The Relation Between Alopecia and Demodex Mites

What is Alopecia?

Alopecia is a medical term that refers to hair loss and can affect different parts of the body, including the scalp and face.

There are various reasons and causes of hair loss, which include stress, psychological disorders, hormones, iron deficiency, malnutrition due to specific diets, radiation therapy, and consumption of some medications.

Common Types of Alopecia:

• Involutional alopecia – a natural hair loss condition caused by aging.
• Androgenic alopecia – a genetic hair loss that a person can inherit from family members or close relatives.
• Alopecia areata – an autoimmune disorder that causes patchy hair loss, but hair may return after a couple of years in some people.
• Telogen effluvium – a temporary condition in which hair falls out due to stressful experiences.
• Anagen effluvium – a large amount of rapid hair loss caused by specific treatments or repeated exposure to toxic chemicals.

However, there has been researching to put into the idea that there is a relation between alopecia and a severe infestation of Demodex mites. In this blog post, we will be looking into how Demodex mites can be a significant factor in hair loss in some people.

What are Demodex Mites?

In humans, there are two Demodex species known as Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis. These microscopic mites are present in most people and do not usually cause any harm. However, when a high population density of these mites is found on the skin and hair follicles, they may irritate and lead to issues including acne, rosacea, blepharitis, dermatitis, dandruff, hair loss, hair thinning, and many more.

How Can Demodex Mites Cause Alopecia?

Demodex mites live in our hair follicles as they thrive on the nutrition on our hair as one of their primary food sources. As they continue to feed onto this, our hair follicles can become weaker, gradually thinning out, and one-by-one, our strands will start to fall out, leading to common symptoms of alopecia.

Androgenetic Alopecia and Demodex Mites

Now let’s observe which type of alopecia can be caused by Demodex mites – Can Demodex mites be the reason for androgenetic alopecia?

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) that is one of the most common causes of hair loss in men and presents are changes in normal hair growth caused by premature aging of the pilosebaceous unit. This type of alopecia has different etiologies. Genetic imbalances, androgen hormones, stress (endogenous or exogenous), microbial flora, and receptor disorders are some of the possible causes.

The success rate of treatment with topical and oral drugs are up to 30%. These treatments effect androgens such as minoxidil and finasteride, however factors such as an imbalance in microorganisms on the scalp should not be ignored in the treatment process.

An overpopulation of microorganisms, such as Demodex mites may play a role in issues such as alopecia and should not be ignored, however once the scalp is clear of these parasites other treatment options can be explored.

How Demodex Mites Can Cause Alopecia:

From the paragraph above, Demodex mites cannot be the reason for those experiencing AGA, but they can be the cause of other types of alopecia.

Some hair loss conditions are temporary and caused by a weakened immune system, which allows for a more habitable environment for Demodex mites to increase their population, resulting in many skin and hair problems.

An increase in oil production of the sebaceous glands can also aid in making a more suitable environment for Demodex as they thrive on skin oil as one of their primary food sources.

The Ungex Treatment for Demodex-Related Hair Loss

For those suffering from hair loss due to an increased population of Demodex mites, we at Ungex have researched and developed a range of treatments and care plans that help cut their food source to create an uninhabitable environment for these mites. On top of that, our solutions and treatments also supply needful nourishment for the hair follicles to promote healthier and stronger hair growth.

References:[1] Webmed website[2] Medicalnewstoday website[3] Rather PA, Hassan I. Human demodex mite: the versatile mite of dermatological importance. Indian J Dermatol. 2014;59(1):60–66. doi:10.4103/0019-5154.123498