Trichotillomania (Hair Pulling)

[What's your point]

I pull my eyebrows/eyelashes, I try not to pull my eyelashes so much but terrible with my eyebrows! Makes me so self conscious.

I also have a patch of skin just under my jawline that I cannot leave alone, forever scratching and picking at it.

 

[Rocknrolla]

Little victory!

well done what a good idea that app is x

 

[threeSMEGfridges]

Ffs I just want to be able to braid my hair into 2 French plaits again but also CANT STOP PULLING the top so I have a permanent mullet

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I do it with my eyebrows I find it relaxing. I have micro blading which hides it. The only time I don’t pick them is two weeks before my micro blading top up and during healing of the micro blading as I don’t want to mess it up

 

[Mr Sparkle]

Ffs I just want to be able to braid my hair into 2 French plaits again but also CANT STOP PULLING the top so I have a permanent mullet

Same, I've got a bald spot right where my parting is so can't have french braids anymore

 

[MrsBsDayOff]

I keep picking the coarse hairs out of my chin, either with my fingers or tweezers. I am white with a dark complexion (dark eyes, hair, tan easily) and very hairy.
I also pick at scabs on my scalp, and pick at and eat the skin around my nails.
If there's a cut or scab on my body I can't help itching it

 

[EnglishRoseIrishRover]

I have no advice really but my heart goes out to all of you.

I have no idea when I started pulling my hair out as I didn’t realize I was doing it for a long time. My particular favourite spot was above my left ear and up to the side of my face, and always one by one till I was covered in it. I do know when I stopped - I would have been 13 and we were in the car and there was a phone in / panel discussion on the radio. We pulled into our drive and my parents stayed in the car instead of getting out and going inside the house. That’s when I realised other people knew my “secret” and I more or less stopped doing that particular body focused repetitive behaviour overnight. My parents never broached the subject with me before or afterwards and 30 years later I’m so disappointed that they didn’t do anything to address it.

That’s what worked for me, I appreciate that this wouldn’t work for everyone though. Please be kind to yourselves and I hope you find a way to manage the situation or stop it. Please talk to someone x

 

[Pink blancmange]

I have this, it's my eyelashes I pull out. I have none left at all. I've been doing it for about 13 years. They do start to grow but as soon as I can feel them I pull them out again! I'm so self conscious, I can't make eye contact and wear black eyeliner to try and disguise it abit. I just can't stop

 

[Alexaj]

I have this, it's my eyelashes I pull out. I have none left at all. I've been doing it for about 13 years. They do start to grow but as soon as I can feel them I pull them out again! I'm so self conscious, I can't make eye contact and wear black eyeliner to try and disguise it abit. I just can't stop

My mum pulled her eyelashes and eyebrows. She did try eyelash extensions once thinking it would put her off pulling but it didn't.

 

[Tabitha]

So glad this thread exists. As a child, I used to like pulling feathers out of pillows. Then started pulling out my hair (feel its related but maybe not). I’ll run my hands through and find a hair that feels a little different, whether it’s a different length or texture, and pull it out. Does anyone else do it like this?

I used to do my body hair a lot too, especially around my hoo-haa, but now I’ve had laser hair removal so I can’t anymore, win/win

During Covid, I was pulling every day. I definitely pull more during times of anxiety. I noticed I do it a lot during meetings (esp my eyelashes). Even if it’s just running my hands through to pull later, so Ihave to make myself stop because of how unprofessional it looks

 

[Pink blancmange]

My mum pulled her eyelashes and eyebrows. She did try eyelash extensions once thinking it would put her off pulling but it didn't.

The only thing that I've found that helps me is having acrylic nails so that I can't grip the lashes but I can't afford to keep getting them done. By the time they start coming off, my lashes have got a good growth then I end up pulling them all out again .
I also tried out strip lashes recently, they were fairly natural looking ones but loads of people commented on them, nothing bad but it just made me conscious that they had noticed a difference so I stopped with them too.

During Covid, I was pulling every day. I definitely pull more during times of anxiety. I noticed I do it a lot during meetings (esp my eyelashes). Even if it’s just running my hands through to pull later, so Ihave to make myself stop because of how unprofessional it looks

Mine is anxiety related too. When I'm stressed it gets so much worse!

 

[Alexaj]

I’ll run my hands through and find a hair that feels a little different, whether it’s a different length or texture, and pull it out. Does anyone else do it like this?

Yes! It's either a split end or a hair that feels a lot thicker than the rest. It's not stress related though. Boredom related which flies in the face of everything I've read about trichotillomania (my mum's is stress related though).

 

[EnglishRoseIrishRover]

So glad this thread exists. As a child, I used to like pulling feathers out of pillows. Then started pulling out my hair (feel its related but maybe not). I’ll run my hands through and find a hair that feels a little different, whether it’s a different length or texture, and pull it out. Does anyone else do it like this?

Not an expert by any means but the pulling feathers out sounds similar/ relates to me, especially if you were selecting them and doing it one by one like you go with your hair.

 

[threeSMEGfridges]

When you’re trying to grow out you weird trich -induced mullet (I pull at the crown mainly) and you manage to get 2 Dutch braids (crappy ones but theyre there!) in

 

[Colin]

I also have a trich mullet. I heard mullets are fashionable now though!

Tbh the only thing that stops me pulling is having my hair short. I pull lashes and brows but less regularly so my brows usually look ok. Lashes I find physically hurt until I pull them, they're like pressure on my eyelids.

 

[Okgolightly]

I’m so glad I found this thread. I’ve pulled my eyelashes since I was ten; it turned into a family joke at my expense and I never got help for it. Whenever I’ve mentioned it to doctors it’s been brushed off as just anxiety. At the minute I have an eye that has barely any lashes on because I’ve pulled them all off. It’s like I can’t stop because I feel like I’m in physical discomfort with my lashes until I get them out. And then it’s a bit of an ocd thing because I can’t have a blonde eyelash in with my dark ones or just a random one on it’s own. Sorry for the over sharing just this is the first time I’ve been able to share this!

 

[account70032]

I’m surprised I found a thread about this and I’m not sure if people are still active on this thread but I’ve been pulling my eyebrows since I was 12. When I was a little kid I was made fun of a lot for my eyebrows as they were bushy and I was called ugly. When I was 12 out of nowhere I started pulling them them out and learned to accept that I was ugly and even though I knew people were staring at my eyebrows missing hair I still couldn’t stop doing it.

To this day I don’t know if the bullying triggered it or if it’s just coincidental that I got bullied for it and then years later developed trich. Then I got made fun of for that so it was never ending and over the years I’ve battled with depression and anxiety so having a mixture of all these things can made trich happen even more. In secondary school the bullying was awful I kept it secret from my parents for years I’d always act like I was happy at school cause I was too embarrassed to tell them the things being said about my appearance and barely anybody wanting to be friends with me cause of how I looked and I’d hear people talking about how I I looked laughing and it hurt me but I couldn’t make the trich go away.

I’ve thought about getting micro blading but I worry that it’ll look too fake or it won’t turn out the way I hope and then I’ll regret it even though I know you could say wouldn’t that be better then how you look now but I guess I just am afraid I won’t like it but if anyone with no eyebrow hair or very little who has had microblading done I’d appreciate hearing your experiences.

 

[Mr Sparkle]

Hey! I'd be glad if this thread became active again.

I got my eyebrows tattooed a few years ago because I was drawing them on from nothing every morning, and every day they looked a weird shape and I was sick of doing it. The eyebrow lady I went to actually had trichotillomania herself, and was so nice to talk to and spent ages mapping out where my brows would be and made them a great shape that really suits me. I absolutely love them and have been back to get them topped up every year for 3 years now! It's so nice not to have to wake up bald-faced every morning. I highly recommend - and if you're anywhere in the south west, I would recommend my brow lady as she's so nice and appreciates how sensitive it is for us with no brows!

 

[account70032]

Hey! I'd be glad if this thread became active again.

I got my eyebrows tattooed a few years ago because I was drawing them on from nothing every morning, and every day they looked a weird shape and I was sick of doing it. The eyebrow lady I went to actually had trichotillomania herself, and was so nice to talk to and spent ages mapping out where my brows would be and made them a great shape that really suits me. I absolutely love them and have been back to get them topped up every year for 3 years now! It's so nice not to have to wake up bald-faced every morning. I highly recommend - and if you're anywhere in the south west, I would recommend my brow lady as she's so nice and appreciates how sensitive it is for us with no brows!

Thank you so much I really appreciate you replying to this thread! it’s reassuring to know there’s other people who struggle with this including the eyebrow lady you went to that sounds a very good experience for you to have someone who understood. I love that she took her time mapping them out for you and you were happy with the results. It is something I am considering but I’ve always got nervous about going through with it but I think if it’s anything like your experience it would make it a lot easier. I would be grateful for the brow lady you recommend someone who wouldn’t judge and is nice cause I’ve been so used to being stared at or judged for how I look that I think that’s part of the reason I never got micro blading before but I know once I get it done it’ll help me feel better about myself.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I get micro blading, I pull at my eyebrows, the only time I don’t is after micro blading whilst they are healing. Got my yearly top up done on Tuesday and keep having to stop myself.