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Eye color chart: every eye color and what defines it
Eye colors form a scale driven by how much melanin sits in the front layer of the iris. From most pigment to least: dark brown, brown, amber, hazel, green, gray and blue. Each has one defining sign, and heterochromia and albinism sit outside the scale.
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VerdictSeven colors by pigment
Verdict
Seven colors by pigmentOrdered by pigment: dark brown, brown, amber, hazel, green, gray, blue; each has one defining sign
Detect your eye color: Eye color detector →The chart, from most pigment to least
Dark brown: so much melanin the iris can look black indoors; it only separates from the pupil in bright light. Brown: brown from pupil to edge, from chocolate to chestnut. Light brown: brown with golden tones in the sun, still brown in shade. Amber: one even gold or copper color across the whole iris, with no green anywhere.
Hazel: two zones, brown or gold near the pupil and green or olive toward the edge. Green: green across most of the iris, with at most a thin gold ring at the pupil. Gray: silvery or slate, with little saturation and often changing with the surroundings. Blue: clearly blue in daylight, from pale ice to dark navy, with very little pigment at all.
What defines each color
The pigment in all eye colors is melanin. Brown and amber eyes have a lot of it in the stroma, the front layer of the iris, spread evenly. Hazel eyes have it concentrated near the pupil and thinner toward the edge. Green eyes have a small amount with a yellowish character. Blue and gray eyes have very little, and their color comes from how light scatters in the tissue.
That is why the lighter colors are the least stable. A brown eye is brown because it absorbs light; a blue, gray or green eye depends on the light scattered back from it, so it responds to every change in lighting and surroundings. Hazel is in between: the brown center stays put while the green edge shifts.
Colors outside the main chart
Heterochromia means two different colors. Complete heterochromia is one eye a different color from the other, sectoral heterochromia is a wedge or patch of another color in one iris, and central heterochromia is a ring of a different color around the pupil. When present from birth or early childhood, it is usually harmless. A limbal ring, the dark circle at the outer edge, is not heterochromia.
In some people with albinism, the iris has so little pigment that it looks very pale blue, gray, or even red or violet in some lights, because blood vessels at the back of the eye show through. So-called black eyes are very dark brown. Violet eyes in people without albinism are deep blue eyes seen in particular light, not a separate color.
Why the same eyes land in different places on the chart
Lighting temperature is the first reason: warm bulbs push eyes toward brown and amber, cool daylight toward blue, gray and green. Clothing color is the second, because whatever sits near your face reflects into the iris. Pupil size is the third: in dim light a large pupil hides much of the iris, including a hazel center, so eyes read darker.
Cameras are the fourth reason and often the biggest. Automatic white balance corrects the whole scene and can shift eye color by a full step on the chart, flash flattens texture and washes out light eyes, and front-camera processing smooths and warms. Two photos of the same person can easily show blue and gray, or hazel and brown.
How to find your eye color on the chart
Use daylight near a window, with the light in front of you, no flash, and a neutral top. Look at the iris closely in a mirror or a sharp rear-camera photo. Check the ring nearest the pupil first, then the outer edge. Note the color of each zone separately before deciding, since that is what separates hazel from brown, green and amber.
Then read down the chart. Brown throughout: brown. One even gold: amber. Brown or gold center with a green edge: hazel. Mostly green: green. Steady blue: blue. Silvery with no steady blue: gray. Check your color with the eye color detector on this site, which reads the iris on your device and corrects for lighting, and use the color season analysis to pick shades that suit it.
FAQ
Common questions
What are the main eye colors?+
Brown, amber, hazel, green, gray and blue, with brown split into light and dark shades on most charts. Heterochromia and the red or violet eyes seen in some people with albinism sit outside the main scale.
What is the order of eye colors from darkest to lightest?+
Dark brown, brown, light brown, amber, hazel, green, gray and blue. The order follows how much melanin sits in the front layer of the iris, from most to least.
How do I know my real eye color?+
Check in daylight near a window with no flash, and look at the ring near the pupil and the outer edge separately. One color throughout places you in a single category; brown or gold at the center with green at the edge is hazel.
What is the difference between hazel and amber on an eye color chart?+
Amber is one even gold or copper color across the whole iris. Hazel has two zones, brown or gold near the pupil and green toward the edge. Any green means hazel.