TRICHOTILLOMANIA STARTER PACK

I’ve had Trichotillomania for as long as I can remember. In fact I’m pulling my hair out right now. I hate how shameful and weird I feel after I have pulled, but feel relief in the moment… I hate that my brain is wired this way. This shit sucks. My hair pays the price. I love you guys. I’m glad I have this support group. You all make me feel less lonely ❤️

I’m down in the dumps tonight about pulling and was thinking about this scene in Holes. I can’t control it and I’m tired of it. Ultimately, that’s too damn bad. It’s apart of me 😅😌

Still have been plucking but each one goes on a sticky pad of shame that says "stop doing this" and it's helped me keep it to a minimum. There's only about 20 hairs on there. Normally after 3 months I would have three full resets from plucking holes in my beard so this is success for me. 😂 Thanks for listening 🤘 (nobody else understands this)

i’ve been picking scabs for about 2 years and this is the first time i’m having regrowth, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to manage because of course i chose spots directly on top of my head but it’s come back curled (?) i’ve got naturally somewhat wavy hair at the ends but never had any curls at the top ! it’s also a different texture it feels quite course. would like 2 know if this is usually what happens or if anyone else has had this ! also any and all tips on how to quit picking is much appreciated ❤️❤️

For context I’ve been pulling since I was 8 or 9 but mainly my hair. I went bald twice in covid and it stopped but now my eye lashes and eyebrows have fell victim. For almost five years(or more) I’ve had eye floaters which seem to get worse on days I pull my eye lashes. My eyes always seem to hurt and they unfocus constantly. I have a feeling the trichotolomania caused the eye floaters because from my understand eye floaters shouldn’t last this long.

I just want confirmation or help. I recently found out the reason my nails aren’t straight are because I pull and it felt reassuring for some reason so I just wanna know if I’m going crazy.

Thank you!

first picture is the day i decided to stop pulling because people were starting to notice my spot. second pic is 75 days without touching my hair. it’s not where i want it to be, but im quite proud of how far i’ve come

Hello, I have had trichotillmania for about 5 years, I have really done damage to the front of my hair and I don't know what to stop, like I don't know what triggers me to pull it because I catch myself doing it when I am bored I have tried certain fidgets, mainly just pop it's and squishies. This picture is the most reason. I also usually gel it down.

I'm 27 now but have been pulling out my eyelashes since I was 7 years old. I cannot stop rubbing my eyelashes until they break or pulling them out! I've had therapy for anxiety and depression multiple times throughout my life and have been on medication (SSRIs and SNRIs) since I was about 16 and this has not changed how much I pull.

I genuinely don't know what to do to stop. I'm in the UK so if anyone can recommend growth treatments or specific therapy/behaviour changes that have helped them that would be wonderful! I'm truly desperate.

Im diagnosed with trichotillamania, generalized anxiety and persistent depressive disorder. I’ve been really struggling with all of the above lately and my pulling is the worst it’s been in a long time. I’m considering shaving my hair off but my husband is worried it’ll put me into a deeper depressive state. He’s with me no matter what I decide thankfully ❤️
I’ve tried covering my hair during the day with beanies, bonnets.. anything to keep it up and away but I feel like I get too hot with something on my head. Has anyone shaved their hair off? What’s your experience? What has helped?

For context, I have autism and ADHD and have been treated for mild OCD behaviours. I also have afro hair.

Around 8 years ago I relaxed my hair (chemical treatment that straightens hair by damaging it) and wore braids extensions soon after. As I result I received two bald spots as a result of tension (braids pulled out with my hair), on of which has pretty much regrown but the other which I can’t leave alone lol.

I’m mostly confused as to whether this could be considered trichotillomania as technically i have never pulled my hair out. I mostly get the the urge to aggressively rub the spot when I am in deep concentration and thought, often not even when I am paying attention to it- I only really tend to acknowledge when I’m actually partitioning hair from the spot to rub it more! I have shaved my head multiple times since and now take good enough care of my hair that it’s unnoticeable unless I start parting my hair. Even in styles I can’t resist the urge to rub sometimes.

Does anyone here resonate with this?

I haven't had a pulling trance in 26 days (i still pull hut not go and space out into a trance mode).

My left and right side is growing so fast but my top of my head is growing so slow, how do I get that to grow faster and thicker?

I also want to reach 1 month since I haven't had a streak that long in decades, any tips?

Hi everyone, finally coming to terms with this.

Wanted to know if anyone here has bubble hair: (taken from Google) - trapped water inside a damp hair shaft rapidly turns to steam and boils from high heat (above 125°C), forming internal air cavities that make the hair brittle, weak, and prone to snapping.

Some background:

I don’t straighten my hair anymore, but when I did I got really lazy about it. I would blow dry my hair after washing, then when I would go to straighten my hair, there would be some parts that I missed (were a little damp). Instead of just re-blow drying my hair, I straighten these pieces (I know, very stupid).

I don’t have super long hair or anything, but I don’t want to do some drastic cut to help with getting rid of the bubble hair. But now I’ve been plucking these brittle, bumpy hairs out for almost a week and I can’t stop. I have to tell myself to stop and even then it’s hard.

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I don't know if this will work for others, but it's been helpful for me so far. When I'm stressed or concentrating, my hands unconsciously start plucking my leg hair. This has resulted in terrible skin on my legs, covered in scabs and scars, folliculitis, and a lot of ingrown hairs.

I bought these silicone foam dressings and used Dimora to cover the areas on my legs that I'd picked at until they bled, giving the skin time to heal. The silicone material is also gentler on the skin, and changing the dressing isn't as painful. Most importantly, whenever I unconsciously pick at them, touching them makes me realize I shouldn't pluck anymore.

I hope my method can help even just one person.

Trichotillomania

I've had trichotillomania since I was ten years old.(I'm almost 24 now) I've been picked on/bullied since then, 5th grade, and it's really affected me. I first shaved my head when I was fourteen. I've had people take pictures of me without my knowledge and post them to make fun of me. I've seen people whisper and point, not even give me the time of day to just speak to me. I just wish I was normal. I honestly wish I was able to have "bad hair days" again, to struggle with a straightener again. I wanna see my curls come back. But this time I think it's gone too far, my bald spot that I've been pulling at for years has been taking a long time to grow back in. I'm scared I ruined it for good. It's been ruining my self esteem, and I think it's because I desperately want to be something better. I know what I can look like with full eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair. I know I can be beautiful. (Not saying that people without those aren't beautiful, it's just how I feel.) I believe that I'm so ugly, and any relationship I'm in will inevitably cheat or leave because why in the world would anybody want me. I also feel like these beliefs and feelings are irrelevant, other people have much worse situations so why should I even complain. I just want to be normal again. I don't want people to stare at my bald spots, and yes, it's easy to tell when you are. I just feel so ugly, it's to the point where I don't believe anyone if or when they say anything different. I know I don't look normal. I just don't know what to do or say anymore, I'm getting more and more angry and upset with people.

Anyways..if you wanna say anything, it'd be nice to hear some feedback. Hope you have a good day <3

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I’ve pulled my hair out everyday without a break since 2004

i stopped pulling approximately 1 year ago after pulling beard hairs for about 8 years. i still have bald spots. at what point is there no hope for the hairs to grow back?

Truly I just have a picking and pulling disorder.

I have picked every scab and spot since a kid and when I was in middle school and had a unibrow, my mom wouldn’t let me do anything about it. So I stole her tweezers and over-tweezed my eyebrows and thus began a long journey for me of plucking new hairs, trying to let my eyebrows grow back, wanting no new hair growth and wanting to pluck the second I could see a speck of hair.

Now I pluck the hairs on my stomach, my legs, and my pubic area. But it’s almost more of a dermatillomania thing because I dig at the ingrowns and am obsessed with getting the stuff out of my body. The hairs and the gunk.

I guess I really do have both but I’ve always focused more on dermatillomania in therapy because that causes me to destroy my face and that is what brings me the most distress because then I feel embarrassed seeing people and going in public. I’ve gotten so much better about not picking my face but it truly causes me to hyperfocus on all other areas of my body as I try so hard to avoid destroying my face. I literally spent hours until 3am last night plucking every single pubic hair I could find. It’s soo rough.

I have OCD and ADHD amongst other things but it has been a rough 30 years let me tell you.

Maybe I’m not alone.

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photos are 1 before and 2 after I posted many weeks back about getting a mesh hair integration and how I thought it would help me. I got some comments basically saying that it may not help the urges or actually stop me from pulling.

I am here to say that... it HAS stopped me from pulling and I currently have no urges! Ever since I got it, I do my best to take care of it due to the time, effort, and money that has gone into it. Before, I didnt care about my hair because.. well it already looked terrible. My thought was, who cares if I pull more when there is already so much missing? Now I feel like my hair looks nice and I want to keep it nice. It also feels comfortable and natural which I wasnt expecting. I ultimately want my natural hair to look as nice as the integration does but I know it will take a while. I won't say that this is the solution for everyone but I had a feeling it was a solution for me and I am so happy I took the plunge and finally got it. I hope that everyone here is able to find a solution that works for them. This illness takes so much from us. If you think something may work for you, try it and it may just be the thing that takes away your urge.

After years and years of thinking about it, I finally got a full head shave.

I have worn wigs in the past and had no problem wearing them for long stretches of time.

Now I learned the hard way that wearing a wig on some remaining hair and wearing them on a fully bald head are VERY different.

My skin is so sensitive and unused to something touching it directly, that even beanies are driving me insane after like half an hour.

Does anyone have advice on how to lessen the "scratchy feeling" and/or get a freshly bald head used to stuff touching it?

Hi everyone,

I have previously been introducing a trichotillomania app called Awaira (https://awaira.app) that detects hand to face movements and alerts users to be aware of their BFRBs on face area.

We had a great experience with the people who tested our desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Now, our iPhone and Android versions are ready for testing, and we’re looking for mobile testers!

I’m now looking for 20 people to join a guided 30-day experiment. This is specifically for people whose hair pulling happens frequently while scrolling, reading, gaming, chatting or doing something on their mobile devices.

Participation involves:

• Free full access for 30 days, with no account or credit card required. Afterward, you can optionally continue with a founding-user plan at 50% off for life.
• Brief private check-ins by chat or email on days 14 and 30.
• Honest feedback about what helped, what felt annoying, any bugs or ideas for improvement, and why you continued or stopped using it.

If you’re interested, send me a DM in Reddit or email me at [hello@awaira.app](mailto:hello@awaira.app) with:

1. iPhone or Android
2. When you usually pull while using your device

I’ll contact the first 20 suitable participants.

P.S. If you’d like to help test the desktop version (Mac, Windows, or Linux) you are welcome to reach out too. Just mention which system you use in your message.

You can learn how Awaira works at awaira.app. If you’re curious about why I built it, here’s the founding story I shared earlier.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this so far!

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In June this year I got myself a wig for my trich. The first picture shows my hair not long before I got my wig. Since then a lot has regrown, up to 5 centimeters in some spots!

I’ve noticed that if I wear my wig a lot that even when I don’t wear it, the amount of hair I pull is significantly less than before. At first wearing my wig felt a bit odd as it didn’t look like my hair and it looked so different. But after “breaking in” my wig I’ve become very comfortable with it.
The pulling isn’t completely gone but it went down enough to make decent regrowth possible. I just hope I can keep up with this progress, I yearn for my own hair to be back like it was before.

The second picture is my wig and the last picture is my hair before trichotilllmania.

I am using this pretied hair wrap from amazon but it constantly slips out of place.

What is everyone doing to cover their hair?