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tarab , 20 Jan 2009

Split End Pickers?

Okay, I don't know if ya'll do this but, I rip out my split ends and I have to see what they look like. I have to ge them all out of my hair. I am ripping out the back of my hair! Help, do you do this?
185 Answers
oongagloonga
January 25, 2012
If I spot a split end while driving, I will hold it in my fingers until I stop at a red light. My two kids will tell me to pay attention to driving. Sadly, I have even driven with my knee so I can pick my split ends. Wearing it up does not help because I will still pick the ends of my ponytail. I also run my fingers through my hair until all the loose hairs are pulled out. I do not pull at the root. I tell myself that I am pulling the "essential oils" down from my scalp toward my ends, but I know that I am just making my hair thin. I cut my hair short one time, but I found that I obsessed over it being cut evenly. That drove me more crazy than dealing with my split end picking/hair pulling.
Theresa M
January 26, 2012
I can't believe that there are others out there! I started doing this when I was in high school. I would only do it every now and then, and would even find my self looking at my friend that sat in front of me to see if she had split ends. It took everything I had not to pick at hers!! As time passed, my problem became worse. i will sit for hours cutting the ends. I have to find at least 10 every time I start, or I can't stop. Sometimes, I have found myself looking while checking for them at redlights. I have a friend that has them really bad, and she'll let me pick at them....wish she never would have done that because I never wanted to stop. She would have 10 splits in one hair. Felt like heaven being able to pick them out....I seriously need help!!
cwww123
January 28, 2012
Oh my god i'm not alone! I'm 14 and i've been doing it since i was about 12? during class and tests i catch myself completley zoned out and picking at my ends. My friend used to do it but she stopped and now she makes fun of me for it. My teachers yell at me and make fun of me in front of the whole class, some even tell me that i need to wear my hair up. which dosen't help i end up taking the end of my pony tail and picking at then still. My mom always yells at me and tells me to sit on my hands but it dosent work i end up picking still. sometimes when im straightening my hair i have to put the straightener down cause i find a bunch. When my mom catches me doing it she adds on a month that i won't get a hair cut. I haven't gotten my hair cut in 9 months because of it...i seriously need help. :(
misskittenminx
January 28, 2012
ok i never had this problem before, but if you would want to stop picking at your split ends. cut them off every 4 to 5 months, and take good care of your hair by deep conditioning. it will get rid of your split ends, another would be putting your hair in a bun not ponytail. ive read that many people put there hair in a ponytail but not a bun.. but when you put your hair back into a bun hid the tips/split ends so you wont pick at them. but putting your hair in a bun to much is damaging, when your at home wear a hair cap, you can buy them at salleys,etc. then try to keep your hand of your hair. go shoping or cook do somthing that keeps your mind off of picking at them. but im just trying to help but if there are others better then do anything to stop picking your split ends.
livelaughlovelife
January 31, 2012
honestly, ive read all your stories and ive been doing this for almost a year. i honestly think that there is some way to stop it besides putting it up or doing it to barbies or bratz. i feel like it is a nervous habit or when you get bored you do it. i need to stop this because my hair is really frizzy and bad looking. everyone always tells me to stop and now if i run my fingers through my hair, a whole chunk comes out of my head, this obsession needs to stop because it's ruining peoples lives. all my friends look at me like im crazy. i wish i had never learned about split ends. i feel that if we just ignore it, we eventually stop doing it. and if you just started doing it, dont continue just stop. because it gets to a point where you can sit there for hours and do it. im not at the point, i could sit there for like 20 minutes and do it then id snap out of it. so i think if you stop doing it early then you will be able to avoid this. and im relieved that im not the only one who does this. i figured i wasnt the ONLY one doing it, but i didnt know how many people did and how out of hand it can get. from reading all this, from this day on i swear i will try not to get distracted by my hair anymore. im going to start right now by trying to do my homework without looking at it. im going to try it tommorow too in school. the habit for me has gotten a lot beter just by me ignoring it more. i only do it during a hard question during a test or when im stuck doing my work. i think if you just igore the hair and keep doing what youre doing that can help too. and i swear from this day on even though i look 1000000 times better with straight hair i will only straighten my hair like 2 times a month and wear my hair natural. i
angie
February 03, 2012
I split my ends to. For me, it started when I was 11. (I'm 20 now.) It's an obsession. Even now, when I sit typing this, I notice maybe one or two split ends and can't help messing with it. Sometimes I do it absentmindedly. Recently, I found out that this might be a form of Trichotillomania. (Go to this site to learn more: http://www.behaviortherapynyc.com/trichotillomania-skin-picking-new-york.html) I am tired of picking at my hair too. (I’m afraid I might go bald…) I think the best thing to do is to talk to a therapist. I will try to do the same.
stopthemadness
February 03, 2012
I, too, have been a split end picker since I was about 13 years old. It got very bad in high school and college and then subsided for a few years and now it's been bad again. I am 32 years old. I have callous fingers from picking, my hair is so uneven and it's very hard to stop. I am a therapist as well. What I can say is that I've identified my triggers - anxiety and boredom. The picking allows me to focus on something while disconnecting from other people/things at the same time. There is something so fascinating about focusing on this little strand of broken hair and "fixing it," all the while detaching from everything else around me. All that matters in the moment is that tiny little hair that needs help. When I am anxious, it gives me something to focus on other than what's causing me anxiety. When I am bored, it allows me to concentrate on a "project" to pass the time. I cannot tolerate sitting with those two feelings which is why I pick. It's truly crazy but this is how I think. To that end, all that's ever worked for me is a getting regular haircuts. I have tried to put my hair up and that works 50% of the time only. I either pull out chunks to pick or I take the ponytail down altogether. It does work some of the time. Essentially, I need regular hair cuts. When I don't have splits to pick, I typically don't create them. I used to create them more frequently at one time in my life, and then pick them, but I have stopped that thankfully. However, if I have split ends now, I will either waste HOURS of my day searching for broken, weak hair and breaking it off OR I will cut chunks off with scissors, leaving my hair very uneven. Sometimes what helps is finding images on the web of split ends and broken hair and that will "feed" me for awhile so that I don't have to look for my own split ends to destroy. Good luck to everyone out there. We all need to find what works for us.
Anicia27
February 18, 2012
Ok I am 13 and im pretty sure I have been doing this for a year, or more :(. right now i have really long hair, but with this habbit it will soon become uneven and thin. I discovered this habbit on my own, just sitting in my room and I saw one. i just thought of the idea of splitting it and i honestly thought it was good for my hair at first. I even told people it was good for your hair and I got alot of people into it , I got alot of my friends in it and my sisters. I have tried to quit for so long. My mom yells at me all the time now. I always say this is the last time and i always end up doing it :( I do it in school all day and sometimes i see a pile of hair on my desk and it is so embaracing. It has really interfered with my school work because i get so bored in class i just always do it. I have actually developed a new habbit with my hair.....I feel the hair and if it "rough" i will rip it in half! it is so bad and i have a bunch of short hairs on my head from were ive done that. I really want to stop on my own without therapy...I really dont want to get to the point of doing it for hours. sometimes i even do it subcontiosly. I really want to stop and hope you guys can get out of it. best luck 2 all :) DO NOT LOOSE HOPE! there is a way to stop remember that. its under your control we cant let it own us.
Anaiis18
February 21, 2012
So I started doing this since I was 13. I never knew what 'Split ends' were. So I started doing that since my friend told me I had one split end. I was clueless what she was talking about. So she showed me what they were. And since that day I don't feel my hair pretty. I wanna stop doing this cause I've heard you damage you're hair more :/
NaturalHair12
February 24, 2012
I havebeen picking my hair for a very long time . It feels so good to get this out even thou i am shamed. i started picking my hair when i was in 5th grade . I had very long hair (: . Until I Started Picking I AM 12 now . My picking have got soo bad that some of the back of my head is a lil bald . I Try to stop very hard , but it is continuous , i wrap my hair up to stop the picking . Most of the time if i just look down i will see A HUGE pile of hair , of what i picked . my hair have goten so bad tht my hair on one side is very then [ ONLY IN BACK ] and the other side is very thick . I hate the fact that i pull my hair . >:[
anggatok
March 22, 2012
i have a blog, maybe the bloh helping you to this problem on you hair.. follow this link if you need thanks http://whatcausesgrayhair.blogspot.com
Jujubean90
March 26, 2012
I have been doing this since the 7th grade when a mean girl in my gym class wanted to check the other girls hair for split ends. I was curious and checked myself and i've addicted to it since then. I've been doing it for 8 years now. I'm 21 but my hair hasn't suffered. I never pulled it out, i would just.."sift" through my hair, and tear away the split ends. It calms me down. But it is embarrassing because now i can't fight the urge to do it in public and people don't understand what i'm doing and it makes me feel alienated. But I have been sitting here in my room, listening to music and ripping apart my split ends then all of a sudden i realize that i've been doing this for over an hour. I'm relieved to know that there are actually A LOT of others with this issue and that there are ways of stopping. Good luck to the rest of you.
kanani90
June 02, 2012

In reply to by Jujubean90

Same situation here. I just winded up discovering one when I was about 13. I've been addicted ever since. Its so hard to stop. Im 22 and I have't noticed any suffering to my hair either because I do the same thing "sift" and tear or cut it away. It is calming and I think its embarrassing too but I've seen several ppl do it out in public before even on the bus lol. I live in Hawaii and I guess it seems like a more common thing than I thought
BeckyWinCA
March 27, 2012
I've been pulling my hair for about 15 years now and have tried almost everything there is. I tried wearing a swimcap, tried putting oil in my hair, getting my hair cut super short, and wearing gloves. I've also been hypnotized which I believe worked the first time. I went to a good person and it felt like it work mostly but I should have kept going back and instead, I ended up moving out of state. I've been to three other hypnotists and they didn't work so it's hard to find the right one! They're expensive. Right now I'm using the Nexxus Pro-Mend Split-end binding shampoo and conditioner. It seems like it's helping. Although, my hair strands seem thinner. Not sure if it's bc/ I pull all my hair really hard though. My hair is super short in lots of areas. I pull my hair mainly when I'm bored or there's good sunlight. I've told everyone in my house (my son and husband) to tell me to stop pulling when they see me. I no longer wear a swim cap b/c I felt rediculous, the oil can be a little messy too and I don't want short hair again. I'm afraid I'll go bald - you can see that my hair is thin now and look back at pictures where I had way more - I have red hair so some should be thick and wirey and there's hardley any of those left. It's SO hard to break this habbit. sux!!! good luck - maybe try some of my techniques and may work for you!
trinny
April 09, 2012
i just started early this year (im in the 6th grade currently) i had long layered hair and i flattened it everyday which caused the split ends i thought i should get a trim but the hair person cut my hair shoulder length!! i liked it i thought it would be perfectly straight but no not at all i hated it but i had no more split ends but soon i did again because i would still flatten it i was looking at my really retarded hair during english i sat next to all boys and they didnt understand why i was staring at my hair. i told them it was because i had split ends. while i said that i noticed this split end i have never seen one like it before because i figured that all split end were the same. i stared at it for a while (it was the kind where it is closed at the end but it is kind of a circle like split but it connected and only split there) then i pulled on it and it came of as easy as that . at first i thought it was super cool and started searching my hair for more to pull apart. soon i noticed what it was doing to my hair. i try to stop but when i get bored i just search my hair and pick them out one but one. i have this targeted spot at the top of my head that is a piece that was cut too short from my bangs and once during break i just ripped that whole chunk in half! yesterday i cut that piece of with scissors because i was sick of it. when i get bored in class i pick my hair and i sit across from this guy that i REALLY like and sometimes he would just touch his hair and pretend he was picking too and try to make a joke! he was making fun of me :(. i felt like i was the only person in the world who did this and im glad im not the only one because once i told my mom about this and she said "well dont do it then". she just doesnt understand! i cant stop thats the problem! i wouldnt be telling her that if i was able to stop now would i? i get stressed out because everyone at my school either has perfect straight hair or perfect curls and i have the hair where it is retardly wavy and nothing pretty about it! now and then i would cry for no reason and sit in my room not wanting anyone to enter. right now im crying just thinking about it. i dont have any friends only one i knew her since 3rd grade and she is so nice to me but we hang out with a group of girls and they are all soo pretty but im super ugly and fat while they are super pretty and skinny and can do every sport really good. one is nice to me one day then mean to me the next and trys to make me have no friends and tells my actual best friend things i didnt even say which causes me to become sad then i pick my hair out and i dont think my hair will ever grow back it is so short and i hate it i want long hair again i might just shave my head but then everyone will judge me and my sister tells me not to care what people think but if i dont care what people think i wont have any friends! i wish my hair IS perfect and maybe if my hair is perfect then my life would be way better than it is now! im sorry if i wasted your time if you read this whole thing i just wanted to be able to let all of this out im tired of having this all cooped up in my thoughts for the rest of my life not being able to trust people with my problems :(
Demo femme
May 26, 2012

In reply to by trinny

You are so brave and smart to write here. You poor thing. You are going through a tough time at school, really. But you would Be surprised they look perfect to u, but not to themselves. Someone once told me, "don't judge your insides by other people's outsides! They are not so perfect on the inside either, believe me! Let me tell u something that I wish some grown up had told me when I was ugly and fat and in the sixth grade. You know how they seem distant and snooty except when they Need U? well ACT SNOOTY TOO,! ACT LIKE THEIR COMMENTS DON't BOTHER U. PRETEND U THINK U ARE BETTER THAN THEY ARE. THEY WILL HAVE MORE RESPECT FOR U...and so Will YOU. ACT AS IF u are great and it will come true! Trust me, I've been there. good luck sweetie.
californiagirl33
April 19, 2012
I'm absolutely crazy with this and drive myself crazy. I've been doing it since I was a kid I cant even remember but it started with just picking my split ends I dyed my hair so much and went through a gothic emo kid stage my hairs bleached out now and I go crazy picking my hair once I find a bad split end I feel like I'm on drugs it drives me crazy I can't stop and when Im bored I pull my dead ends off not pulling my hair out sometimes by mistake it happens "which freaks me out." But i've noticed I have very short pieces of hair on the top of my head from pulling it . if I feel a hair that feels fried or damaged I know its a bad one i'm like an expert and I am going crazy. I will do it all day at work in the car at home i'm making myself crazy and I cant stop!!!!!!!!!!!!

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