Short answer
Yes, gradually. The eye's lens absorbs more short-wavelength light with age, so less blue and violet reaches the retina; the pupil also gets smaller, admitting less light overall; and studies find older observers need more saturation to see a colour, especially in dim light. The brain compensates for much of this, but blues, purples and dark colours can become harder to tell apart, particularly in low light. Anyone noticing faded colours, glare or halos should talk with an eye-care professional.
The crystalline lens is not perfectly clear and becomes less so with age, absorbing more light at the short-wavelength, blue-violet end of the spectrum. Pokorny, Smith and Lutze's analysis of lens measurements found average lens density at 400 nm rising by about 0.12 density units per decade from age 20 to 60, and by about 0.40 per decade after that. The table converts those average rates into how much 400 nm light reaches the retina relative to a 20-year-old: roughly a third at 60 and around one twentieth at 80. Longer wavelengths are affected much less. These are population averages; individual lenses vary widely.
The pupil also narrows with age. In a study of 91 people aged 17 to 83, light-adapted pupil diameter fell steadily with age at every light level tested, by about 0.04 mm per year in dim light and 0.015 mm per year in bright light. Less light reaching the retina matters most in dim conditions. Separately, Kraft and Werner found older observers needed more colorimetric purity — more saturation — to detect colour than younger ones, by a roughly constant amount across the spectrum, with a larger gap at low light. Together these explain why many older people find dim restaurants and evening rooms make dark blues, navy, black and purple harder to separate.
Despite the yellowing lens, colour appearance stays remarkably stable over a lifetime, because the visual system continuously renormalises what it treats as white. Evidence for this comes from cataract surgery. When a clouded lens is replaced, much more short-wavelength light suddenly reaches the retina, and patients often report colours looking strikingly bluer and brighter. In a study that followed four patients for up to a year, the colour they judged neutral shifted sharply after surgery and then drifted back over months, though not all the way. Cataracts are common with age — the US National Eye Institute notes that by age 80 most Americans have had cataracts or surgery for them — and faded colours are among the listed symptoms; they are a reason to see an eye-care professional, not something to judge from a colour test.
Nothing here means any colour is off-limits; it changes how colour is best checked. Applying make-up under brighter, whiter light — daylight or a high-rendering lamp — makes blues, purples and subtle differences easier to see than a dim warm bulb. Separating dark clothes by lightness rather than by hue helps: navy and black that merge in dim light are easy to tell apart in daylight. A magnifying mirror with its own even light can help with detail. Other people will usually be seeing with different eyes, so a colour that looks subtle to the wearer may look stronger to a younger observer, and the reverse; asking someone else in good light is a reasonable check. All of this is preference and context; the aim is to see colours as clearly as possible, not to change what anyone chooses.
| Age | Added lens density at 400 nm | 400 nm light reaching the retina, relative to age 20 |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | +0.00 | 100% |
| 30 | +0.12 | 76% |
| 40 | +0.24 | 58% |
| 50 | +0.36 | 44% |
| 60 | +0.48 | 33% |
| 70 | +0.88 | 13% |
| 80 | +1.28 | 5% |
Each statement is labelled by kind — established fact, a standard’s requirement, observed market data, a convention, or Colourwise’s own interpretation or analysis — with the strength of the evidence behind it.
FactStrong evidence
Average human lens optical density at 400 nm increases by about 0.12 density units per decade between ages 20 and 60 and by about 0.40 per decade above 60.
Caveat: Population average; individual variation is large.
Source: Aging of the human lens (Pokorny, Smith & Lutze, Applied Optics 26, 1437–1440, 1987)
FactStrong evidence
Light-adapted pupil diameter decreases linearly with age at all light levels, by about 0.043 mm per year at low illuminance and 0.015 mm per year at high illuminance, independent of gender, refractive error or iris colour.
Measured: 91 people with healthy eyes aged 17–83.
FactModerate evidence
Older observers need more colorimetric purity to detect colour than younger observers, by a roughly constant amount across the spectrum, with a larger deficit at low light levels.
Measured: 21 colour-normal observers with mean ages 30 and 74.
Caveat: Small laboratory sample.
FactLimited evidence
After cataract surgery, much more short-wavelength light reaches the retina and the stimulus judged neutral shifts markedly, then drifts back over months without fully returning to its earlier setting.
Measured: Four patients aged 63–84.
Caveat: Very small study; describes perceptual adaptation, not surgical outcomes or advice.
FactStrong evidence
Faded colours, glare and halos around lights are listed symptoms of cataracts, and by age 80 most Americans either have cataracts or have had surgery for them.
Caveat: General information; symptoms should be assessed by an eye-care professional.
Source: Cataracts
Reviewed 29 September 2026. Colourwise summarises its sources in its own words and does not reproduce standards text or proprietary colour data. Spotted an error? Tell us.