Both species of demodex mites live on your face and hair follicles. They cannot be seen without the assistance of a microscope. Visit our website HERE, to read more information on Demodex mites.
Okay, that isn't completely fair as mites aren't necessarily the bad guys, which is explained in a previous post here.
But one needs to know the problem before it can be solved. This is often the case with mites, as for the most part they have fallen under the radar, despite a large estimation of the population carrying them.
The life cycle of these mites are incredibly short—so short, in fact, that their bodies are not even equipped with organs for eliminating waste products.
They live on oils and nutrients from our skin, mate, lay eggs, and then die within two weeks of being hatched. Often, both humans and their eight-legged friends can live peacefully with each other; however, when their numbers grow too high and an infestation begins, many unpleasant side effects may be experienced by the host.
It seems that in older people, those with suppressed immune systems (caused by stress or illness), or possibly those taking antibiotics or with compromised skin fauna, can sometimes have the mite population dramatically increase and get out of control.
What do Demodex mites look like?
Well, because they are invisible to the eye, unless aided by a microscope many people are curious what is actually going on with hair mites and how they look.
The adult #Demodex hair #mites usually are around 0.3 mm in length. They have semi-transparent elongated bodies with 8 short segmented legs. Hair mites have pin-like mouth-parts for eating skin cells, hormones and oils.
They crawl! They move by crawling about in darkness. Many people who have mites complain of itching or a ‘crawling’ feeling they get on the skin and this is one explanation of it.
