What Are They Doing in Your Pores?
The idea of mites living in your face can feel unsettling at first — but their role is surprisingly helpful. Demodex mites feed on sebum, the oily substance your skin naturally produces. By consuming excess oil and debris, they help keep pores clearer.
They tend to live in oil-rich areas such as the nose, forehead, and eyelash follicles. At night, when the skin is calm and dark, they emerge from pores to mate on the surface before retreating back inside by morning. It’s a nightly routine that happens entirely beyond our awareness.
An Evolutionary Decline
Recent research suggests that Demodex mites may actually be evolving toward extinction. Their genetic diversity is shrinking, and they’ve lost genes common in other arthropods — including those that protect against ultraviolet radiation. Because they live deep in pores and are active mostly at night, they no longer need those defenses.
Even more fascinating is their loss of independence. Demodex mites no longer rely fully on their own internal clocks. Instead, they respond to human biological signals, such as melatonin released in the skin, to determine when to become active. Their survival has become deeply tied to ours.
