A Consumer Alert Was Just Issued for Eye Color-Changing Drops
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The allure of color-changing cosmetics is understandable. There's something so satisfying—even a little magical—about watching what was once a translucent lip gloss turn to a glossy, bubblegum hue. (It's like seeing a mood ring in action for the very first time.) But there's a new color-shifting product making the rounds on TikTok—eye color-changing drops—and experts say it could be putting your safety at risk.
The videos—primarily posted by the brand Fancy Drops—have garnered thousands of views and feature dramatic before-and-afters and vague information on how the drops work to change the color of your irises. With the help of experts including ophthalmologists and a cosmetic chemist, we investigated these lofty claims.
Meet the experts:
Christina Prescott, MD, PhD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist and chief of the Division of Cornea Services at NYU Langone's Department of Ophthalmology.
Ashley Brissette, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist, spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and assistant professor of ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Amanda Lam is a cosmetic chemist in Los Angeles.
Diane Hilal-Campo, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist in Oakland, New Jersey.
Steven Reed, OD, is an optometrist and the president of the American Optometric Association (AOA).
Do color-changing eye drops work?
If your spidey senses are going off, you’re not alone. While these drops claim to have ingredients that reduce the melanin in the iris (more on those in a minute) to temporarily change the color of your eyes (Fancy Drops claims that the color will “last for 18-24 months and then return back to your original color gradually”), experts say there is no evidence that they do anything at all, nor is there any data that ensures they are safe. In fact, even if they did work to transform eye color, they could potentially be dangerous.
“Theoretically, for these medications to work, they would have to destroy the pigmented cells of the iris,” explains Christina Prescott, MD, PhD, a board-certified ophthalmologist and chief of the Division of Cornea Services at NYU Langone's Department of Ophthalmology in New York City. “This would cause eye inflammation, significant light sensitivity, and the eventual loss of vision.” But because there’s no evidence the formula can target the iris pigment or penetrate the cornea, Dr. Prescott says all they likely do is cause topical irritation.
Experts also point out that the ingredients in the viral drops don’t support the brand claims. The first ingredient in Fancy Drops’ eye drops is a substance dubbed “Fancy Complex,” and it is not further elaborated on or defined by the brand. (Allure reached out to Fancy Drops for comment on its ingredients and claims, but had not heard back as of press time.) Another ingredient that made our pros do a double-take is ganoderma extract. According to Diane Hilal-Campo, MD, a board-certified ophthalmologist in Oakland, New Jersey, this ingredient inhibits the production of melanin when applied on the skin, but there are no studies that indicate it can change eye color.
In fact, the only ingredients in ophthalmology or beauty that can change eye color are “prostaglandins or prostaglandin analogues of PGF2 alpha,” explains Dr. Hilal-Campo. These hormone-like substances are the active ingredients in many lash growth serums—notably, Latisse, which was first introduced as a glaucoma medication. There have been reports that iris darkening is a side effect of using these types of products, though that was never their intended purpose. “Eye doctors think iris darkening is an acceptable side effect when you are choosing between treating glaucoma to preserve your vision and going blind, but not if you simply want longer eyelashes, and certainly not to darken your iris,” Dr. Hilal-Campo says.
Fancy Drops are offered in 10 different shades, including light blue, amber, and even purple. However, each individual shade’s ingredients list appears to be the same on the website—another factor that cosmetic chemist Amanda Lam says isn’t adding up. “As a chemist I would ask how could this product change brown eyes to blue or blue eyes to brown using the same ingredients,” she says. “There would have to be something in it to inhibit melanin from going from brown to blue and encourage melanin from blue to brown, but the ingredient list is all the same.”
Are color-changing eye drops safe?
A bit of sage advice for the social media age: Do not purchase everything you see on TikTok. Experts say it’s in your best interest to avoid color-changing eye drops. According to Dr. Prescott, using eye drops produced or packaged in a non-licensed facility could put you at high risk of developing an infection. Other serious implications that could occur include inflammation, pain, redness, scarring, and permanent loss of vision.
Dr. Hilal-Campo echoes this point. “It never ceases to alarm me how people will discount their health and safety in the pursuit of a cosmetic benefit,” she says. “Not all risks incurred when trying a beauty trend are the same. Trying a new hair color DIY technique and damaging your hair might be embarrassing, but it's not dangerous. If you use something you shouldn't in or near your eyes, you could go blind—or even die.”
Because these products have not been tested for safety, Ashley Brissette, MD, a board-certified ophthalmologist and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, says there’s no way to know if they are safe in the short or long term. “We also don’t know how the drops are produced and they could carry risk of infection if not produced with extremely high standards to prevent contamination,” she says.
In February, the FDA issued a warning letter to LightEyez Limited, another brand producing color-changing and eye-lightening eye drops. In the letter, the FDA noted that a number of products produced by the brand were not generally recognized as safe and effective.
After Allure reached out for comment on the drops’ safety, the American Optometric Association (AOA) issued an alert to consumers regarding over-the-counter eye drops that claim to alter eye color and noted the organization does not recommend the use of these products.
Eye drops—the regular, non-eye color-changing ones—causing serious health issues isn’t unheard of, either. Just last year, the FDA issued a recall of 27 over-the-counter eye drop products due to the risk of infections that could cause partial vision loss and even blindness. “Given the recent surge in blinding infections caused by unregulated eye drops, I have serious concerns regarding their use,” adds Dr. Prescott.
Can you safely change your eye color?
If you really want to alter your eye color, experts say your safest option is colored contact lenses. Even those should be worn with a prescription and under the guidance of an eye-health professional, Dr. Brissette says. “Don’t buy over-the-counter colored contacts,” she says. “They’re a one-size-fits-all product that can cause serious, sometimes blinding, eye infections.”
Dr. Prescott has even seen severe infections and vision loss due to the use of “poorly made” contact lenses purchased on the internet. “Every year, around Halloween, the American Academy of Ophthalmology sponsors public safety announcements to warn people of the dangers of these lenses,” she says. “And every year, we see several patients in the emergency room with damage from Halloween contact lenses.”
Steven Reed, an optometrist and the president of the American Optometric Association, expresses similar concern: “Allergic reactions or bacterial eye infections from contaminated, poorly fitted decorative lenses can occur rapidly, causing a painful corneal ulcer or even significant damage to the eye’s ability to function, which could lead to irreversible sight loss.”
Experts also advise against potentially dangerous invasive procedures and surgeries performed to manipulate eye color, like keratopigmentation, which involves inserting pigment into the cornea. Dr. Prescott has seen patients who have suffered serious complications, including vision loss, after having these procedures done in different countries.
If you’ve always yearned for a different eye color and want to act on it, book an appointment with a licensed optometrist or board-certified ophthalmologist to see if colored contacts are right for you—and definitely steer clear of any color-changing drops that happen to appear on your TikTok feed. “I hope that this trend does not cause anyone to lose vision and I’m afraid of the complications that ophthalmologists and optometrists will see from these unregulated, unproven eye drops,” says Dr. Prescott. “Remember, how the eyes see is more important than how they look.
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Originally Appeared on Allure
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