The tiny mites that have sex on our faces have a problem - BBC

But what about pore cleaning mites like Demodex folliculorum that spend their entire life living deep in our faces.

At night, the 0.3mm long organisms leave the pores to find a new skin follicle, meet a partner and mate.

But a new study has found the mites could be facing a problem as their DNA is eroding, meaning they are close to extinction.

And if you're rushing to the bathroom, grabbing all the face wash you own and scrubbing every inch of your skin, you won't get very far - they live too deep in your skin to ever be washed out.

Dr Alejandra Perotti, from the University of Reading, co-authored the study and says we should be "grateful" to offer the mites a home and have such an intimate relationship with them.

The study shows just how close our relationship is with them, but also how the mites have the smallest number of genes in any insect, arachnid or crustacean.

"In the night, whilst we're in a deep sleep, they visit the pores to have sex and have babies," Dr Perotti says.

Yes, these creatures are using our pores like the Love Island hideaway.

The study shows that as their genetic diversity gets smaller, their dependence on us increases - meaning they are at risk of possible extinction.

Because of this dependence they won't be able to leave our pores and find a new mate to couple up with.

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