For Samantha, having brown eyes never felt quite right.

However, following her recent procedure, she feels a true sense of self-acceptance.

“When I look in the mirror now, I truly see myself,” she shared.

TikTok and Instagram videos documenting eye-colour “transformations” have amassed millions of views, helping push the procedure into mainstream conversations. But these videos are often littered with comments asking about the cost and the risks.

“People can go blind, and this is not a reversible procedure.”

“We don’t know whether [the dye] is toxic in the long term, we don’t know whether it’ll fade, whether it’ll scar up. The cornea is responsible for 70 to 80 per cent of the focusing. So, any irregularity that can be caused by the dye will cause loss of vision.”

Professor Chameen Samarawickrama from Sydney is warning Australians to reconsider going overseas to have their eye colour changed. Source: SBS / Matt Gazy

A 2018 study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology suggested a 10-12 per cent risk of complications, Samarawickrama said.

“I did as much research as I can and looking from the results of people who’ve done it before me, there’s people who’ve done the procedure two or three years or four years before me and they’ve always updated their process, and it reassured me.”

A growing global trend

“I actually saw this procedure in [Ferrari’s] hands and then I brought it to America, and I was first in America,” Movshovich said.

Samantha Fleck hugging Dr Alex Movshovich following her procedure in New York. Source: Supplied

He said most people change from dark eyes to green or blue — with around 10 per cent of patients asking for further work after the procedure.

He says results can often look unnatural, or “aesthetically displeasing”.

“He was ghostly looking … he now has depression, all sorts of problems,” Bala said.

‘Just put contact lenses on’

“If someone really wants a light colour, they should just put a contact lens on.”