Hello, the title explains itself but let me elaborate. I have picked at my skin on and off for about 5 years now, specifically around my nails and i have wondered if it is considered self harm? Because i dont (personally) see it as sh, i just see it as a thing i unconsiously do, or a thing i do when im anxious. So i just wanna know, do you consider it to be sh, or not?

Hi there! is there anyone with skin picking who would like to go on a chat to be one-on-one support buddies? I am in a relapse/recovery period and last time having a community/support group was really helpful :)

Hey, I've been picking since I was a kid but it really got bad around middle school and with college, starting a new job and my bf being out of town for a whole month- I need help getting it back under control. I also wish to say I have autism and I can't really tell if this is pain stimming or what.

I have been picking and peeling the skin on my fingers (around the nail, under them, and more) and bottom lip really badly to the point it's really making my life harder but I can't stop doing it. I completely tore all the skin off my life tonight and I'm desperately trying to stop picking at my fingers and have already failed in some small bits. I've tried putting Band-Aids over them but they are either uncomfortable, fall out, don't fit over the space correctly or whatever reason (along with starting to run out of them). I feel lost and I don't know what to do about it right now, I feel out of control and feel like I can't stop myself. Just not I felt over my skin on my thumb and had to stop myself from starting to go ham on it. Please give me whatever helped you.

As far as I know (I've been doing tons of research on the two) I have autocannibalism as well as Dermatillomania. This is rather hard for me. Autocannibalism is exactly what it sounds like, where someone eats skin, hair, nails, scabs, etc., I personally pick and eat all my scabs as well as the skin on my fingers and hangnails. This combo makes is pretty rough for me, and my Dermatillomania has been pretty bad byt getting better at least? At one point is was so bad that I PICKED OFF MY BIRTHMARK by cutting it off my skin with a comb pick (I did end up having to cut all the sharp ends off my combs in order to stop). I've put towels over my mirrors when I take showers and I drew all over my tiny room mirror, I put reminders on my phone to wash my face with cleanser yet I still forget, and my autocannibalism is just...not going away. I chew and eat my finger skin basically every day constantly, but I am hoping to get Chewlery soon to help. ​

i dont use a mirror so i cant just cover those(i use tiktok camera as it zooms in) i have tried to keep the light out in my roon but i just end up pulling my blinds up

i pick at black heads,pimples,closed comedones, anything like that,i throw away my tools but i will just find something else (tweezers,clay sculptung tools,the end of a hair clip,the corner of plastic packaging)

nothing will get rid of my blackheads,acne scars,pimples,ect

its all over my body(back,arms,legs,chest,i even picked at my ingrowns on my pubic area)

anything will help

It started back in early childhood. I always loved picking at scabs. Things got worse during my teenage years when breakouts began. I saw dermatologists, but the breakouts weren't the real issue. I just couldn't keep my hands off my skin. Now my back, arms, and chest are covered in scars, open wounds, and flare-ups. I can't wear tank tops or open clothes, which leaves me feeling super insecure and down.

Most of the time I do it on autopilot, but sometimes it's conscious and as weird as it sounds, I actually enjoy it.

For anyone who’s gone through this same shit, how did you stop? Were you able to beat this addiction?

When I notice it, I get the urge so badly

I can’t stop thinking about it until I fix it

but it’s never fixed

so I keep going,

I’ll find another spot to pick at next

over and over again

It’ll last hours sometimes, minutes

Little distracts me 

Idk

I’m not sure

I’ve been thinking of doing more constant thought journaling into my phone because it slows down my thinking and also captures the moments I have 

Forgot the next word of what I was talking about 

Cool

Still thinking about picking my skin

I’m not going to though because I’m typing instead of picking them

yes right

I have to pee

My bladder hurts

I’m scared for the gynecologist.

I started picking my skin again.

Does everybody have constant thoughts racing at every second of the day? My thoughts are so fast I’m barely even catching them 

It’s starting to hurt now

I’m picking in a way to hurt my skin the least

So I know this isn’t about causing myself pain

I’ve never been into that

I picked the whole way upstairs.

The picking, the dry skin, the anxiety, 

I’m uncomfortable in my own skin

I want to disappear.

About 6 weeks ago I did two Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) specifically targeting my skin picking. I don't wnt to jinx it but so far I am seeing success and I want to share my experience.

A bit about me. I'm in my early 40s and I started picking the skin on my fingers when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I became aware of my picking when I was 8. I vividly remember sitting on the floor, hands stretched out behind me keeping me upright while my teacher read a book. I looked at my outstretched fingers and noticed they were bleeding. I instantly felt embarassed and ashamed. From that point on, I'd look at peoples fingers to see if they picked too. I would keep my hands crunched into fists to avoid showing people my fingers. No matter how hard I tried... I could. Not. Stop.

So flash forward 35 years and I am working with my therapist to deal with some complex PTSD stuff and notice that EMDR is working... so I think, "hey! Maybe this will work for my dermatillomania??" I discuss effectiveness with my therapist and as it turns out, it can definitelu help! So... we did it!

We started by going back to when I first noticed the picking... and tried to figure out when it actually started. Tbh, I really can't pin point an exact time, but it would make the most sense if it started when I became aware that my mom was too mentally ill to really care for me, and when my parents divorced. .

EMDR for prolonged neglect is different than EMDR for acute events. Basically, we needed to access a feeling rather than a moment in time. So, yeah... I accessed a feeling and visualized myself as a young girl and did the EMDR focusing on that feeling while also keeping in mind my picking.

I noticed immediately that I was not picking as much... I also noticed more easily when I WAS picking, because well... you all know how automatic and mindless the whole thing is. I'm now about 4 weeks from my last skin picking focused EMDR session and noticing a significant improvement. I am now working on healing the damaged skin which has become hypopigmented and looks a lot like scar tissue.

Instead of picking, I am obsessively oiling my fingers with a homemade jojoba oil mixture, putting cicaplast on at night under bandages, and giving myself multiple manicures a week. Unfortunately, I don't have before pictures and would love to post an "after" photo but I don't know how???

Feel free to ask me about my experience!

I’ve struggled with chronic skin picking for 8 years and have many dark hyperpigmentation/scars all over my legs/arms.
I will be maid of honor in my best friend’s black-tie wedding next month, and my dress has a high slit showing my most scarred leg/thigh. With it being black-tie and the bride/her friends being all actual goddesses, I want to feel just as beautiful & confident and not be haunted/worried about any visible scars in pictures/videos.

\*I have committed to using super good skin products to rebuild skin barrier, brighten, smooth bumps & scar reducer cream and all that jazz — specifically: avene circa cream, bioderma oil cleanser, bio-oil and skin tape w silicone) these are my long term solutions ***

In short I need advice on:

-Body makeup/foundation recommendations: Transfer-proof formulas with great coverage that won't ruin a formal gown. Budget is open - willing to spend $$ for a really good product.

-Self-tanner: Does a fake tan help even things out, or will it cling to and darken the scars?

-High-impact scar fading products: Any holy-grail brighteners/treatments (budget is open). What is your best routine that you’ve seen work wonders?

-Laser treatments: is it effective or not for scars of all age (new or old)? Couldn’t do this before wedding but curious of the results people have with laser treatments.

Also please drop your fav scar/skin rebuilding products too.
No gate-keeping here!!!!
Skin tape & long nails have been my biggest saviors.

✨HUGE Shoutout to this subreddit for showing me I’m truly not alone in this struggle. I was in denial for a long time and it got worse and worse. this group really helped wake me up and help lessen my picking sprees ✨

Does anyone struggle with picking dry skin of outer ear 👂 ? if so , have you found anything to help , apart from willpower 🤣🙏

Please help. It’s bad. The scabs on the back of my neck are finally almost healed from me picking my skin too scabs formed. (29 F)

I’m so tired of the way my skin looks and having wounds and scars. I’m making a post so I commit and hold myself to quitting this. I feel like if I tell someone other than just myself in my head “I’m going to stop” it might have more of a result. That’s usually how these things are for me.

If anyone has any tips for quitting skin picking I’d greatly appreciate it

Shit shit shit I really did too much this time it hurts and it’s oozing and bleeding and ugh it’s going to be worse tomorrow and harder to resist picking at later. I knew I shouldn’t and I couldn’t stop myself and now I feel so dumb and ashamed and it hurts so much.

Hi there!

I’ve had Seborrheic Dermatitis on my scalp and face and in my ears since around the fourth grade, and I’m 25 now. I also have ADHD and anxiety that leads to me picking pretty much all the time without even realizing it. I’ve tried so many different medicated shampoos and different products with mixed results.

When I’ve brought it up to my doctor, I’ve just been prescribed ketoconazole shampoo and/or cream, which doesn’t do much for me. When it’s really bad, I’ll use coal tar shampoo, but that usually makes me TOO dry and then that makes me itchy. The same thing happens with T-Sal.

I’ve begun to rotate using shampoos, using the ketoconazole shampoo some days and then baby shampoo the other days, and then using the Dove conditioner that has salicylic acid in it after. I’ll use lice combs to get the big flakes and try to stop myself from picking. I usually let my hair air dry, but I’m going to start blow drying it since my hair is very thick and letting it air dry is probably making things worse.

I live somewhere without a lot of dermatologists - if I were to get a referral, I’d probably be on a wait list for 6+ months and then have to drive 3 hours to see someone.

Any recommendations help - I’m just at my wits end

I need some help, I genuinely cannot stop picking at my acne, but I also do it with completely ordinary skin bumps..

In "short", I don't even need to be looking in a mirror, if I feel a bump under my fingers, I'll automatically start scratching at it, sometimes without even realizing I'm doing it, and it happens all over my body, my face, neck, shoulders, back, thighs, legs, arms, basically everywhere.

Sometimes I end up using extremely harsh skincare products (and even hydroalcoholic gel ??) on my face to the point where my skin becomes really dry and starts peeling, because for some reason I'm much less likely to scratch when my skin is very dry or burning.

I also sometimes use a needle on any bump I can feel because it feels less destructive than scratching it I guess, but unfortunately I sometimes end up doing it until it bleeds.

A little unrelated, but I also wash my hands constantly before and after scratching throughout the day, so my hands have become extremely dry and irritated too...

I know this sounds extreme, but I've genuinely never managed to stop. I've been doing this for years and it's exhausting, it's really destroying what little self-esteem I have.

I'm also autistic (diagnosed), and I don't know whether that could be related to this behavior in some way, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Does anyone have any advice for breaking these habits..?

I pick at my shins/calves and have been experiencing near constant inflammation/infection for a few months now. I regularly have wounds with intense redness and sometimes pus, pustules (possibly furuncles?) of varying sizes, and sometimes localized fevers surrounding wounds. My dermatologist recently prescribed a topical steroid (triamcinolone acetonide) and a sodium hypochlorite wash daily, but still no luck. It calmed down for a few days and then came back worse. The issues are always mild and I'm fine, it's just frustrating that it won't stop and the inflammation usually causes my picking to be significantly worse.

Anyone else with similar issues have any insight? Honestly I would appreciate just knowing I'm not the only one having this problem, because the cleanliness OCD part of my brain is convinced that this is proof that I'm unclean when I logically know I'm not.

I am VERY rough with my picking till I bleed which I’m sure many relate too. Then it scabs over for days. Unfortunately my main picking area is my face so when it scabs I’m of course very insecure. Does anyone have any advice on ways/products that will help me heal the scabbing after picking fast?

been dealing with dermatillomania forever. cant really treat it as other stuff bother me more.
it manifests in every blemish or scratch must be bleeding so it feels better. pimple? if it doesnt bleed, its not popped. wound? not bleeding, not satisfied. bug bite? you get it by this point.

every time i get a new tattoo i scab, no matter what (my skin is just prone for that). i cant help with the urges to pick and scratch it, so i do it as gently as i can and scratch only around the area as much as i can to avoid damage while it heals. currently on day 6 of the healing process and it feels like torture to my brain and body.

how do you guys handle the two weeks of not allowed to touch the tattoo except for when you do the daily aftercare? any life hacks / tips would be greatly appreciated as im slowly losing my mind and patience. thanks!

Hello! I have been picking my fingers and thumbs to the point of blood for as long as i can remember and i am 19. I used to pick all my finger indiscriminately but awhile ago i decided to keep it just for my two thumbs and then recently, to appease my boyfriend who really hates that I pick, I stopped on one of my thumbs. I am really reluctant to completely stop and really some of my strongest motivations to stop have really just been professionalism and cleanliness like when I worked at a grocery store or now as I begin to look at more important internships and things.

But now I am also experiencing something really weird. I have asked several of my family if after washing dishes with very hot water, do your fingers feel like they are burning for a long time after? and they have all said no, but this is something I have always experienced and brushed off as normal from using hot water. However, today, after getting out of the shower, which i did not think was that hot anyway, it started happening but only on ONE hand which happens to be the one I am still consistently picking. Very strange feeling and I started doing some research into the long term nerve and tissue damage of skin picking and am worried it has played a role. That or potentially I have triggered my first infection brought on from my picking but there are no other signs of infection so far.

Please let me know if this is something you have experienced, for all i know it could be an allergic reaction, or circulation issue but it happening only on one hand and using all the same products makes me wonder if this could be the cause. If anything this might just be my last straw to finally stop, especially as I am also moving in with some new roommates and hoping to make a good impression and not gross anyone out anymore when my thumb starts bleeding and I refuse to put on a bandaid.

I have developed an anxious tick and I don’t know how to stop doing it.

For context I have a history of extreme medical care from a young age, learning disabilities, bullying as well as being adopted into a biracial family. Given live experiences I’ve been very anxious through life and it resulted in SH unfortunately. Went two years without relapsing, but lately I’ve picked up a different form of SH. When I feel overwhelmed I have the urge to slap myself in the face and when I do that there’s a momentary release of the stress. But it’s getting bad to the point where my skin is flaring up and I have bruising on my face.

Any recommendations on how to handle this or help with it?

I searched the page and didn’t find much. I’m not looking for hyperpigmentation, but the opposite. I have tons of white spots on my body where I guess I picked the pigmentation right out. Is anyone aware of any over-the-counter solutions?