In the latest edition of the journal PLOS One, researchers from N.C. State U, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and the California Academy of Sciences published a study about mites hosted in the human face.

Despite the fact that these microscopic face mites have been on the faces of human beings for a while now, not much is known about them.

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But then again, maybe knowing of their existence and seeing them under a microscope might just be too much information already.

Megan Thoemmes, a graduate student at North Carolina State University and participant of the study, shared, "The first time I found one on my face I didn't sleep for four nights. But then Thoemmes backtracked, now apparently fascinated by the creatures of her face, actually, on everybody's faces. "They're actually pretty cute. With their eight little legs, they look like they're almost swimming through the oil," she explained.

Face mites, members of the arachnid class and, consequently relatives of ticks and spiders, exist on the faces of mammals, except for the platypus and its egg-laying mammalian relatives.

The study consisted of face scrapings of individuals of varying ages.

What the study found was that face mites are found on everybody's faces. Previously, skin samples only turned up mites around 20 percent of the time; however, most mites are elusive and, recent testing has proven that mite DNA residue is found on all human faces, even faces of cadavers.

The study also revealed that there are two species of face mites - the Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis. Although they only have one word different in their names, they are not genetically relatives.

Face mites also reproduce. It's not exactly a pretty picture, but mites mate on your facial skin, but don't release waste. Mites store all their waste in their body until they die and, eventually get absorbed by the oily layer in your epidermis.

Researchers also found out that microscopic creatures aren't in our skin when we are born and, through physical contact, we spread the mites around.

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