Going Crazy with Skin Picking and facial hair!!!!

[tanyasparks154]

OK...I'm about to go crazy. I have alot of chin hair and I pluck it. But I have dug my chin so much that now I have all of these scars and bloody spots. I try not to pick my skin but I just can't help it sometimes. It makes me crazy. Maybe it is a nervous habbit. I don't know. Anyone have any suggestions on how to stop??

Tanya

[cmmarti3]

I had that problem really bad for awhile. I'd use needles to dig up hairs that hadn't reached the surface yet. Did you ever try Vaniqa? That plus BCPs got my condition more under control. Now there's not much hair to pick at anymore.

[BKuntz]

I found away to bring those nasty little hairs to the surface--Neutragena Deep Clean face soaps.


My problem is finding a really good pair of tweezers that will grip those suckers hard enough to pull them out instead of snapping them. Any ideas??

Beth

[Bethann]

after years of doing this, despite embarassement about the scabs, etc. I discovered that an anxiety disorder / obsessive compulsive disorder was really the cause. Medication (also taken for other reasons) has dramatically helped. It's not that I never do this any more, but I'm 90% better. Do a quick web search, you'll see that this sort of thing is really common, and most people are so horribly embarassed to admit they do this that like me they never realized how common it is.

[Tangie]

I have that very same problem. I tweeze until my skin is scabby and red on my chin area (the exact same place). The problem is, as soon as I feel those really coarse ones there, I cannot resist, I will lye in bed in the dark with the tweezers before I go to sleep trying to dig those suckers out. I always have tweezers on the side of my bed and almost ritually end up plucking that area at night!!!

It is nice to know I am not alone in this. Although to be honest I am not sure what to do about it either so any suggestions we get from anyone else would be great, but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in this.

Also, by the by, a GREAT make of tweezers is tweezerman. I have both pointed (needlenose) ones and slanted. The great thing for you guys though is that in america you can post these babies back to the manufacturer free of charge to have them sharpened and maintained. I know that sounds drastic but they are expensive tweezers, I think we are talking about $18-$25.00 for a set but they are well worth it.

[Citrine]

For those of you that are tweezing in bed/excessivly you might want to take into account what Bethann said. If the picking and tweezing interfers/negatively affects your "life"/schedule you may need to see your primary doctor first who will be able to recommend your next step. For me I tweeze a LOT, but to curb it I set a timer, and then I MUST stop no matter how many hairs are left or if I'm working on a bad one. Usually I'm so "into" tweezing I don't realize that my arm hurts! So, I look forward to the timer going off! Hope this helps. Jean (gettin ready to go tweeze)

[tanyasparks154]

Thanks for all of your replies. Sorry it has taken so long for me to respond. I was doing good at stopping but just in the last few days I have dug craters, literally deep puncture holes in my face. Now I have all of these scabs. Even makeup isn't covering them anymore. Something else to add to my already dwindling self esteem.

Tanya

[lizziebelle]

Just to let you know I am a picker too. Any little bump and I have to dig or, if I can feel or see a little tiny hair under the skin out come the tweezers until I bleed. I also have been put on zoloft and adderall for anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder. They have helped 90%. Not to mention that the adderall curbs apetite! 40 pounds I have lost.

Angels are not always in Heaven... Often they are right beside you.

[spinachmonster]

Hi ladies,

I am a newbie who has not been diagnosed with PCOS yet. I have been dealing with chin/neck hair for a couple of years now.

Tweezerman is by far the best razor out there. At $18-25 per pair it may seem expensive, but in the end you save money by not having to buy cheap tweezers over and over again.

As far as hard-to-reach hairs --- personally, I use an exfoliating face scrub every day to prevent hairs from lingering just under the surface of the skin.

In addition to hair growth issues on my chin --- I also have cystic acne. I obsessively pluck (I have a great lighted magnifying mirror that spots everything). I always carry a pair of tweezers in my bag, just in case I missed a hair.

This part may sound weird to some of you --- when I find the beginnings of a tiny hair root just underneath the surface of the skin (looks like a black dot against my fair complexion)... I actually squeeze it out, as if it were a blemish. It sounds REALLY weird, but it works for me (may not work for everyone). And although squeezing the skin will leave it pink --- I found this works better than trying to dig it out with tweezers. It's really weird --- this method only works when the hair is just a tiny dot (not when it starts to grow outside of the surface of the skin). I guess because my skin is kind of oily on account of my cystic acne, it is easy to squeeze it out of my skin.

Can anyone else do this? Or am I just an odd child.

Amanda

[aasunshine]

Yes I can squeeze the tiny dots of hair out. I am a major plucker/sink picker. In fact I am gong through a really bad phase right now. I not only have sores all over my face but all over my body as well. I am really embarrassed about this and have no clue what do do about it. I just know that I can't seem to stop even when I am bleeding and in pain. I have been diagnosed with Trichotillomania which is pulling hair from various sites of the body. I am wondering if the skin picking is related to this or if it is something else alltogether.

Sorry this is so long.

Sunshine

[Citrine]

Sunshine,
I have a friend that has had trichotillomania since she was a teen. I think the "picking" kinda goes along with it. Are you being treated for it in any way? I know it is a very difficult disorder to live with, I hope you are doing OK. I'm gonna have to try the squeezing the black dots out! Jean M.

[amyzboyz3]

Just thought I would mention that Adderall actually can increase anxiety.

Amy

[Tangie]

I am quite literally blown away by the amount of you cysters that do this too. For so long, I have thought, I must be so weird for this tweezing obsession!! So glad to see that I am not the only one after all.

I am a cyster, and I have a tweezing addiction. I wonder how much time I spend in a day stroking my chin in search for even the slightest hair. I am also intrigued by the amount of anxiety I feel if I have missed one of those babies and happen to come across it at a point in the day where I am without sufficient light/mirror/or tweezers!!!

I think, for what it is worth, that we genuinely have a complex!!! I don't know about the rest of you, but I am consumed with my femininity. I don't leave the house without an adequate hair situation, makeup, earrings, perfume, etc. Those damn chin hairs just feel like an intrusion on my right to be feminine and I hate them!!!!! I really resent the amount of time I am forced to spend on hair removal. Imagine all that time spent feeling, tweezing, depilating, and searching for crazy little hairs could all be time devoted to more constructive things.

Sorry this is rambling now and turning into a rant, so I will put a lid on it. Just glad to hear that there are other people who tweeze till they ache too!!

[Citrine]

Boy Tangie, did you hit the nail on the head! I have also started to REALLY resent having to go through the hair removal process all the time. I used to pluck, and not even really think about it. Now, I have to work myself up to it. Sometimes I just don't want to go into that bathroom, and must I must drag myself knowing if I don't pluck tonight it will be horrendous tomorrow.

It takes me sooo long just to de-hair I don't feel like applying makeup or making any other extra effort at looking good. It is just such a time consuming and emotionly/self esteem draining thing it can really get me down. OK, enough of my whining. I'm just glad I can talk about this somewhere. Thanks guys.
Jean

[Tangie]

Jean, I know just what you are feeling.

In fact I have to go and depilate after this. Dh's bday is tomorrow and we are going to celebrate by having dinner with some friends and I will be horribly concious of it throughout so fresh is best!!! I now use a product called surgi cream which is the same principal as nair without the horrible break out and irritation!!! It is a godsend really.

I am glad someone thought to start this thread because I think there are probably tons more cysters that could identify with us but perhaps haven't stumbled over this thread just yet.

On top of all the resentment, I get my fair share of strange looks from women too. I get these looks because (I am sometimes concious of doing this LONG after I have been doing it, which is usually too late) I stare at women to see if they too have the facial hair in the same places I do. I suppose I am just constantly looking for confirmation that I am the norm and not the opposite.

I think that counselling sessions should be given to any women dx'd pcos. Mostly because sitting in a doctors office being given a dx is never quite enough preparation for what you are about to experience. I mean as doc phil says they just aren't getting it!

Telling a woman she has pcos is as good as opening pandora's box. Or even a box of chocolates, because as Forrest Gump said, "you never know what you're gonna get." Ain't that the truth.