one has seen it yet

Scientists who study what determines eye color, the heredity of this issue and possible mutations have experimentally determined that theoretically people with violet eyes should live on Earth.

Purple, from a genetic perspective, is a pigmented version of the color blue. In addition to scientific theories, there is evidence that in the remote corners of North Kashmir on the Hindustan Peninsula there are residents with real lilac eyes. Unfortunately, this is only oral evidence, not confirmed by photography or video, so skeptics are cold to such a statement.

However, the eyes of Elizabeth Taylor, a popular actress and queen of Hollywood, had an unusual lilac color. This is clearly visible in the film “Cleopatra”, where she brilliantly played the main role. And these could not be colored lenses, because their production began in 1983, and the film was released in 1963. Although the play of light and shadow coupled with skillful makeup sometimes works wonders...

If we discard the hypothesis about the existence of people with violet eyes on earth, then we can safely say that green is the rarest eye color on the planet. Only 2% of the world's population possess it. In this case, the following patterns are observed:

• The vast majority of green-eyed people live in central and northern Europe, mainly in Scotland, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Iceland, and Finland. If in Iceland 40% of the total population have green eyes, then this color of the “mirror of the soul” cannot be found in Asia or South America;
• In women, this eye color is 3 times more common than in men;
• there is a direct relationship between green eyes and skin and hair color. Green-eyed people are almost always white-skinned and most often red-haired. During the Inquisition, green-eyed, red-haired women were considered witches and burned at the stake;
• If mom and dad are green-eyed, then the probability of having a child with the same eye color is 75%.

If only one parent is green-eyed, then the probability of having the same baby is reduced to 50%. Interestingly, if one parent has brown eyes and the other has blue eyes, they will never have a green-eyed child. But if both parents are blue-eyed, then the child’s eyes will probably be green, not blue. That's genetics!

The famous poetess Marina Tsvetaeva had eyes of a beautiful emerald shade. Demi Moore and the beautiful Angelina Jolie have irises of the rarest natural green color.

Amber or gold

These colors are varieties of brown eyes. They have a monochrome yellow tint or a mixture of golden and light brown tones. Such exotic wolf-like eyes are very rare. Their amazing color is due to the presence of lipofuscin pigment.

Blue lake – blue magnet

In third place in terms of prevalence are blue eyes. They are most common among Europeans, especially in the Baltic and Northern European countries. For example, almost all Estonians (99% of the population!) and Germans (75% of the population) are blue-eyed.

This shade is quite common among residents of Iran, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

Gray and blue are shades of blue, due to the greater saturation of melanin in the iris. Gray eyes can change tone from light gray, mousey to the rich color of wet asphalt, depending on the owner’s mood and lighting.

It is known that only about 6 thousand years ago a mutation occurred at the gene level, as a result of which the first child with blue eyes was born.

Blue-eyed people have a greater need for sex and pronounced reproductive functions.

Brown-eyed

The most common eye color is brown. Depending on the saturation of melanin in the iris, the eyes can be light or dark brown, almost black. Scientists are 100% sure that 10 thousand years ago, all people on the planet had brown eyes.

A variety of brown shade is black. Black-eyed inhabitants of the Earth are most often found in Asia and Africa. Scientists know that dark skin color determines dark eye color. A black man with blue eyes is the rarest phenomenon on the planet.

Pathologies

Deviations from the norm are red and multi-colored eyes. In the first case, the cause is albinism - a congenital absence of the coloring pigment melanin in the body. In the second - heterochromia, a congenital or acquired pathology. Since ancient times, people with different eyes were credited with magical abilities.

A person has an eye color that he inherited. There are not so many basic color options, but there are a large number of shades.

The iris consists of ectodermal and mesodermal layers. The color depends on the distribution of pigments in them.

Most people on the planet have brown eyes, the rarest eye color is green. According to statistics, only 2% of the world's population have green eyes. This color, however, like any other, is determined by the amount of melanin in the body; green-eyed people have less of it, and people with brown eyes have more of it. The fact that green eye color is very rare is also a consequence of the “work” of the medieval Inquisition, when red-haired girls with green eyes were considered witches and were burned at the stake.

Green eye color and its shades from gray-green to emerald are common among eastern and western Slavic peoples, in particular the Germans and Scots. But not only. For example, among the residents of Iceland, a small island state, almost 80% of the population has green or blue eyes, in Turkey almost 20% of residents have green eyes, but in the countries of South America, Asia, and the Middle East, green eye color is practically not found.

Basic eye colors in people

Blue

The ectodermal layer is dark blue in color. This color is the outer layer of the vessels of the iris, formed from collagen fibers. If the fibers of the outer layer of the iris are low-density and have low melanin content, then low-frequency light is absorbed by the back layer, and high-frequency light is reflected from it, so the eyes turn out blue. Most babies have blue eyes in the first few months of life. This phenomenon is common even among the countries of the Middle East, where pigmentation is quite high.

Blue eye

Unlike blue eyes, in this case the fiber density of the outer layer is higher. Since they have a whitish or grayish tint, the color will no longer be blue, but blue. The higher the fiber density, the lighter the color. This eye color is most common among Germanic countries, less often in East Slavic countries.

Blue eye color is the result of a mutation in the HERC2 gene, due to which carriers of this gene have reduced melanin production in the iris of the eye. This mutation arose approximately 6-10 thousand years ago. Most common in the Scandinavian countries, northern Germany, Belarus, northern Poland and northwestern Russia.

Gray eye (steel shade)

The definition of gray and blue eyes is similar, only the density of the fibers is even higher and their shade is closer to gray. If the density is not so high, then the color will be gray-blue. In addition, the presence of melanin or other substances gives a small yellow or brownish impurity. This eye color is most common among eastern and western Slavic peoples, in particular among Russians, also among Western Europeans of the Alpine type (Bavaria, northern Italy), among some inhabitants of the Mediterranean and Jews.

Green eye

Green eye color is determined by a small amount of melanin, and the red hair gene may also play a role here. The outer layer contains a yellow or light brown substance that may be associated with a certain disease. Since the back layer is blue, the result is green, so isolating this color into a separate shade is controversial. The color of the iris is usually uneven and there are many different shades. Distributed among Germanic, eastern and western Slavic peoples, most intensely among the Scots.

Amber eyes

Amber eyes have a monotonous light brown color and a yellowish-green, sometimes slightly reddish tint. Sometimes their color is close to marsh or golden. This is caused by the pigment lipofuscin. This type of eye is widespread among Germanic, Romanesque peoples, South Slavs, Greeks and occasionally Middle Eastern peoples.

Swamp Eye

Swamp eye color, in English terminology called hazel, is a mixed color. Depending on the lighting, it may appear golden, brown-green, brown. In the outer layer of the iris, the content of melanin is quite moderate; in addition to it, other substances are often present. Unlike amber, in this case the color is not monotonous, but rather heterogeneous. This type is widespread among the peoples of Western and Eastern Europe, as well as among northern Indians and, less commonly, Middle Eastern peoples.

Brown eye

In this case, the outer layer of the iris contains a lot of melanin. Therefore, it absorbs both high-frequency and low-frequency light, and the reflected light adds up to brown. This eye color is widespread among Romanesque peoples, as well as among Semites, Berbers, Turkic peoples, Indians and northeastern Mongoloids. Less common among Germanic peoples. Brown is the most common eye color in the world.

Black eye

The structure of the black iris is similar to the brown one, but the concentration of melanin in it is so high that the light incident on it is almost completely absorbed. Often, in addition to the black iris, the color of the eyeball can be yellowish or grayish, which is typical for all blacks or other peoples with black skin. This type is widespread primarily among the Negroid race, peoples of the Middle East, South Asians, Australoids and South Indians. Among Northern European peoples, this eye color is completely absent. And if there is, then it is exotic.

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The human eyes are called the mirror of the soul. They allow you to determine the mood of your interlocutor and look, as it were, behind the screen of his inner world. Scientists name eight primary colors. However, there are many additional shades available. Eye statistics record their distribution among countries and allow us to identify congenital/acquired abnormalities.

What determines the color of a person's eyes?

The basis of color is the pigment in the iris. The more it is, the darker the color.

Which eyes are there more according to statistics? Dark-eyed people are predominantly found on earth. The reason is genetics. A child can be dark-eyed even if only the mother or father had this color.

For example, in Belarus 12% are dark-eyed, 44% are light-eyed, and 44% are mixed-colored. Belarusians in the northeastern regions are the darkest-eyed

Primary colors

Eye statistics identifies eight colors:

1. Blue. Usually observed in. Later the color changes. Eye statistics record only a small number of eyes whose color remains the same.
2. Blue. Mostly observed in Europe. Statistics of blue eyes in Estonia – 99%, Germany – 75%. Among the Caucasian part of America, the number of owners of blue/blue color ranges from 22 to 33%. It is also present in the Middle East and Asia.
3. Green. Its speakers mainly live in Europe. In some areas, green-eyed women dominate. The statistics of green eyes does not exceed 2% on the planet. Most of the representatives live in Holland and Iceland – 80%.
4. Grey. Usually found in Europe, Africa. Eye color statistics in Russia include about 50% of gray-eyed people.
5. Olive. Found in 17% of the world's inhabitants. Eye color statistics indicate that representatives of the group are found in Europe and Africa.
6. Amber. Statistics of people's eye color include 2% of its carriers. Representatives of the group live on different continents.
7. Black. It dominates mainly among the Mongoloid race in Asian countries.
8. Brown. It is considered the most common eye color in the world. Found in Europe, Asia, Africa, America. About 30% of such people live in the Russian Federation. Eye color statistics in Ukraine reach 50%.

Wikipedia also contains the color yellow. However, it is rarely observed in nature. The yellow color is usually caused by kidney disease.

Classification

Anthropology uses different classification systems. In Russia they use the Bunak technique.

Congenital pathologies

Rarely there are people with abnormal eye shape/color. Eye statistics highlight the following pathologies:

1. Aniridia. Implies the absence of the iris. Pathology can be congenital/acquired. For example, it may occur due to a penetrating injury to the eye. accompanied by a decrease in visual acuity, photophobia or glaucoma. Patients are recommended to wear sunglasses, and sometimes reconstructive plastic surgery is prescribed.
2. Albinism. Albinos are carriers of red eyes. the eye indicates a lack of essential pigments, including melanin. The red tint is caused by the color of the blood that fills the vessels. Sometimes there is a purple tint.
3. . Pathology can be complete/partial. The eyes come in different colors or have unequal coloring of individual parts of the shell. Pathology belongs to the category of genetic/acquired abnormalities. May occur due to injury or inflammation. Sometimes the cause of the pathology is eye drops.

Actress Kate Bosworth has a clear manifestation of heterochromia. She has a brown spot in her right eye.

Genetic predisposition

Eye color is formed under the influence of heredity. But it's not that simple. Color combinations are extremely different. Color is determined using individual regions in the following genes - HERC2, OCA2, SLC24A4, SLC45A2, TYR, IRF4.

Taking into account the structure of gene regions, the probability of predicting brown color reaches 93%, blue – 91%, intermediate – 73%.

Distribution by country

The connection between eye color and character

Brown. It is the leader among the primary colors. Representatives of the group are trusted more, and it is easier for them to make friends. Men often have a round face, a massive chin, a wide mouth, and large eyes. The described parameters indicate masculinity, which evokes not only sympathy, but also favor from women.

Eye statistics note that brown-eyed men are distinguished by their charm, initiative, and inconstancy. They often strive for leadership and power. The recognition of those around them only fuels them. Young people with light shades love to dream. Owners of dark shades radiate charm and are liked by women. Brown-eyed men are sometimes the initiators of conflicts. However, they quickly cool down and forgive the offenders. Such men often indulge the whims of the woman they love.

Brown-eyed representatives of the fairer sex are considered reliable and friendly. They often have a straight nose, sensual lips, and a barely prominent chin. Such women usually have expressive eyes. They have pronounced magnetism.

Cinnamon color has many shades - from wet sand to almost black. The shade is clearly visible during the day. Gray blotches may indicate a person's vulnerability. Sparkles indicate the determination and adventurism of their owner.

Light chestnut shades indicate secrecy and shyness. Those with dark brown coloring value the opinions of other people. However, they have their own point of view. Moreover, they need people’s recognition. Such individuals love communication and fun. They are often overly emotional. It's better not to argue with them.

Additionally, brown-eyed girls are distinguished by their intelligence, intelligence, charm and cheerful disposition. Dullness and everyday life are not for them. Such girls love when others admire them. They prefer to attend beauty salons, concerts and other public events. Thanks to perseverance, they achieve success in their careers.

Grey. About 50% of Russian residents own this color. They have the following qualities: hard work and prudence. When solving problems, people delve into the smallest details. Those with gray eyes remain inquisitive until old age.

Gray-eyed men are distinguished by their honesty and commitment. They are quite sociable, however, they do not like to overload others with their problems. Representatives of the group have an inner core and are quite decisive. Thanks to perseverance, gray-eyed men achieve high results in. They are characterized by loyalty. Such men prefer love to temporary hobbies. At the same time, gray-eyed representatives are distinguished by pragmatism.

Worldwide eye color statistics indicate that gray-eyed women are predominantly creative individuals. Their opinions are usually different from other people's. Such women love to decorate theirs with interesting objects. Those with gray eyes love everything extraordinary. They do not allow intrusion into personal territory. They like smart, charismatic, goal-oriented people

Color change

Eye color is subject to correction. For example, Caucasian babies are often born with blue eyes. After six months, the eye color darkens. The reason is the accumulation of melanocytes in the membrane. The process of color formation is completed by the age of 12.

Older citizens often experience pale eyes. The reason is the development of sclerotic/dystrophic processes.

Sometimes correction occurs due to a disease - the Kayser-Fleischer ring. Darkening of the membrane occurs due to melanoma or siderosis. Lightening can be caused by leukemia, Horner's syndrome.

The color can also be changed surgically. For example, laser therapy can transform brown color into blue.

All people are different from each other. And one of the differences visible to every person is eye color. In fact, there are a huge number of eye color shades, and some of them are very common. Other colors, on the contrary, are very rare. People with such amazing eyes attract attention, arouse interest, delight or even fear. Let's find out what eye color is the rarest in the world?

The color of the eyes is actually the color of the iris, which is the almost impenetrable thin and mobile diaphragm of the eye. It is in its center that the pupil is located. The iris is located behind the cornea, namely in the space between the posterior and anterior ocular chambers, directly in front of the lens. The color of the iris is determined by the amount of coloring pigment, which is called melanin. In addition, its color is affected by the thickness of the eye shell itself, blood vessels, etc.

What is the rarest eye color in humans??

Purple

As available eye data shows, the rarest eye color in humans is violet. Many skeptics are sure that the purple color of the iris cannot be natural. But in reality, it can. Purple color occurs when red and blue are mixed.

Geneticists claim that violet eyes are a similarity to blue eyes, in other words, they are a reflection or variant of the color blue. Having said that, there are scientifically proven facts about people who live in remote and high-altitude areas of North Kashmir actually have violet eyes.

Varieties of purple iris colors include ultramarine (bright blue), amethyst and hyacinth (blue-purple).

Green color

It is believed that green eye color is second only to purple in rarity. This color of the iris is due to a small amount of coloring pigment, which is known as melanin. It combines with a light brown or yellow pigment (called lipofuscin and found in the outer layers of the iris), forming a green color. As practice shows, green color is most often uneven and can have many different shades.

Many people believe that the appearance of a green iris is directly related to the presence of the red hair gene.

But with all this, pure bright green color is extremely rare in the world. It is observed in only two percent of the world's population. Surprisingly, the owners of such eyes live mainly in Central or Northern Europe.

The green iris is somewhat less common among residents of Southern Europe. Scientific research shows that pure green eye color is much more common in women than in men.

There are many varieties of green iris color. So experts distinguish eyes as bottle green (dark green), light green (light green with a yellowish tint), emerald green and grass green. Other color options include green foliage, sea waves, and emerald brown.

Red eyes

This type of iris color is typical for albinos, but it is the exception rather than the rule. Much more often, albinos have blue or brown eyes.

The red iris is due to the absence of melanin cells within the ectodermal and mesodermal layers of the iris, respectively, the color is associated with blood vessels, as well as with collagen fibers located in the iris.

In some cases, the red color of the eyes in combination with the blue color of the stroma becomes violet (purple).

Amber

Amber color is also rare for the eyes. This color of the iris is essentially a type of brown color. Amber looks very clear and bright - it is a distinct warm golden color. An iris of this color is observed very rarely; sometimes in people with this eye color a reddish-copper or golden-green tint is noticeable.

Black color

This color closes the top five of the rarest eye colors in the world, however, readers of Popular About Health have a real chance of meeting the owners of such eyes in person. The black color of the iris is explained by a particularly high concentration of the coloring pigment (the already mentioned melanin). Therefore, the light that falls on the iris is almost completely absorbed. Black eyes are most often observed in people of the Negroid race living in various parts of Asia. Quite often, the black color is combined with a special color of the eyeball; it may have a grayish or yellowish tint.

There are several varieties of this eye color: bluish-black, pitch-black, obsidian-colored, dark almond-shaped and deep black.

Rare iris color as a disorder

People with heterochromia, a congenital or acquired disorder in which the eyes are colored differently, are especially rare in eye color. Sometimes in such a situation the eyes are completely different in color. Such a disorder can be observed not only in humans, but also in animals. Fortunately, it does not affect the quality of vision at all.

The color of a person's iris is inherited; only one human gene is responsible for it. From the moment of conception, the color of the iris is predetermined. There are only a few basic eye colors, but many different shades.

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The human eye consists of the eyeball and accessory organs. The apple has a spherical shape and is located in the cavity of the orbit.

The middle shell of the eyeball is rich in blood vessels and itself consists of three parts: the anterior (iris) or iris (in the form of a flat ring with a pupil), the middle (eyelashes), and the posterior (a collection of blood vessels and nerve fibers).

The color of the human eye is determined by the color of the iris. Its hue, in turn, is determined by the amount of melanin in the anterior layer of the iris (the posterior layer has dark pigment; albinos are an exception) and the thickness of the fibers.

It happens that eye color changes throughout life, you can read about this.

Basic colors of the human eye

Melanin affects the color of the iris, hair and skin.

Melanin affects the shade not only of the iris, but also of hair and skin. The more it is contained in the body, the more “eastern” a person looks, that is, melanin colors brown, black, brown.

Brown is the most common eye color in the world. The iris contains a large amount of melanin, the fibers are quite dense.

The prevalence of this shade is explained by its “usefulness”: dark eyes resist both the bright light of the sun (among the southern peoples) and the blinding glare of snow and glaciers (among the peoples of the north).

As a result of evolution and migration, which occurred most actively from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD, this eye color is found on all continents and in all races.

Blue

Scientifically speaking, blue eyes do not exist. The appearance of this shade of the iris is due to a small amount of melanin and a high density of stromal fibers (connective tissue). Because it is bluish in color, light reflects off it and makes the eyes appear blue. The higher the density of collagen fibers, the lighter the shade.

The decrease in melanin production in blue-eyed people is due to a genetic mutation that dates back 6-10 millennia. This eye color is most common among Europeans.(about 60% of the population), but also occurs among Asian peoples. Among Jews, the birth rate of blue-eyed children is more than 50%.

Blue eye color indicates a small amount of melanin and a low density of stromal fibers. The lower this density, the more saturated the shade. Mostly infants have such eyes.

Gray eyes are similar to blue eyes, but in gray eyes the density of the fibrous body of the stroma is slightly higher. The shade of gray will depend on the degree of light scattering. With an increased content of melanin, yellow or brown pigment spots are possible.

This eye color is most often found in Europe and countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Swamp

Swamp eye color – mixed. Depending on the light, it appears brown, hazel, golden or green. The number of melanin cells that give brown color is small; the admixture of blue or gray depends on the thickness of the stromal fibers.

Usually, the iris of swamp eyes is heterogeneous; there are a large number of pigment spots. You can find such eyes among Indians, Europeans and peoples of the Middle East.

The green iris contains a small amount of melanin; The light brown or ocher pigment of such an iris merges with the diffuse blue tint of the stroma and the result is green.

Like swamp green eyes, green eyes do not have an evenly distributed shade.

Pure green is very rare, is more common among residents of all regions of Europe. According to recent studies, mostly women are born with eyes of this color.

According to some reports, the so-called The red hair gene is a recessive gene in the human genotype.

Black eyes are similar in structure to brown ones, however, the amount of melanin in the iris of such eyes is very large, and the sunlight falling on the iris is absorbed almost completely.

Such eyes are common among the peoples of Asia.. Babies in such regions are immediately born with melanin-rich eye membranes. Pure black eye color occurs with albinism (oculocutaneous type).

Rare eye colors

The unusual color of the iris is usually caused by various disorders: genetic mutations or other disruptions in the normal functioning of the body.

Albinos have red eyes (ocular type of albinism). In the iris of such people there is no melanin, both in its outer layer and in the inner layer (which, as mentioned above, has a dark color). The color of the eyes in this case is determined by the blood vessels.

In very rare cases, the red color may acquire a purple tint due to the blue color of the stroma, but this phenomenon practically does not occur. Albinism accounts for only 1.5% of the entire world population. Often accompanied by visual impairment.

Violet

The phenomenon of lilac eyes is practically not studied. It was called the “origin of Alexandria”: according to Ancient Egyptian myth, the inhabitants of a small village saw a strange flash in the sky and considered it a sign from God. That year, the women of the settlement began to give birth to children with unusually beautiful eyes.

One of the first was the girl Alexandria: in the first year of her life, her eyes changed from blue to purple. Subsequently, she had daughters, and each of them had the same eyes. The clearest example of a person with such a pathology is Elizabeth Taylor.: Her iris had a lilac tint. People with this eye color are even rarer than albinos.

Lack of iris

The phenomenon in which the iris is completely absent is called aniridia. It can be caused by deep trauma to the eye, but the most common type is congenital aniridia, which is a consequence of a gene mutation.

People with this pathology have jet black eyes. As a rule, the mutation is accompanied by visual impairment: hypoplasia, etc.

Eyes of different colors

Heterochromia is considered one of the most beautiful eye mutations. It is characterized by different colors of the irises of the left and right eyes or different colors of different parts of one eye, that is, it can be complete or partial.

There are both congenital and acquired heterochromia.

She may develop as a result of serious diseases or injuries of the eye(siderosis, tumors). Partial heterochromia is much more common, even in practically healthy people.

In animals (dogs, cats) this phenomenon is much more widespread than in people (white cats, huskies, etc.).