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helpme100 , 20 Nov 2012

hair plucking

i am just wondering if anyone else out there has the same problem as me.i have this habbit of plucking out hairs from my eyebrows, and eyelashes.it is already going on for years.this sometimes gets very embarrassing, since people lookimg at me could notice how bad i look more than myself in the mirror.although i am normally a social person, i tend to not socialize face to face because of embarrassment.does anyone also have this habbit?how can i stop this?
5 Answers
Sarah-108
December 13, 2012
Yes, what you suffer from is trichotillomania, which is something I suffer from as well and have many posts on here about it. The problem is I don't just pluck my eyebrows. I get ingrown hairs when I pluck due to how coarse my individual eyebrow hairs are, and I pick at my skin. It doesn't matter if I put a hot compress on before to open up the follicles, sanitize my skin and tweezers, and apply an astringent like witch hazel on afterwards. I cannot tell you how many times I have had nothing but scabs under my eyebrows. It's gross and I'm very self-conscious about it. Growing up I had acne and used to avidly pick at every blemish on my face, turning some into huge wounds that I'd continuously pick at for months before letting them heal. Now for the most part I deal with my eyebrows and it controls my life. Every time I see my boyfriend I think about what my face is going to look like. He knows about my issue, and excepts me for me, but still doesn't understand why I pluck and pick. If that wasn't bad enough, I'm in my second year of nursing school. Honestly though, I've been lucky. Only one person has ever asked me what happened to my eyebrows and that wasn't even in a nursing related course. I think nursing students are thankfully knowledgeable enough not to ask such questions. Sometimes the only way I can get through the day is by not thinking about my skin and pretending I look normal. The moment someone asks me what is wrong with my face, I get upset, but make up a story and pretend I'm not affected by what they've asked.
Jenniferrmatt
December 18, 2012
Previously few months back i too was having this type of habit but after getting feeling of embarrassment. I Started following doctors note. Which helped me to get rid of this habit.
helpme100
December 18, 2012

In reply to by Jenniferrmatt

to jeniffermatt: what was "doctors note" that helped you stop? also, after you stopped, did you experience any problems with your eyebrow hairs-for example, them being very loose and coming out very easily?
Arati
December 22, 2012
Many people have this problem including it is estimated at least 10 million Americans. See the short video on the 12/13/2012 post on my blog about a famous actress who does it. www.bfrbcoaching.com/blog.html

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