Split End Pickers?

cant believe i have found a sight were people are describing exactly what i do. ive picked for about 8years or so? probably more.. but i love split ends. i like finding hairs that have hundreds of splits coming off, or even finding a 'crispy' hair, and pulling it through my nails so i make split ends off it myself. its so relaxing, however much i try to stop i cant, i hate doing it cos it hurts my fingers and makes my hair greasy. when i have hairs with loads of splits i even feel the urge to tell people. no idea what i have but i thought i was alone...

Hi! I also like to mess with my spilt ends. I grab either end and peel it in half, sometimes when it peels really far up ill just pull the hair out. I've noticed myself also picking off my mascara. I've been peeling my ends for 2 years now, my hair isn't that bad, but I know it'll only get worse. It has changed a bit since I started peeling. It sucks because my mom always tells me to stop but it's so addictive I can't. I've been working really hard to stop but every time I try I fail and I peel my ends more then before. My grades are beginning to suffer because of my addiction to peeling my ends. My eyesight used to be perfect, so perfect my mom was often surprised on how far away I could read things from. Now I don't have that ability, I can't sit in the back of the classroom and see perfectly fine. What I hate most about my addiction is that no one understands. I want to tell my mom that I need to go to therapy for help, but I feel as if she would laugh at my face. I have really long hair and I would never want to so anything to make it shorter. I started in 7th grade thinking it was good because I was getting rid of split ends. But later I realized how bad it was for my hair, it was too late at that point I became an addict. I really wish I could stop but I feel that to be impossible.

I hope this website/blog helps me somehow honestly. I don't know if anyone will take the time to read my story but I'm going to share it anyways. My story. along with my others, is relatively the same. I don't know when I started to peel my hair. probably about 3rd grade. I think I was watching a boring movie and decided to see what would happen if I just peeled one. if I could go back and slap myself I would. Peeling my split ends has become more of an addiction then a bad habit and NO ONE understands. My parents constantly yell at me. my friends get annoyed with it and yell at me. my boyfriend probably things I'm so weird. he doesn't say anything about it anymore but I know he notices it. I can't see anyone helping me. no one knows how to. putting my hair in a pony tail doesn't work- as soon as it comes out I go straight to peeling. cutting my hair doesn't work, the split ends come back. my vision is so bad because of it. my grades are suffering because I don't pay attention in school- all I do is peel my split ends. i have dents in my thumbs from it. wrinkles in my forehead. I'm only 15. I saw somewhere on this blog "it's like smoking all your life and wanting to quit but constantly having a lit cigarette in your hand". I honestly don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to be like the other people on this website that has been doing it for 40 years. I don't want to have horrible thinning hair. I JUST WANT TO STOP. I've gotten into arguments with my patens and friends because they think I can just put it in a ponytail or cut it off or simply "just stop" but it's not that simple and i don't know what to do anymore. this is me calling out for help but no one knows how to help. I'm honestly sitting her sobbing because reading this is breaking my heart.

I hope this website/blog helps me somehow honestly. I don't know if anyone will take the time to read my story but I'm going to share it anyways. My story. along with my others, is relatively the same. I don't know when I started to peel my hair. probably about 3rd grade. I think I was watching a boring movie and decided to see what would happen if I just peeled one. if I could go back and slap myself I would. Peeling my split ends has become more of an addiction then a bad habit and NO ONE understands. My parents constantly yell at me. my friends get annoyed with it and yell at me. my boyfriend probably things I'm so weird. he doesn't say anything about it anymore but I know he notices it. I can't see anyone helping me. no one knows how to. putting my hair in a pony tail doesn't work- as soon as it comes out I go straight to peeling. cutting my hair doesn't work, the split ends come back. my vision is so bad because of it. my grades are suffering because I don't pay attention in school- all I do is peel my split ends. i have dents in my thumbs from it. wrinkles in my forehead. I'm only 15. I saw somewhere on this blog "it's like smoking all your life and wanting to quit but constantly having a lit cigarette in your hand". I honestly don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to be like the other people on this website that has been doing it for 40 years. I don't want to have horrible thinning hair. I JUST WANT TO STOP. I've gotten into arguments with my patens and friends because they think I can just put it in a ponytail or cut it off or simply "just stop" but it's not that simple and i don't know what to do anymore. this is me calling out for help but no one knows how to help. I'm honestly sitting her sobbing because reading this is breaking my heart.

Omg i thought i was the only one... i started pulling out my split ends about three years ago when a hair dresser over bleached my hair and it was completely fried. I got so addicted to it that i started using tiny scissors to cut them. It got to the point where i ended up cutting my hair completly uneven, so i went and got my hair cut to my shoulder and i still cannot stop picking my split ends! Even if i barely have any or none at all, I'll sit there for hours looking for them! I usually do it when I'm laying in bed, or sitting in class bored and once i start i can't stop until i have to or when i get extremely embarrassed when people look at me funny.. i am determined to stop because i want my long healthy hair back! It is taking over my life :/

So I've been picking my split ends for about 10 years now, I'm now 21.. When I was like 14 I basically picked my whole fringe out I had to wear a head band for 6 months or so untill it grew in a bit. I have my stages with this I can be really good for about 6 weeks then all of a sudden il just start again and before I know it's been around 8months or so! I've got extensions in right now to try and let my hair grow hoping I will give up this horrible habit as I've spent a lot of money on them, I've been trying to pick the extensions insted of my actual hair but it's just not the same I love the feeling of the split end detaching from my hair. I've recently just for a fringe cut as the front of my hair was so brittle and thin. I've been using Moroccan oil everyday and it does seam to help a bit but I still always find hair to pick at.. My mums a hairdresser and thinks I'm crazy, I do this habit in front of my friends (who don't understand this addiction either) Ive even found myself standing behind the counter at work with a pair of scissors in my hand chopping at my hair. I NEED HELP this is honestly taking over my life all I want it long beautiful hair :/!!

I am so thankful to know that I am not alone. I feel like such a freak! Someone, I forget who, said something about the split ends "that look like feathers" and I think I know what you're talking about - those are my favourite kind! There is something so satisfying about just running my fingernails over those ones. I think it's a combination of the feeling, the sound and the look of not just this kind of split end, but any kind of split end, that makes picking at them and pulling them apart so addictive. I feel really weird typing this but it's something I've been thinking about a lot and I know most of you will understand what I'm describing. My habit started in sixth grade, I was eleven. I still remember the day I took notice of split ends and began picking at them. I was bored in class and not paying attention, as per usual, when I started playing with and examining my hair. At first, I wouldn't focus on a single strand of hair, but on a whole bunch. Using the nails of my index finger and thumb, I would move up and down the shaft of the hair, tearing off the ends of about ten or so hairs at once. I never thought much of it, just something to occupy my hands and brain, until I went to the hairdresser's. She showed me the back of my head and it looked like a section of my hair had been burnt off! I was mortified! From then on, I knew that picking at my split ends was not good for my hair. Alas, I am now in the tenth grade, fifteen years old, and I still cannot break this habit. Because of my picking, I have two little sections of my bottom layer of hair that aren't long enough to fit in a ponytail! Even when my hair is in a ponytail, I grab it and pick. Now I put it up in a bun but I STILL find myself picking at those two little sections! It's gotten so bad that the hair in these sections are only about half an inch long. I hate this habit so much!! At this point, it feels like I'm no longer in control; like my hands have a mind and an agenda of their own. I desperately want to get over this habit, but at the same time, I don't know if it's worth it. In the end, I just want to be able to straighten my hair without worrying about it being uneven!! P.s. - I noticed that a lot of you were asking if other people with this habit could post updates and strategies, so I'll try to keep you updated on my habit and if I come across any strategies, y'all will be the first to know!

after reading many of your other stories I am relieved I'm not alone, and as many others this compulsion has gotten in the way of my my daily life. It's embarrassing and I want nothing more than you stop, but even when my friends try to help me by pointing out that I'm doing it I only feel more embarrassed and I want to do it even more. The compulsion started as nail biting and moved to split end picking in high school. The only trick I've found to combat both is fake nails. The nails are somewhat thicker than your average nail and make it difficult to maneuver picking your hair. If you seriously want to stop I would advise this.

I am so glad that I'm not alone in this fight. I can't recall how long I've been picking my split ends, but the behaviour has morphed into an addiction that I'm having difficulty breaking. I try to control it when I'm around others, but those closest to me have noticed by now. I also know that it stresses my mother out because she has seen me pick my ends many times and has witnessed my lovely locks deteriorate into thin, uneven hair. I don't ever peel the ends but break them off or cut them off instead. I've previously rationalized this by thinking that this my hair was healthier because LESS SPLIT ENDS = GOOD. I thought that this would make my hair look better. This wonderful little defense mechanism worked well for a while. But on one occasion a coworker grabbed my ponytail exclaiming, "wow, your hair looks thin!". It made me feel sad and disappointed in myself because it proved that I was destroying my hair instead. I also realized that no one will ever exclaim, "wow, you have so few split ends! Amazing!". It's difficult to speak with others about this. They don't understand to what extent this controls my life. When I think of all the hours spent (read: completely WASTED) picking my hair, it makes me feel ashamed and anxious. But wallowing in these feelings will not help me in moving forward. I am trying to practise mindfulness and remain aware of the present moment through meditation. Realistically I think that it will take much more than this to break the addiction so I'll look into cognitive behavioral therapy techniques as well. Good luck everyone! You're not alone in this!

I didn't even know what split ends were until a few years back and then all the girls in my class used to sit around with scissors and cut off a few cms above the split end hence "helping" their hair. I, on the other hand, find incredible fun and entertainment in sitting in front of a white screen/wall and slowly examining each and every hair for a split end. I get a rush of excitement when I see unusual split ends (like fluffy, broken or ends that have split like 10 times) and I peel them apart. It's really bad, but the thing is, nearly every single hair on my head is split...most are small splits that you can;t even see but there are HEAPS AND HEAPS of split ends. im pretty sure im killing my hair but its so much damn fun and i just realised i sound like a pyscho but its true haha :P

I am exactly the same!!!! I have been doing it since I was about 12 and am now 28!!!! I can't stop it although I know it's damaging my hair. I will be on a roll and then find clumps of hair on my chest which is what I've picked! I wish someone could help or give me an explanation of why I do this and if anything could have triggered it? ;((

I havent posted anything for a few months, everything was going well, felt empowered that I had stopped pulling my split ends, then for no reason you say to yourself, just pick one thats ok, and before you know it your back to picking it just like you used to!!! I wish I had better news for everyone, I will hope to try again soon.

I'm not sure exactly how long I have been picking my hair but I know it's been a while now. I'm only 14 and picking my hair is constant everyday thing. my mom showed it to me by always wanting to pick my hair sense I straighten it so much (which I know is bad for my hair, it's just that I don't like my natural hair) now I don't blame my mom for my bad habit nor do I hate her for showing it to me, I just want someone to help me stop. It's distracting when I'm doing anything especially when I'm doing my homework. It's horrible cuz I spend so much time picking at my dead ends that i end up haveing to go late into the night doing homework which also cuts into family time. My mom has tried to find several therapists for us but all of them either are too far away or ask for an extreme amount of money that we don't have. My mom talked to this one therapist and he asked for 200$ a month for a 4 month session. I mean common that's 800$ for only 4 months. I just don't understand, all of us on this site want and need help and the only people to help us ask for so much money. So I'm asking plz someone help us

I started picking at my split ends a little over a year ago when I was bored in class. Now it takes up so much time of my day. I love finding a hair with multiple split ends. When I was 11 I had trich and pulled my hair out all the time. I managed to stop doing that on my own, so just know that it is possible! However, it took me over a year to completely stop pulling out my hair but I did it. I just hope I'll be able to stop picking my split ends. Does anyone know why people do this? It just relaxes me and takes my mind off of things. I'm so thankful that I found this group and I hope we can all stop together.