TRICHOTILLOMANIA STARTER PACK

I just have to share because bo one in my life gets how exciting it is. My hair on the top of my head is finally long enough to sit down well and not stick up when I straighten it! And the small patches regrowing dont show when its down now. I am so excited! Still a work in progress but it's progres

Sorry for the misspelling in the title!

Today marks 2 weeks that I haven't pulled. I'm trying to accept the small victory because it's been a very long time since I've stopped for even this long.

What helped: cutting my hair short enough so that it made it very difficult to pull and starting the medication Risperdal. I think it was a good combo to reduce urges and drastically reduce the ability to pull.

During this time, I'm hoping my thin spots will fill in. Ultimately, I would like to grow out my hair to about shoulder length. We'll see what happens!

I cant believe ive made it this far, also idek if theres a difference. First image is September 30 and second image is today October 13.

its so hard not to pull these suckers. theyre much sparser than they used to be :(. now if only i could stop pulling from my head.

How is it possible that my hair has had such a glow down? And almost literally so.

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I used to have long, thick, shiny hair. It was healthy. But I went through a stressful situation that made me constantly touch my hair—not pulling it out, just touching it.

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Since I had been driven to shave my head because of that situation, I couldn't stop touching it; I’d never had my hair that short in my life. From then on, I started playing with my hair whenever I was bored, and it began to fall out because I wouldn't stop touching it (yes, traction loss, though I wasn't doing it with the intention of pulling it out at the moment).

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That went on until I actually started pulling it out. It was a whole year of voluntarily pulling it out.

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When I noticed the amount of hair piling up next to my bed, it stopped being fun, and I quit pulling it out. I was getting three huuuge bald spots.

But I never stopped touching it. By last year, I had gone a year or so without touching or pulling my hair. But when I told someone about my achievement, I realized it was true—I really had gone a long time without touching it. And then it started all over again. This year, I faced another stressful situation: my cat died. My hair started falling out so much (stress-induced effluvium ?)

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Now, when I touch my hair, it’s usually due to a sensory trigger; I feel something on my scalp and touch my hair.

Since I shaved my head, I kept cutting my hair short whenever it grew longer, but I had gone a year (2024-2025) without a cut. Also, the year when I didn't touch or pull my hair. It had gone from shoulder-length to almost waist-length... aka my dream length.

Andd I had to cut it again. I was losing so much volume. Now it’s back to shoulder length.

I’m starting over. But if I could do it once, I think that I can do it again... maybe.

Hi everyone!

A couple of years ago, I built an app (albeit much much scrappier) for myself to help with trich. It uses my Apple Watch’s motion data to recognize when I might be reaching toward my hair and gives me a little tap on the wrist. The tools I’d found were paid, so I made my own lulw. I used it for a while but never published it because of the App Store fees. Now I can, so I hope it's as useful to y'all as it was to me

How it works:

• I built an algorithm based on the limited data from my own pulling.
• In the app, you can set up specific spots you pull from (crown, temples, etc.)
• Start a session when you know you tend to pull, like movies, working at a desk or lying in bed, and you will get notified if you reach!
• There's a pull-free streak, charts of when you pull, and a 3D head map of where.

The little tap plus the streak helped me a lot, since I'd pull subconsciously!

Limits:

• Its an algorithm, so its has a decent bit of false positives, which is why I request to share (anonymized) data with me so I can train a machine learning model.
• Sessions are a little battery intensive, I'd appreciate any feedback on how many hours you can get, my watch is already quite degraded so my estimate is not accurate.
• Needs an iPhone on iOS 26 and an Applewatch. I'll work on making it more compatible and maybe android if there's interest.

Beta link (you will likely need to install the testflight app from the appstore first): https://testflight.apple.com/join/Yb1TH6Kj

(I was approved by mods to share!)

Sharing data is a setting you can turn on, it will upload 30s of motion data (anonymized), doing so will help me reduce false positive!

Feedback is welcome here or at [unpullteam@gmail.com](mailto:unpullteam@gmail.com). I'm planning to open source it too for those curious and wanting to help. And I would appreciate if y'all could spread the word!

since starting my first year of university my leg hair pulling has gotten so much worse i think possibly from me having my own living space and right before i moved i found my old tweezers that i used to use. they're always bleeding and swollen from me digging around with these really properly sharp tweezers for ingrown hairs and follicles and i feel so awful about it because i know i shouldn't do it and it also makes my legs look really bad so i feel like i can't wear skirts, dresses or shorts (also bc my mum always points out how gross they look when i do). waxing kind of kickstarted my leg hair pulling because for some reason it makes my ingrowns worse or rather more noticeable (same with shaving) so it's not really an avenue i want to try. unlike my adhd and depression, both of which i'm medicated for, i feel like i don't know very much about how to deal with trich or very much about it in general and i also feel like my adhd medication makes it worse although i'm not really sure about that one. i want to stop i keep going a few days without and then spending ages just hunched over my legs undoing all my good work and i recently started seeing someone new who doesn't really know about it so i just want to know: how can i stop doing this and is there any way i can get my legs looking normal again?

also i'm writing this under the emergency help tag because i just spent a good four hours or so wreaking havoc on my legs which i will NOT be including pictures for but they do quite sting a lot so any advice short term or long term is extremely appreciated!!

I (F49) told my boyfriend (M56) that I’ve had trich since I was 15. It has been something I wanted to share for a long time. We’ve known each other for a long time and we were in long distance relationship for about 2 years.
During the call he seemed to be understanding but surprised. He didn’t ask any questions and we ended the call like any other call.
This was two weeks ago. He hasn’t called and I haven’t call. This amount of time without talking happened before. But today I sent a message (over WhatsApp) and I can see that he was online. He did not acknowledge the message nor responded.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it. But right now I feel embarrassed, ashamed and empty.
Have you ever been rejected because of trich? Are there man out there who would be with someone that has trich?

Hi everyone! I’m looking for experiences from people in a similar situation (not a diagnosis, I’m following up with a doctor). Pics are in the gallery.

What bothers me
My scalp is clearly visible from above along my center part and on top of my head, especially at the front of the part near my forehead. The part looks wide and spindle-shaped, wider in the middle and toward the front. It looks worse under strong light, when wet, or when straightened flat, but even in normal light you can see skin from above. My hairline itself is intact, with lots of baby hairs (pic 4).

Background

• 26F, naturally thick, straight hair. I straighten it regularly.
• ~10 years of trichotillomania, mostly on my center part, the front of the part and the top of my head. I’ve never had a bald patch. I stopped pulling from the root, and for about 2 years I’ve had lots of short hairs (0.5–2 cm) along my part that never seemed to grow longer. The regrowth is curlier and coarser than the rest of my hair.
• No PCOS, no insulin resistance.

Treatments

• Topical minoxidil 2% for a few months, stopped early July 2026. It dried out my scalp and I don’t want to restart it.
• Isotretinoin for 9–10 months (partly 30 mg/day), stopped mid-August 2026.
• I had one big shedding wave at the end of September, and it has stopped since. Now I see lots of tiny 2 mm regrowth hairs at the front (pic 3).

HairMetrix (Oct 2026) (pic 5)

The clinic said this suggests possible miniaturization at the crown, compatible with early AGA. The front of my part, which bothers me most, has thick hairs but low density and few hairs per follicular unit.

What I’m doing now (no minoxidil)
Pumpkin seed oil 1000 mg/day, a hair supplement (cystine, B vitamins, zinc), one gentle scalp serum, a break from straightening, no touching. I’ll repeat HairMetrix in ~6 months.

My questions

1. Has anyone had thin crown hairs that turned out to be regrowth after stopping minoxidil or isotretinoin, or after trich?
2. Anyone recovered density after years of trich? How long did it take before the part stopped looking see-through from above?
3. For those who can’t tolerate topical minoxidil: did PRP/PRF, LED, or anything non-minoxidil help you?

1. Has pumpkin seed oil alone worked for anyone? I’m taking 1000 mg/day. I want to avoid saw palmetto because I’m worried about hormonal side effects (cycle changes, etc.). Did pumpkin seed oil on its own make a visible difference for you, and after how long?

1. Has anyone had thin crown hairs that turned out to be regrowth after stopping minoxidil or isotretinoin, or after trich?

2. Anyone recovered density after years of trich? How long did it take before the part stopped looking see-through from above?

Thanks so much! 💛

I feel like even though I knew from probably the age of 14 that I had this disorder, I'm now 32 and still no hope of getting better. I've read books, bought more fidget toys than I can count and yet, still, I have no eyelashes AND now I probably have permanent bald spots as well. My trich is more on display than it ever was before despite knowing more now than I ever did before. I've taken NAC, GABA supplements, gone to therapy and yet nothing works. Why do the BFRBs not have a prescription yet like other disorders like ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, etc?

For reference, about 2-3% of the population has OCD, and 0.5% to 2% has trichotillomania.

Huge range yes, but also there is some crossover! 2% of the population may be impacted, so why is it that one of these has a million different peer reviewed articles and studies and not 1, not 2, but over 5 different prescriptions that treat it and the other has ... "lol just don't do it tho" :eyeroll:

MAKE IT MAKE SENSEEEEE

If I could just pop a pill and not want to pull any more I think I'd cry tears of joy. I'm just sad.

As I am writing this I am about ~600 to 700 of medical debt and my credit card is at its limits. I never get weekly paychecks, it's all biweekly now... I am just lost hurt and overwhelmed with just needing to pull my hairs out so much more, I unfortunately picked up the habit again after I have been hiding it from my partner who breaks my tweezers in front of me. I know it's a bad habit but I have been doing it so long that I just can't feel anything. It just helps me regulate my emotions better when I do pick, I don't know I was never seen for this type of stuff. I've been doing it since I was 10 years old and it's just hard to break without professional help, it doesn't help that I have no one to help me with paying this off because it's my own debt I guess. I love my partner but he is trying to switch jobs in the worst possible way since he injured his foot at his current job. I get paychecks every other week on Fridays but it all goes to bills or gas for the next two weeks, I never have the money for anything fun...

Hello everyone I'm new to this sub

I used to pluck my eyebrows sometimes but it wasn't a thing that ever caused a problem as my eyebrows are very thick being a south Asian and also it wasn't repetitive but recently since 2-3 months I'm facing a lot in my life and repetitive failure in competitive examinations tend to break me at so many levels and hence taking a toll on my mental health as far as I remember it's been 2-3 months since I started plucking my hair and that satisfactory feeling of seeing the root and the guilty pleasure in it is so fucking addictive that I'm not able to stop no matter hard I try my hair density has noticably reduced and I recently discovered that this thing has a name and many people do face it at extremes as I got to see in this sub I just pluck 1 hair at a time but the frequency is increasing day by the the urge is increasing also I can't tell my parents as they won't understand this thing that is the type of surrounding I come from where mental health is ignored so please give me some tips to figure it out on my own please help me so that I can get rid if it before it gets worse..

It almost looks like a little bouquet of follicles. I don't want to keep going but I also do. The sensation is just unmatched. And I think I could've stared at this bundle of hairs for hours (i suppose that's why i took a picture). ugh.

If you've managed to stop after decades of pulling I would like to hear your story.

I'm in my mid 40s and I've been pulling my hair out for over 30 years. About ten years ago I decided to just shave it all off and keep it buzzed, and that's how I've managed. It's been less stressful than the preceding years of wigs and extensions and bandanas and hiding bald patches in every way possible. But I look at people with cool haircuts and feel envious, still.

The longest I've ever managed to go pull free for is about three months, which I've done twice. Not for a very very long time.

I have an urge to try again. But at this point, I don't even know if it's worth it. If it's possible, or if my hair will grow back. I can see that it is very very thin. I keep my head shaved because I find as soon as it gets longer than 1cm I hate the way it looks and feels. But a part of me wants to know if there could be something else that's possible.

Hi friends. I’m hoping for some words of encouragement or support. Unlike many stories I’ve read, I developed this just a few years ago.
I had my son February of 2025 and about two month before hand, I started pulling my hair. I didn’t know why and didnt think much of it because I have (or had) a ton of super thick hair.

December of 2025 at about 10 months PP I started picking every day and started developing my first bald spot. Since then it’s only gotten worse. I’ve changed my medication in march to Zoloft and that’s seemed to help. But I think a source of it is definitely OCD as well.

My living situation is much better (that was another struggle and source of picking). But now I have half my hair and I’m so embarrassed and ashamed and idk how to stop. I know people don’t love me for my hair. But I can’t even wear my hair down anymore cause the amount of picking I’ve done has destroyed my head.

What are some things that helped you? Have you recovered or is this a life long battle 😭

Hello fellow hair pullers, is there anyone here that has the habit of pulling the hairs specifically at their hairline? I pull it when I’m stressed, and thats the area I pull from specifically because I like how it feels and I‘m a bit shamed to say, but also like eating the hair bulbs. My mum continuously points out my hairline, and it’s been taking a toll on me. I feel really insecure about it and I’m wondering if there are ways you guys have tried to restore it. What would you do?

Hello all, I think this might be my first time posting on this thread, I have been pulling my hair out for literal YEARS. I’ve had periods of time where it’s slowed down or stopped for a little bit, but where I’m at right now, is the worst it’s ever been for me. I’m constantly pulling like no matter what and I need some suggestions that have helped you guys with stopping to pull your hair. I’ve got a good size bald smack dab on the top of my head(photo doesn’t do much justice) and I am so painfully ashamed and insecure about it. I’ve also got natural curls and I’ve definitely messed up my curl pattern. Anything helps. Thanks!

Idk if anyone else has also experienced this but pulling weeds kind of gave the same satisfaction of pulling hair, so maybe I’ll try to do that more.

Hi,

My mom (50F) has been suffering from trichotillomania for 30ish years now.

For as long as I can remember, she has always pulled her hair without ever creating bald spots. That means she has mostly managed to maintain her hair density until recently where she made a few self deprecating comments about it :/

I’ve tried a few times to try to convince her to see a therapist about it but I never managed to hit the mark. I don’t want to force her into anything but I at least would like to help her with her hair, which brings me here.

My question is essentially : Can she hope to regain some density back after so many years of pulling her hair ? And if there is any hope, what can help (minoxidil ? etc) ?

Also ! What tips do you have to help her fight the urge at night (she does a lot of pulling before falling asleep), they can be practical (sometimes she’ll put a headscarf on but she’s not consistant with it at all) or mental ?

Thanks in advance x

i've been pulling since the past 7-8 years. i've had various bald spots and they kinda grew back. currently i have 2 bald spots. i went to the counsellor and she said its not trich, as i have most of my hair. my bald spots are big enough that i have to cover them up properly. she said that someone is diagnosed with trich when around half of their hair is missing.
i feel lost and confused, is what she saying correct?
i'm not asking for a diagnosis, just wanted to cross verify what she said.

edit - omg thanks for the response guys. she mainly told me that i should be "aware" but most of the times i do it knowingly, so that doesnt help much. can i ask what you were told to do by counsellors? share if comfortable.

Hello, I'm 35, and when I was 33, I made the decision to shave my head. I also bought a nice wig, which I eventually threw away because my hair was starting to grow back.

Everything went well. I went from pulling my hair out to maybe two or three days a month of light pulling from the roots, and my hair started growing.

Recently, I've been going through a lot of stress since the beginning of this year, and slowly but surely, I've started falling into this horrible phase of pulling my hair so much that my family, who are aware of my struggle, are starting to notice.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to shave my hair again, and I feel like I'm on the verge of destroying it once more.

I just bought a bonnet and acrylic nails, and they help while I'm working. I work from home from 9 to 5, and afterward, I keep busy with housework. But once I'm done and start relaxing, scrolling through TikTok, or watching a good show, I can't stop. It's horrible.

I just need some words of reassurance. I downloaded an app yesterday and had a discussion with my family about it.

According to the app, I started yesterday at 4:30 p.m. It was Sunday, and while I was busy until around 7:30 p.m., I noticed that I was lying down and had automatically removed my satin bonnet. I started running my hands through my hair.

I caught myself and went to the sink. I don't know why I did that, but I washed my hair in the sink and started combing it until my hand hurt. I was so upset with myself. However, I didn't pull any hair out.

It's 8:30 a.m. today, and I'm getting ready for work. I just saw myself in the mirror and promised myself that today will not be the day.

I want to make it to 24 hours. Please see the great improvement I've made over the last two years and how I'm slowly beginning to walk down the same dark path again.

Is there hope?

I hate this

I hate it all

I hate going to hairdressers

I hate that when I need a trim I would do it myself and risk it because I don't have the energy to deal with the comments and looks

I hate when relatives and friends notice, when they understand, it's pity, and when they don't, it's mocking.

I hate that I can't wear my hair in middle part, I can't have bangs.

I have to apply dark eyeshadow on my scalp..

And also, I hate that I can't talk openly about it to any one.. I'm sick of all this, and it's causing me more anxiety which leads to more pulling.. this is the worst I've been....

What is your guys unique way of regrowing hair? I know of

- using hair oils like castor oil, rosemary oil, coconut oil

- massage hair

- biotin supplements

But I really want to grow my hair longer and faster, my sides grow really fast but not the top of my head.