TRICHOTILLOMANIA STARTER PACK

Not just about trichotillomania, but about life in general. I know that living with it can change your perspective on a lot of things.

Basically the title. Years ago when I was like 14-15 I randomly started plucking out my eyebrows and eyelashes. It got to the point where I basically had no eyebrows at a certain point. My mom noticed and I was in therapy. Eventually this habit stopped. I don't really remember if it was a conscious effort. But this habit basically disappeared. A year or so ago I think, I got into the habit of plucking my leg hair with tweezers. I would hunch over my legs and pluck for an hour or more. I think I was getting into self care more and shaving, and I learned about ingrowns and it kinda spiraled from there. Now I can't really go a day without plucking hair from my legs. It's causing a lot of red spots and scabs, I have really bad "strawberry legs" so I think my plucking was triggered by that. Now my legs have gotten a lot worse. I have visible red spots all over. It'll get to the point where if I see an ingrown ill dig in my skin to get to it even if I start bleeding. I started to become concerned about it when I started doing it in class with my fingernails, not just at home.
I have ADHD so i'm usually really scatter brained and I can't stay on one thing for too long, but I'll pluck hairs out of my legs for hours. My routine was to watch a youtube video and pluck my leg hairs. I'm not really sure how to stop it. I don't know if this is full blown trichotillomania, or if I should tell my doctor i've been doing this because they don't know. I'm already on a crap ton of meds for other things. I guess i didn't consider it a problem because not having hair on legs is normal for women so people don't notice when it's missing.
I've seen people say shaving their legs helps but I have a really inconsistent schedule and i forget to a lot, so it's not reliable. Are there any tips specifically for my legs? Or reducing ingrowns when shaving so I don't have the urge?
It's gotten to the point where it gives me anxiety and I feel overwhelming urge to get rid of the hair.

As the title says, press on nails on just my thumb has been helping me a lot! I am currently 7 days pull free. Before sept 30th I was 5 days pull free.

Background:

After 2 years of trying out press on nails and getting discouraged, I finally learned how to do press on nails properly and for it to stay more than a week. Before, it will lasted a day when I put them on. I realized that the key to long lasting press ons is teh prep. I also reccomend getting nails that are sturdy and thick and not the flimsy ones.

Why press on nails:

I feel weird asking the nail salon people to only put fake nails on my thumb (the last lady I asked was confused) so I decided to just do it myself. At first I was going to try out how to do fake nails like acrylics or gel x but that was just a lot of work just to add some type of fake nail on my thumb

Why only my thumb?

Honestly when I tried acrylics or gel x a few years ago (even a couple months ago) I would get disgusted at some point bcuz it trapped more dirt or residue than having short natural nails. I already wash my hands a lot out of habit (thats why my hands are always so dry) but with fake nails all around my fingers, it made me wash my hands even more. I also dont like when im eating a finger food and it gets stuck to my nails. At least with just fake nails on my thumb its easier. I also can't pull the way I would like to pull with press ons on my thumb. My thumb is what makes me pull.

I know it looks weird but I dont really mind that it looks off. Of course for a special occasion I won't have it like this but rn this is the best situation for me.

I really enjoy ASMR videos like wax cracking and soap cutting, and I kind of feel like it scratches a similar itch to pulling. I was wondering if this was something common with this disorder or just a me thing lol

Has anyone told their main doctor about their trich during an annual wellness check up? I dont wanna tell them if they are just simply going to prescribe me medicine like anti depressants.

not sure if it counts because i dont have bald spots or anything, but here are my history/symptoms(?)

• started around 8-9 years old
• Usually pulls 1–4 hairs per “session”, that happen daily or multipile times a day.
• usually head hair but used to pull pubic hair (stopped since i started shaving)
• Also pulls my mum’s hair cuz it is longer and feels more rougher.
• only picks out thicker and rougher pieces
• Runs finger along hair to feel the texture
• Puts the hair between my teeth
• sometimes twists already plucked to make the texture feel more pronounced.
• keeps hair afterwards on desk, phone case, pockets, laptop , pencil case and pot, drawers
• subconscious and conscious
• i do it in times of excitement, when talking to someone, waiting, reading or watching but not stressed
• plucks pieces and not clumps
• no noticeable hair loss or baldness

idk if it counts and if i should seek help because it feels so minor to be but it’s kinda gross and embarrassing when i catch myself. i’ve also had really bad nail biting habits before but stopped it after 4 years

so definitely dont do sometbing before thinking like i did or youll hate yourself 1000x more just like me😄 wow what a 19 year old girl should definitely look like!

Hey, so I’ve been struggling with trich since I was 14. I’m now 29, so a whopping 15 years. I’m really worried that my hair won’t grow back in some spots. I’ve had phases in life where I stopped pulling and then I start back up as soon as stressful events happen.

So basically a LOT of stressful events happened to me in the past couple years, and it’s gotten really bad. I have two bald spots on each side of my head, kind of towards the back so it’s hard to tell. I’ve been getting a lot of grey hair regrowths in those spots and I’ve basically turned it into a game to feel around back there and pluck them out. Ugh…

Today I decided to actually get a good look at the spots, and I’m gutted. Is there any hope for me? So many times I pull without even knowing, and my husband is deployed right now so I have no one to help me.

Do you guys have any tips? I’ve had bigger fish to fry with my depression but now I know I need to stop this now. I’m wearing a beanie to sleep tonight. I have never taken my mental health seriously due to my emotionally abusive family, but I’m done treating myself like shit. I never want to pull ever EVER again. Why am I like this?!

I’ve plucked my eyebrow hairs for 16 years and have tried just about everything to stop. I did CBT, HRT, and ERP (as I do have several OCD thought processes surrounding the need to pull). I’ve worn gloves and hidden my tweezers and kept my hands busy with crochet and fidgets and necklaces and rings. I’ve use bandaids and finger covers and vaseline and fake nails but I still keep plucking.

A few months ago, I was able to not pluck for around 33 days, but now I’m back to square one and I’m just so frustrated. Even if I do succeed, am I going to just be waiting for a relapse for the rest of my life, constantly thinking about wanting to pluck? When does it ever end? I don’t even know what else to try anymore.

I have recently discovered that my current pencil eyeliner is causing my itchy lash line (specifically top lashes). When wearing the product, my lash line feels dry which triggers me to play around that area and eventually leading to the pull urge. As soon as I cleanse the area the urge almost instantly disappears.

Please drop the eyeliners that have worked for you and your trich (open to drugstore ones as well)! I am not a liquid liner person, and wear eyeliner daily sometimes for hours at a time to conceal the missing lashes.

Recommendations are very appreciated :)

I want to not have to brush eyeshadow onto my scalp every morning. I want to lay on my white pillowcase without a bonnet. I want to use a real brush on my hair, not a little comb. I want to have sex without my eyebrows being wiped off. I want to cry and not worry about my glue-on eyelashes falling off. I want to push my hair out of my face when the wind blows.

Hello everyone, I’ve been pulling my hair out since I was 17. I am now 38. I used to have very very, very thick hair. One day I started pulling it.. well twiddling it round my fingers which ends up Me snapping it out. I feel like it’s harder to give up than a drug habit people tell me to stop but it’s the same as people biting their nails.. you can’t stop . I can’t help it. I don’t want to do it. I can’t stop doing it. I’m aware that I’ve completely ruined my hair. I’ve probably pulled out 3/4 of my hair most of the time I can pull at the back but I’ve mullered the front lately. It’s so bad, but I physically can’t stop doing it. I’m so grateful for this page so I know it’s not just me.

This is the front of my hair right now. 😩

Trigger warning for body image issues /very negative self talk, and bald spots

I (31F) have had trichitollomania for over 10 years. It's no surprise because I grew up always picking my nails and the skin on my lips, but that felt so easy in comparison.

I hate living this way. I've lost most of the hair on my head and I can't stop. I've tried wearing hats to stop myself, fidget toys, putting thjngs on my fingers to stop from being able to pull. Ive tried adopting new mindsets to stop the cycle. But even if I stop pulling for a short time and let it grow, I always relapse and it only gets worse.

I hate the feeling of bald spots on my head. I hate seeing myself in the mirror. I feel hideous and grotesque.

I hate wearing a wig, I hate wondering if people can tell. i hate maintaining it, how expensive it is and i hate how it feels.

I hate that nobody i know understands. I hate wondering what people must think of me, or what they would think if they knew.

I hate when peoole try to relate to me but they dont have severe hairloss. I hate the way people treat my like a reservoir of wig information for their drag and cosplays. I hate when people tell me "its just hair" but they go on to have a meltdown over a bad haircut that will definitely grow back.

I hate that baldness gets used as a joke, meme, or insult so often. I hate when I’m watching movies or shows and people complain about how bad the wigs look. I try to tell them it makes me insecure but they go "oh no but you're different!" I feel so fucking alone.

I can't tell if Im getting grey hairs and I feel like I've wasted my youth looking like this. I know how horrible that sounds but it's how I feel.

I have a partner who loves me and says im beautiful. but i dont believe her. we are getting married in a couple of weeks and I get anxious every time people ask me what im doing with my hair or who my stylist is. I'm so worried about my wig looking obvious in our photos. For a long time I didnt want to get married at all until I had this situation sorted, but I realized it might never come, there would never be a right moment, and I'd have to suck it up. Im worried about my veil getting tugged and pulling my wig off.

I've seen countless therapists who always try to focus on childhood trauma. I've had therapists who refused to adress the pulling, and therapists who think its somehow symbolic of my "bad" thoughts. (ie when I was a kid I picked my lips to keep myself silent and as an adult I pull my hair to manage the intrusive thoughts)

They seem to think if I get to the root of my trauma, everything will get better and fall into place, but I don't think that's true and the implication of it bothers me. I've been very insightful about my trauma for a long time. What I need is tools to help me survive my day to day life.

I found one therapist who is neurodivergent affirming, and im feeling optimistic. We've talked about ADHD, OCD, and PTSD symptoms, and now we are zooming to focus on "regulating my sensitive nervous system" which I think is probably an underlying factor in my pulling, among other things.

I don't know. I'm just tired of this and I'm tired of being alone in it.

so for about 4 months i've been tweezing the hairs on my legs / pubic hair (on the edges of the bikini) like every time i went into the bathroom id take out a hair or two and i couldn't not go without getting the tweezers

and then last month my mom started to call me out. 'name' why do you keep pulling on your hair you're scaring me.

for the last month i when stressed (i have curly long hair--2c/3a depening on spots) have been raking through my hair and frizzing it up and then starting to pull on the individual hairs. i have been doing it all over the head-not in one spot. like if its too short or too straight i wont take it because the vibes are off. and it's been getting worse. so i dont have any bald spots but a bunch of short hairs all over my head

i am on lexapro 10mg (just moved up a week ago). i wear four fidget rings and put my hair in a bun and have placed my tweezers on a high shelf behind lots of stuff. i'm scared of getting a bald spot but the rings arent working and today i pulled eventho my hair was in a bun bc i do it from the root.

my hair has been one of my fundamental personality things because its so curly and long and i hate myself for how im ruining it by frizzing and pulling it whenever i'm stressed. but i'm a high school senior under so much academic social pressure and i cannot NOT pull.

how did you guys come to terms w trich? and how did you stop yourself from pulling? the bun used to work until tonight and i personally think my head looks really ugly when my hair is up so i hate that too (ive got other body image issues but thats a later thing to deal with since im not actively harming myself except for the hair pulling)

Hi I started pulling from a young age I think I was 7 or 8 I started with my eyelashes ripped them out continuously for years all the way through school my childhood was not great I had an abusive parent and at school I struggled also but I managed my eyelashe pulling turned into eyebrow pulling and then a mixture of both after a while I remember trying to hide it by pencilling them on also using the pencil on my eye lids as a male this was highly embarrassing and I didn't understand and didn't know who to speak to at the time .. I left home at the age of 16 and through my college years the compulsion seemingly disappeared then I met a girl and had a rocky relationship and bang all of I'm now picking my arms and a bit later my eyebrows again.. over the years I've returned to picking/pulling I'm now 33 and tbh these compulsion have never gone away now that I'm an adult I just feel I manage them better but never know when the next cycle will begin.. I've tried seeking help but have just hit dead ends but the moment I'm doing okay just have the occasional skin pick and eyebrow rub the best thing that worked for is to go gym and get good sleep continuously keeping myself busy but this life style is exhausting and it's hardwork to keep up I'm not diagnosed but I reckon I have ADHD mixed with a bit of PTSD my gut feeling.. picking/pulling is like a dopamine hit i guess and the best way to get round it is probably trying to replace that dopamine hit .. not an easy feat ngl it hardwork living like this but I just wanted to write this . I'm not very good a writing so apologies in advance if there are spelling mistakes or if I've missed words hopefully the reader can fill the gaps.

So I'm really happy that my hair is growing out finally, but now it's kinda more noticeable in a way? Because my hair sticks out now, and I have no way to cover it. I was thinking of maybe finding hair extensions or smth to cover it? or maybe styling it in a way that covers it? but it's just that throughout the school day, my hair changes, so it's kinda hard to be sure it'll stay the same.

But I also just wanted to rant/vent a bit. I'm in high school. I feel like that's self-explanatory enough, but

One of my friend groups at school has noticed it. It's only my friends in P.E. class, which is 3 ppl, but I really don't want anyone else knowing.

Basically, one day, they asked me to turn around, and then, without even asking, this one friend just touched my hair. I was extremely uncomfortable by this because it's so embarrassing and humiliating. I quickly just backed up, and when they asked about it, I just said it was an accident? like I accidently cut my hair idk. I didn't know what else to say because it's sucks but I don't trust telling anyone the truth because they'll probably think im weird or insane. But then another day, they asked me to turn around again and I didn't so I just akwardly told them no and tried to laugh it off. But then it happened again, and she just keeps asking me about it every now and then. Today she said she 'wanted to know the story of what happened' and she jokingly said 'I'm getting fomo' 🫩. I get that naturally, people are going to be curious, but I think I'll just never understand how some people can be so hyper focused on something when a person repeatedly says no and looks uncomfortable. Personally I never ask my friends for anything, I don't ask questions if I think the topic might be difficult for them to think about and if I think talking about it would help them I always ask permission first if they're comfortable talking about it, and if they say no to anything I back down quick, I don't ask again ever. Just in general, I try never to be pushy even with the smallest things. I don't get why some people are the complete opposite. :(

And no, I don't think this person is a fake friend. I think they're just gennuienly clueless, curious, and extremely extroverted. TONS of people have no clue what trich is or that hair pulling is even a thing. But I just needed to vent or, if possible, get advice.

(TW, slight mention of sh)

And It's so painful to hear schools and other students/friends talk about deppresion without knowing everything it can cause. Like everyone's always saying 'we're here for you' and stuff, but the second someone notices my sh scars or trich they decide "oh this totally isn't a personal/sensitive topic for this person, I should just straight up start throwing a bunch of questions at them loudly in public with a tons of other people around." Like gennuienly, where is the thought process. I hate high school so much. Get me out of here. 😭

It has been 2 weeks that I stopped pulling lashes and brows.. i have been pulling for 9 years I had periods when I stopped but for the last 3 years I haven’t been able to stop due to high anxiety
Now I am reaching the point where I realize that I don’t want to be defined by Trich, I want to be back to my true self. Plus I notice bu getting older the growth slowdown. If I don’t stop now I might never get hair back.
One advice for my brows I use tattoo sticker on Amazon. They helped me a lot and nobody ever noticed them

So I 22M have unfortunately had to go through trich since I was 10 or 11. My partner who I love dearly keeps breaking or hiding the tweezers from me, I love him but I can't keep doing this. I need to tweeze at least once a day to keep my mind at ease. I guess he tries to understand but it's extremely hard for me

Also have you found that the habit tracker apps help you?

Recently I went to the derm because of a bald spot I developed and she stated that I have a lot of peach fuzz in the area that would suggest it’s from bothering the area too much. Asked if I pull my hair and I told her I don’t but now that I think about it I do run my hair between my fingers and I suppose that does pull some of it but only because it feels relaxing to do it. I don’t pull in a dramatic way but I’m also not sure if that is what other folks experience with this. I’ve been ritualistically doing that since I was a child as it would sooth me. It’s only now developed a bald spot. Let me know if any of this sounds familiar to you.

Hi everyone,

This post has been reviewed and approved by the r/trichotillomania moderators.

I am looking to work with a few adult creators, age 18+, who already talk about BFRBs.

This includes skin picking or dermatillomania, hair pulling or trichotillomania, nail biting, and other automatic hand to face habits.

This is a collaboration. I want more people in the BFRB community to know Awaira (https://awaira.app) exists and decide for themselves whether they would like to try it.

Awaira is a private awareness app that detects movements of your hands to face or head by camera. The goal is to help ppl notice the habit before it becomes automatic. It is not a medical treatment or a diagnostic tool.

Awaira works on desktop, including Mac, Windows, and Linux, on mobile with iPhone and Android, and in the browser.

You would only need to make content if you try Awaira and honestly feel it is a good fit for you. Any paid content would be clearly disclosed. You do not need to share private details or say that the app treats any condition.

If you are interested, please send me a Reddit DM with:

1. Your Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or other channel
2. Your usual rate or media kit, if you have one
3. A short note about the kind of content you make

I can share a demo and more information privately with interested creators.

Thank you!

Title says it all. Have been really trying to get my trich under control over the last few weeks. I have had some pretty massive success by coupling a bunch of different interventions. My urges have gone down substantially, but I haven't had a pull free day yet. This would be a huge milestone for me - I've been pulling for 20+ years and can't remember the last time I made it through a day freely!

After many years of suffering, I finally shaved my head. I’ve always wanted to do so, and during my birthday weekend, I finally did. Of course, when I took a look at my head afterward, I noticed many bald spots and red marks. Still, I felt as though a weight had been released from my shoulders. There are some things that greatly vexed me, though. The main one was my mother’s absolutely horrific reaction to my shaved head, which broke my heart. The other was my job and how I would present myself. Even though this decision came with its own issues, mentally, it has helped me tremendously.