Loss of Eyelashes. What causes my eyelashes to fall out

There are many different reasons why your eyelashes can start to fall out.  If you have itchy eyelashes and experience a lot of eye irritation, it could be demodex folluculorum - small, parasitic bug that lives on the skin of almost every human.

In small number, this microscopic mite is harmless. Even though most people have demodex parasites on the skin, we don't notice their presence. Needless to say, most people never heard of such thing as demodex.

Why demodex can affect the eyelashes to the point of falling out? One of the reasons is - food.  As odd as it sounds but this little skin mite eats sebum oil (skin fat) produced by sebaceous glands. It finds places on human body with the most sebum oil secretion and stays there.

The female demodex  lay eggs inside hair follicle, the eggs then hatches in 3 days. Eyelash mite has a short life, 2 - 3 weeks.  During the day, mites stays in hair follicles of the eyelashes. It is most active at night. Feeding on skin fat and cosmetics that women use on eyelashes, scalp and face. One of the reasons why,  women have more demodex problems than men. The eyelashes is not only places that can beaffected  with demodex. The scalp, facial skin and other parts of human body can be affected as well.

Even though demodex mites don't cause major health problems, you need to address the symptoms to your doctor.  The eyelashes won't start thinning and falling out without a reason. Substantial increase in number of demodex mites cause itching and irritation, these signs can be first  symptoms of eye demodicosis (uncontrolled growth of demodex). Ignoring the symptoms, postponing the treatment may lead to partial or complete loss of
eyelashes.

What is EyeLash Mite?

Eyelash mites are tiny skin parasites that live in skin pores and near the hair follicles of the eyelashes. The mites can be found in humans but can affect the animals as well. There are many different species of  skin mites but only three affect humans. 

The lash mites live in or near the eyelash hair follicles, it can also go deep inside the skin pores. The size of an adult Eyelash mite is about 0.3 mm - 0.4mm. This skin parasite have good digestive  system, feeds on sebum oil and cosmetics that people use on the eyelashes. The mites can not tolerate the sun light, therefore it is more active at night. One of the reasons why, people with eyelash mites experience more eye itching during evening and night hours.

Female eyelash mites are smaller than males, it has short life span - few weeks. In this 3-4 weeks, female eyelash mites lay eggs deep inside the skin pores. New "babies" mites are born in 3-4 days, the old demodex  die decomposing in the eyelash follicles. Large number of demodex mites in eyelashes needs treatment. If left without treatment, these parasites will be multiplying without control causing infection and loss of the eyelashes.

The symptoms of eyelash mites can resemble to other skin problems. It is important that you see the doctor first. Eyelash mites are microscopic skin parasites. Only doctor can tell if you have demodex or other skin problems.