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butterfly73 , 12 Oct 2010

Does anybody know how to heal the ingrown hairs and diminish pick scars on backs of thighs??

I have picked since I was just a kid, which translates to about 25 years of scars at this point. I remember my mom picking on my arms a bit (this bugs me because sometimes I pick on my daughters skin and they hate it and it leaves me feeling terrible) and my sister picked pretty much her whole life also. We all suffer from hereditary keratosis, otherwise known as whiteheads or chicken skin. I used to focus on my upper arms and front of legs. Both of those areas are much better (still scarred, but faded and not too noticeable). Now the whiteheads/blackheads have moved onto my chest, forearms and the back of my thighs. My forearms have cleared up a ton since I started putting Elidel cream on them. This seems to remove the redness around every pore, which is good cuz if it is red then I know that something is in there that needs to be picked out and by gosh I will pick til I have a scab the size of a dime! My biggest concern now is the back of my thighs....what a mess! I get ingrown hairs in EVERY follicle, so of course I obsessively run my left hand (for whatever reason, the fingertips of my left hand are overly sensitive and can find even the tiniest imperfection--I hate it) over the skin all the time in search of any imperfection. I have picked the skin so bad that I have brownish purplish scars everywhere! I also feel that when I allow the scabs to heal, that the hair that is growing back gets trapped even worse under the scar tissue, so of course, I must pick it. I need HELP!!! I just feel like such a freak. My husband doesn't get it and he thinks the picking is gross. I also have another skin disorder called Lichen Sclerosis which affects your genitals and causes atrophy and fusing...it is very depressing to even type the words. I just feel hopeless at this point and need to know if anybody can pass on some good advice to help diminish the scars or at least help me to stop slaughtering my legs. I can NEVER wear a swimsuit again which is truly sad because I have 3 young kids and I feel that we are all missing out on so much. I also worry about my second oldest...it appears that she already has picked and she is 10 years old. Such an awful habit/disorder. I saw a therapist once and she had no clue. She made me feel very much alone and misunderstood so I will never go that route again. Hoping that you, the experts, can weigh in with any advice. Thanks:-)
3 Answers
socalgal
October 12, 2010
Hey Sweetie, hang in there,.. try the scar creams you find in the drugstore,,,rub it into you r scars twice a day...and maybe have a phrase like "depriving my kids" that you can repeat to yourself, when you start to think about the picking....once you think about it, its like you can not stop yourself from doing it the first chance you get......also...do NOT let your Left hand wander...be like MJ and wear a glove on one hand..lol..hope any part of this might help you!!!
vee
October 12, 2010
You need to work out whether they're actually scars or pigmentation! I thought I had all these scares on my body from picking but its actually dark marks from pigmentation from my body trying to heel the wounds too quickly. If its pigmentation there are some great products on the market now which break down the pigmentation cluster and lightens the area. If this is what it is I know of some good brands! Or if they're scares the best thing is bio oil or vitamin e oil which you just apply to the areas as much as you can- maybe make this your new habit of constantly applying the creams and not pick. Ive read some really good tips recently on how to stop picking and theyre actually working for me! 1. Cut down the finger nails you normally pick with really short so you cant dig into the skin. 2. everytime you think bout picking drink a glass of water- or something just as annoying 3. wherever you normally pick (as in location) spend as little time there as possible. 4. put up post it notes/reminders around the house to not pick (mention your children, as this always hits close to home) 5. put bandaids over the nails you pick with :) hope this helps!

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