For as long as I can recall, light eyes have held the final word in beauty… at least in the Eastern side of the world. While blonde-haired, blue-eyed women have long formed the norm in the West, their influence has not been lost on us dark-haired, ebony-gazed girls across the Middle East and South Asia. A glance through our archives makes the bias strikingly clear – In Egypt, “Queen of Romance” Zubaida Tharwat became a poster girl for her hypnotic green eyes. In Lebanon, Nancy Ajram’s crystalline blue gaze has become a defining trait. And in Tunisia, Hiba Abouk continues to mesmerise with her honey-toned hazel eyes.
I’ll admit, I’ve never been immune to the allure of feline pupils that mimic crystal balls in blue, green and caramel. That fascination manifested into reality earlier this year – on my wedding day, to be exact – when I was encouraged to wear coloured lenses for the occasion. Blinking back tears as the little dome set itself in place, I opened my eyes to “oohs” and “aahs” of admiration. Once the amber lenses popped in, I couldn’t help but linger in front of the mirror. My eyes appeared larger, my eye make-up came alive and in every wedding photograph, I looked alight with joy. By the end of the night as I removed the lenses, I felt like Cinderella. The glass slippers came off and I was back to my old self. Dark chocolate eyes stared back at me in the mirror. I felt grounded and familiar, yet I couldn’t ignore it: I missed those bright peepers almost immediately.
What is it about light eyes that captivates us as a region? Despite embracing thick brows, olive skin and sharp noses, Arab women – and men – remain fixated on Eurocentric codes when it comes to the window of the soul. The trend of having lighter eyes is most prominent and rapidly growing in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, explains Dr Sajjad Mohseni, CEO at ChromaticEyes, a specialised eye colour change clinic. This growing interest is largely driven by social media exposure, before-and-after visual content, public figures and medical tourism. So strong is the obsession that eye colour change treatments have now become a part of mainstream beauty conversations.
First invented and executed by French ophthalmic surgeon Dr Francis Ferrari in 2013, the Flaak (Femtosecond Laser Annular Aesthetics Keratopigmentation) method is becoming a go-to in the Middle East, with ChromaticEyes claiming to perform more than 50 successful procedures per month. Once considered a tricky niche, the transformation is now akin to simply getting one’s nails done – except it’s not as black and white.
Jumping from ebony orbs to sky blue may seem like sorcery, but the science behind it is solidifying by the minute. There are three ways to achieve results. The first one is keratopigmentation, where biocompatible pigments are placed within the corneal layers, while a femtosecond laser creates microchannels into which they are deposited. Here, the colour change occurs by altering the way light passes and reflects from the cornea without any manipulation of the internal anatomy. The second method is laser iris depigmentation, which lightens dark eyes by reducing the melanin pigment in the iris. And then there’s the most dangerous method – cosmetic iris implants. Here, an artificial coloured lens is placed within the eye’s anterior chamber. Complications are well documented and severe – from cataract formation and glaucoma to corneal decompensation and complete blindness.
“Compared to cosmetic iris implants, femtosecond keratopigmentation is considered significantly safer as it doesn’t interfere with the internal structures of the eyes,” explains Dr Nader Saab, the Lebanon-based surgeon who’s quickly become one of the region’s best in the field of eye colour transformations. “At Dr Nader Saab Hospital in Beirut, femtosecond laser keratopigmentation is performed by a specialist ophthalmologist dedicated to eye colour change treatments using advanced technology,” he shares. These treatments can require up to a month of post-op care, but in Saab’s experience, it’s all worth it. “Patients often describe the experience as ‘life-changing’. One of the most rewarding reactions is when they say the result looks so natural that people can’t tell anything was done,” he says. Dr Mohseni, who’s worked on Emirati influencers, Lebanese musicians and Saudi officials, remembers his first experience clearly. “My first patient was an Iraqi woman named Hind. At that time, preparing the pigments, calibrating the laser equipment and coordinating the surgical team required significant effort,” he explains. “I experienced stress, but I was confident that the procedure was achievable – and today, I clearly see the results of that decision.” After multiple surgeries, he adds, “The most memorable reaction is always when a patient says, ‘Wow, fantastic! This is exactly what I wanted.’ Often, they’re so happy, they want to hug you!”
With interest in the trend growing, it was only a matter of time before like-minded professionals came together to exchange ideas and experiences. Enter Kolor Congress, an annual event that offers a platform for surgeons practising eye colour change and those interested in learning more. “For the sake of providing information, my partner Stéphane Roda and I decided to structure the market by offering training, information sharing and regulatory support,” explains New Color CEO and Kolor Congress president Nicolas Lutrand. “Many were afraid to undergo something performed by only a few surgeons, so we wanted to secure and expand the keratopigmentation surgery market.”
After hosting its debut edition in Alicante, Spain, the event recently concluded its second edition in Dubai. “New Color was planning to start practising in Dubai, so it was the ideal location. The event was a success with the Middle Eastern ophthalmologic community attending in large numbers. Moreover, Dubai is an amazing location for doctors and has strong potential for aesthetic surgery.”
Despite the surge in popularity – and successful operations – the fact remains that while it looks glamorous, we still don’t have enough information on the potential risks of permanently changing one’s eye palette. As with Ozempic and Mounjaro, the aesthetic payoff is immediate, but the long-term medical effects remain murky. A scroll through TikTok also highlights a major underlying concern – what we are witnessing isn’t just a cosmetic tweak. It’s the rise of a beauty language that seems to encourage faces rooted in Arab and South Asian heritage to adopt European-coded features. The 30-second Snapchat filters of icy-blue irises are no longer enough. In reality, pale eyes can look jarringly unnatural on Eastern features that have been complemented by deep brown or black eyes for centuries. With each treatment, are we quietly rejecting our inherited genes and transforming into a generation of vampire-like AI renderings?
Ask Dr Ammar Safar, consultant ophthalmologist and chief medical officer at the UAE’s Moorfields Eye Hospitals, which method he recommends, and he’s quick to clarify that he backs neither. “Both procedures alter structures that are designed in a very precise way for vision. The cornea must remain transparent, the iris must function dynamically and the internal eye environment must remain stable,” he elaborates. “Any intervention that disrupts this balance for cosmetic reasons exposes patients to unnecessary and irreversible risk. From a medical standpoint, there is no justification for performing these procedures on healthy eyes.”
Focusing his lens on regulation, he adds, “In many parts of the world, including the US and Europe, cosmetic iris implants are strongly discouraged or banned by regulatory bodies. Regulation in the Middle East varies by country, and that inconsistency itself is a red flag.” His final verdict stays with me each time I study my dark eyes in the mirror. “When a procedure offers no medical benefit and carries a high risk of harm – especially to a healthy organ – it raises serious ethical concerns. Vision is not a luxury sense; it is fundamental to the quality of life.”
Where lenses just won’t do, professionals like Dr Saab and Dr Mohseni take the reins. But in many cases, lenses themselves are evolving to meet new tastes. Local icons like Yasmine Sabri and Maya Diab continue to push the coloured lens market with brands like Saudi Arabia’s Lensme and Kuwait’s Bella, respectively, while overseas, brands are innovating to keep things interesting. Most recently, South Korean labels have launched glitter lenses that add a rom-com-style twinkle to the wearer’s eyes – a look I wouldn’t say no to, given the chance. As I continue to scour online marketplaces, flirting with ideas of cold greys, Edward Cullen browns and even Elizabeth Taylor violets, I think to myself – I’ve committed for life once already. In beauty, it’s definitely more fun to keep experimenting.
This article originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of Vogue Arabia
