Thousands of insects are secretly living in your eyebrows

Thousands of invisible creepy crawlies could be festering inside your bushy eyebrows, according to an insect expert. 

The bugs measure just a fraction of a millimetre and can be found nesting beneath the eyes and nose – but love eyebrows the most.

What’s more, scrubbing, plucking and even shaving off your eyebrows has no use in getting rid of the pesky insects.

And by middle age we can expect our eyebrows to be colonised by over 2000 creatures.

Insect expert Debbie Hadley told The Daily Star: “Our skin is literally crawling with microscopic mites.

“Human beings host two species of mites, commonly called face mites or follile mites.

“The older you are, the more face mites you have.

“Newborn babies are mite-free, but by 60, virtually all humans are infested with face mites.

“Face mites are believed to spread from person to person via close contact.

“So if you’re out together dancing cheek to cheek you may be sharing face mites with your partner.”

The critters spend most of their lives hanging onto strands of hair – eating, mating and laying eggs right on our faces.

Their strange bodily make-up means the bugs have no anus and their reproductive organs can be found on their backs and stomaches.

And getting the insects out of your eyebrows is harder than you might think.

Debbie said: “I believe there are some topical insecticides that can be used when it is warranted to do so, but that is almost never the case.

“Everyone has follicle mites, and most people have no ill effects from their presence.

“Most people have no idea they are even there.

“Some research suggests they might actually help protect against some harmful bacteria, and therefore you wouldn’t want to get rid of them.”

This comes after beards were discovered to be a “bacterial sponge” filled with filthy germs.

Just like eyebrows, beards might be big right now but can also contain the same amount of grime.

Experts even believe the face fungus can lead to more frequent skin infections because of the coarseness of facial hair.

Consultant trichologist Carol Walker from the Birmingham Trichology Centre explained beards can trap dirt and germs more easily.

She told the Mail: “Beard hair; it’s coarser. It has the shape of a bayonet, a round, convexed bottom and then comes up the side to a point.

“It becomes curly and smooth, it tends to have more bends and kinks which trap dirt.

“The cuticles on the hair – which are like layers of tiles on a roof – trap the germs and grease.

“Hair around nostrils and mouth is well-placed to harbour bacteria.”

If you’re worried about kissing someone with particularly powerful eyebrows due to bugs, you may also want to avoid getting close to bearded wonders.

Carol added: “If you’re affectionate with someone, if you kiss them, you can pass on bacteria.”