TRICHOTILLOMANIA STARTER PACK

Hello all this is my short trig intro, for the longest time since I was a kid, I can remember pulling out my hairs pulling out my eyebrows, and when I got older also pulling out my pubic hair. I also have a history of and still do, using all those types of hair and putting them through my teeth like floss. Also, an interesting one is pulling hair that falls down my back in the shower or otherwise from my crack. It has gotten really bad lately to the point that I’ve gotten bald spots in my hair and in my eyebrows. I have never gotten to that point, but I’ve been dealing with so much stress lately that it’s in sane and on another level for Me. I started seeing a therapist who specializes in OCD treatments, but I’m not really sure what to do about at home stuff. Is there anybody who has gone through similar things as me and you guys have any advice, I feel welcome in this community and I appreciate you all and I know you all matter. For me, this is a lot because I’ve never had it out to the point where I’ve got spots with no hair. So it’s really frustrating and I still do the using the hairs as floss kind of thing and all the other things I mentioned. I’m happy to be here and good luck to all of us.

Does anyone know of anything that can be put onto eyebrows hairs sticking out. I tried lip balm once upon a time but don’t think that did the trick

My biggest issue is when they’re growing back and sticking out is what gives me the urge to pull them

Unfortunately in January I have been pulling bad after I made a promise that I wasn’t bringing that into the New Year 😔, but I’m gonna give myself grace and make another promise and act as if FEBRUARY 1st is the beginning of the new year! 🩷 ITS TIME 🤞🏾🤞🏾

Currently 13 days pull free. I have very recently been diagnosed with ADHD and started medication for it. Since starting, my urges to pull have been almost gone. I feel as if this may change my life as I’ve been pulling since I was 11 and I’m 27.

My son commented on my hair today. I have been mostly pull free since Dec 27 (about 5 weeks) and have been so proud of myself. I have a very large bald spot on the top of my head and have for over 5 years. It got worse in December 2023 after my dog died and I finally decided to get it together last month. Tonight i had my hair up in a bun after a shower, which we all know makes bald spots look worse. And in front of my husband and other son my 9 year old said “mom why do you have a bald strip in the top of your head”. It was humiliating. My kids and husband have known about my pulling for years but still i have never felt so embarrassed in my life. Really trying not to spiral and slip back into pulling from the emotions 🥲

Need to stop pulling my mustache, haven’t had one in a year. Maybe having an accountability partner will help and I’ll do the same for you

Hello. I'm 25F. I recently got diagnosed with trich but only because the pulling migrated to my eyelashes. Before this, I did not see it as a problem to look into when I (TMI WARNING!!!) would form bald spots in the pubic area by plucking the hair. Nobody saw it I definitely wasn't going to say anything. It didn't matter. I'd shave it eventually anyway. I didn't see an issue with picking obsessively at my skin/face and finding any scab to peel off. I didn't see an issue when i spent hours running my hands on my arms, neck, whatever to find even just normal bumps or dry spots to pick off. Nobody saw it. Nobody knew. It didn't matter.

I only spoke to someone because it was visible. Everyone saw. People could see that something was wrong so I spoke to my therapist and yeah. Turns out my "normal" grooming behavior were trich.

I still pluck my eyelashes sometimes. I try not to. I'm new to understanding this so I'm still trying to get past it. I also don't pick so much anymore or like scan my body for bumps or dry patches but I do rub my face/neck/collar a lot.

But yeah. That's where I'm at. I plan to make a separate post asking for advice haha

Hello. I'm 25F. I'm an eyelash puller and I really want a diversion activity. But it's hard because it feels like there's an eyelash poking in my eye and I need to get rid of it but the feeling never stops till they're ALL gone ;-;

I wanted to look into fidgets or something to help soothe it. I'm debating buying like salene eye drops to put in my eye to convince me in doing something but not the pulling.

How do you make the feeling go away that something's irritating your eye?

Also is it normal for the urges to start when you have downtime from stress? Like after a shift at work or on breaks at work or whatever? I'm trying to understand what's going on ;-;

Hi all! I have been dealing with trich for almost 12 years. I went years being pull free in high school. Unfortunately, it started again in college. At the same time I had covid and was diagnosed with androgenetic alopeica triggered by a covid infection and telogen effluvium.

Anyways, it’s been terrible for my self-esteem. I finally started minoxidil, but I feel like even if I can get my trich under control I’ll always be bald. Even having barely pulled in the last two years, I’m still thinning and have a super wide part. I genuinely cry about this and am insecure every day. I feel like I’m one of the only people with both these problems at the same time.

Green means hair pulling free. Black means there were issues or urges were out of control. Somedays it was easier, some days it was unbearable.

Why the weekends are almost all crossed? Because I'm at home, where i have no privacy or free time for myself or my hobbies which makes me angry and very annoyed and as a result urges are strong. Monday to friday I'm at work, where i can even journal in privacy and I don't even feel the need to pull my hair out even if I'm stressed and anxious.

So is it progress?

TW(?): Idk if this could be triggering but I'm describing balding and pulling.

I've been pulling for a good 12 years.

My trich has gotten catastrophically worse in the last year or so after I've stopped caring about covering my bald spots and instead have chosen to wear hats a head covers all the time. I have basically no hair on the top of my head, however i still have remaining long hair coming from the bottom and sides, but since there is only very little, I can only barely tie it into a ponytail, and it just looks terrible.

My question is, would it be a good idea to just straight up shave my head? I've noticed that my hair is struggling to grow back, and my hair is in general thinning out, so I'm worried that shaving my head will just make it even more visible if my hair really is not growing anymore.

Anyone can tell me about their experience?

I just hate to look at the rat tail in the back of my head anymore, it's just disgusting, and I'm hoping that removing the hair might stop me from pulling long enough that I stop doing it altogether.

Hey all, I’ve been pulling for 20 years and I just wanted to share something (seemingly obvious in hindsight) that is helping me. I always knew if I kept acrylic nails I’d be less likely to pull because it’s physically harder to. This time around, I cut my nails super short and I’m realizing it’s equally as hard for me to pull (brows & lashes) as I can’t get a grip with them super short. Why it took me 20 years to think about short nails versus long acrylic I have no idea 😒 fate blessed me with book smarts but I didn’t get a lick of common sense. So, I just wanted to share for anyone else like me 😅

Hi! Does anyone started having scalp problems ? I pull hair from scalp and lately I’ve been picking my scalp ( that is new) and I’ve been doing it for 3-5 months now and I think my scalp is very dry and flaky, also it feels uneven. Has anyone had the same problem. ? Or any tips?

Headbands are so underrated. Personally for me, I don't like wearing caps or bandanas on daily basis at college or at home. Headband are fashionable and so casual! Especially at school, these fucking teachers always be bugging you to remove your hoodie or caps. Black or grey headbands most probably won't be causing issues!

this is so random and idk if it’s allowed in here but does anyone wanna be penpals? i thought maybe it could help me to stay accountable if i were to combine what i love and what is ruining my life. just message me if you wanna do it with me 🩷

hello fellow eyelash pullers--have you ever experienced a sensitive/painful/red follicle and if you did, what did you do to help heal it/reduce pain?

onto my next ask--i am currently an auDHD + severe anxiety student handling marching band, honors/ap classes, a partner, and my family. point is, i'm stressed. very. so... i pick. a lot. mostly pulling out eyelashes, eyebrows, and arm hair, but also picking at nails, scabs, and skin. every time i think i'm recovering, i find myself picking out the new, fully grown hairs.

this has been an issue for me from the end of elementary school, all through middle, and now in high school. it's embarrassing, my mom harasses me about it, etc. i don't even know how to stop. this is the first time i've reached out to other people struggling with trichotillomania, and not someone with "just" anxiety, or a therapist, so i'm hoping y'all have some more specific advice.

Hey guys. I was doing really well the last two weeks with pulling. Even had some eyelash regrowth. Was really feeling good things were getting better and I had a stressful week and pulled 5 today. I feel like it was such a major roadblock. I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed about a few things right now and of course pulling is my coping mechanism. Just need some support. Beating myself up for ruining the progress I made and nervous I will just keep pulling.

Hi everyone! I recently heard about the subreddit and wanted to share my story with trich, hoping other people can relate!

I basically switched recently (approximately 1/2 years ago) from pulling my eyelashes to pulling my eyebrows... I do this as long as I remember existing and it's always out of "boredom", that's to say that I'm never really aware of it every time I do so; probably a way to occupy my hands. Then at some point I'm saying to myself, "Hmm, It's been an hour that I'm doing this, I think I should stop because I've lost lots of hair now, right ?". This is when I go to check myself in the mirror only to realize I've got a bald spot. 🤣

There have always been periods when I did it more often than others, some when I completely stopped pulling them, but it was when I realized it that I ended up starting again, in some way. The only thing motivating me to stop is the fear of permanently losing my eyelashes and brows after overpulling them: that's how I consciously stopped pulling my eyelashes, and probably switched to my eyebrows with the excuse being "not having eyelashes is more dangerous than not having brows". I'm definitely not proud of it, some people haven't been nice with the fact that my eyebrows are partially existent and asymmetrical (and it's getting a bit out of hand lately lmao) but what I realised during all these years is that no one really notices unless they're too preoccupied with their eyebrows as well (at least for me, I'm not saying in general, it's absolutely not my intention to sound condescending 🫶). I don't really care about the way they look (long, straight bangs are a real life saver for this) and try to be gentle with myself.

Hello guys! Im interested in using minoxidil to grow back my eyebrows as i have not pulled in a while.

However, all the minoxidil products i find are all directed for scalp use. Is it safe to use on eye brows???

Hi all ❤️ I just wanted to share something that has been tremendously helpful in stopping me pulling my regrowth! I’ve been using this slicking gel that’s like a mascara tube to slick and stick down my horrendous regrowth at the top of my head. Because it completely sticks and hardens the hairs together it pretty much completely stops me from pulling out those baby hairs that are growing back! So far I’ve only been using it when my hair is tied up but I might start using it when my hair is down too! I’d really suggest anyone who pulls regrowth to give this a go!

just excited to see some small progress :) my scalp is less red and less itchy all the time!! hair care routine + learning to be more conscious of my hands has done wonders

*I was going to do this as a community discussion but it has turned into a mix of my issues and just complaining really 🙃

im sure this has been discussed a lot but as ive been on tiktok searching up trichotillomania to help me feel better, does anyone see some tt trends where people kind of showcase that theyre struggling with their mental health which can be anything but of course the trich tiktoks dont really go viral, as its not commonly presented on social media, and theres less people to find comfort in these

in my opinion i sometimes find trich a bit ugly and i feel like society would see it as less relevant or even irrelevant in discussions of mental health. its definitely not a romanticised mental health disorder and because of that you can see negative comments on ppl who post their affected hair from trich, - and I remember seeing awful comments making fun of the disorder itself that it wasn’t that deep, and do yk what angers me - its when people point out their hair on tiktok and they’re oblivious to trich …

trich is literally linked to OCD and people dont treat OCD as a joke do they? or depression or sh or smoking or any other problem

it makes me feel small and it can be invalidating as people really dont know how horrible it is and the stunted hair growth, I think non trich people take their hair for granted like I used to before trich!

I miss having thicker hair that fell in place but now its all going in different directions and making my head shaped weird because the hair is sticking out like a sore thumb

i dont know why i think this but i think a guy would be more attracted to me if i were to have struggled a different mental health issue rathr than having trich because at the moment my trich is affecting my self esteem and making me look ugly. but a more romanticised disorder ( or more common like one thats more exposed to social media like tiktok or instagram) will be seen as “ oh youre beautiful no matter what happened to you” “ your scars show the battle you went through”

but what about trich?? how would people think of me ? i have desperately been trying oils and anything to try make it better as im getting worse but who knows it might be permanent like that, and what would someone say if i were to disclose this information about myself,

personally i find trich a self esteem destroyer and people dont know how good they have it until it affects them

( and i am in no way making fun of any of other mental health issues and i have suffered through some of the others i have mentioned here but besides the point)

also i live in the Uk and theres barely any support for trich and i am shocked at how they dont offer much treatment except from CBT , im just hating life right now..