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If you've ever felt bumps on your face, you may have wondered if they were pimples. They probably weren't: those bumps are actually Demodex mites.
Yes, little tiny bugs that live in your pores and hair follicles. And don't worry, these Demodex mites aren't harmful to humans—they're just another part of our skin's microbiome. But understanding them can help us prevent skin conditions like rosacea and acne!
Types of Demodex Mites on Face
1) Demodex folliculorum
Demodex folliculorum is the most common mite found in humans, and it lives in the hair follicles of humans. The Demodex mite is about 0.3mm long with a lifespan of 30 days.
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2) Demodex brevis
Demodex brevis is a smaller mite than D. folliculorum, and it lives in hair follicles on the face. The most common sites for this species are eyelids and cheeks, though they can also be found in meibomian glands of the eyelids.
If you have blepharitis (a condition that causes irritation and inflammation of the eyelid), it's likely that your demodex brevis population has increased too.
What do the Demodex mites look like?
Demodex mites are tiny, with adults measuring 0.2 to 0.3mm in length and young ones measuring around 0.15mm. They can be seen under a microscope or with the naked eye if you have good vision and have trained your eyes to look for them!
Life cycle of a Demodex mite
Demodex mites are parasites that live in your facial hair. They lay eggs in cocoons that are made from their own saliva and the food particles on your skin. The cocoons can be white or cream-colored, depending on which type of Demodex mite you have.
They hatch into larvae and then climb onto your face where they stay until they become adults themselves. This process takes two weeks at most depending on whether or not there's enough food nearby for those first few days after hatching
Frequency of Demodex mites in humans
Demodex mites are found in the skin of about 60 percent of adults. They are more common in older people and men than women.
If you have a lot on your face, it could be a sign that something is wrong with your immune system or hormones.
Where do they live on the body?
Demodex mites live on the face, eyelids, eyebrows and nose. They can also be found in your eyebrows but only when they're active during the day.
Demodex mites love to hang out in dark crevices like those found between your nostrils or under your upper lip. However, they need moisture to survive so it's not uncommon for them to move around from one area of skin to another as needed.
You have these little critters crawling around on your face
Demodex mites are a normal part of human skin, they live in the oil glands of our faces and feed off dead skin cells. But if there's too many of them, it can cause problems like acne or rosacea (a type of acne).
You're probably wondering how to get rid of these bugs. Well, you can't kill them with a pesticide. The best thing to do is wash your face regularly with soap and water every day so that you remove dead skin cells before they have time to accumulate in one place long enough for these mites to find them tasty treats.
The Demodex mites are a normal part of our skin microbiome and they're not harmful. They can cause problems if they get out of balance with other types of bacteria on your face, but overall these little guys aren't something to worry about.
