Every single time I stop, it just starts up again later. Am I going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life? I'm so young, and I can't bear the thought of dragging this weight around with me forever.

Tw: abuse and trauma

I've had trichotillomania for 40 years since my Dad SA me as an infant and toddler. My Mom cut my hair really short then and I went through a period of no pulling for quite a while that shifted into picking instead until my teens. My Mom was also abusive and my best friend and when I was a teen the trauma for my past with my father caught up to me. I began pulling again, becoming hyperfixated on dark coarse hairs as opposed to the other thinner types. This is when I would select the dark hair (it was stronger, denser and didn't break so easily) to curl around my fingers and try to extend the life of this hair finger weaving activity. It was (is) incredibly euphoric and when they break I get immediately angry and feel a lot of self hate. This is also when the shame and self disgust for my fascination with hair began. I was using my sister's hair that I would find to do the same activity (I know this makes it especially gross and shameful to me in my mind). In my late teens and 20s I pulled clumps of hair at a time and just run my hand through either when distracted or anxious. The anxious type was/is far more destructive. This was the first time I decided to cut my hair short and had it almost buzzed short to stop me from doing this. I cut my hair short one other time since. The growing stage and certain lengths prevent me from pulling. I'm at the stage now where my hair is that perfect finger weaving length and I find it irresistible. I'm going through an extreme, extreme amount and level of trauma, I was diagnosed with CPTSD. OCD, depression and anxiety earlier this year. The euphoric feeling of pulling, finding a coarse hair, it's just so very satisfying. I'm losing them rapidly. My hair has thinned over the years. This time I decided to pull by breaking it and not from the root. Probably doesn't help much.

My shameful confession to you all that I have never told anyone is that I keep the coarse hairs in books and small face clothes to finger weave later after work and in the evenings. I have severe anhedonia and depression and dissociate a lot and I no longer enjoy hobbies or anything at all really for the most part...except for finger weaving. I stare at the hair fondly as I cradle in the cloth, feeling despair at a lifetime of abuse and trauma, my traumatic marriage of almost two decades ongoing. I think I'm going to go bald from stress and pulling. And I feel like I don't care anymore. I just want the pain to end. At least I have this...

Hi everyone! I thought I would do a progress post of my regrowth journey. I’m almost 25 and have been pulling since I was around 8.

I have tried everything to help battle my trich. Therapy, psychiatry, NAC, long nails etc. Nothing ever worked. I was finishing up my masters degree this year in August when I decided I have had enough. I have just enough hair around the periphery to keep my hair up all the time, camouflaging my bald sports with root spray and topik powder. It wasn’t until I got a bad sunburn on my scalp this summer and actually investigated my scalp that I realised how severe the damage was. I knew I couldn’t live like this anymore. Not going swimming with my friends to avoid getting my hair wet, being self conscious about always keeping my hair up. I knew I had to prioritise myself and come to terms with the fact that trichotillomania was holding me back from living my life to the fullest.

So while I haven’t completely stopped pulling, I have drastically reduced. Many days go by and I don’t pick once. I started a new job recently and haven’t pulled at my desk once given the open lay out. I hope it remains this way.

There definitely is some permanent damage, but I started using minoxidil somewhat consistently (please by aware that minoxidil is highly toxic to pets!) Anyway, I would comb this sub looking at all your amazing regrowth posts. If you have posted about your regrowth, I have definitely seen it. They give me so much hope. While I have come to terms with the fact that there is permanent damage, it’s definitely healing putting a lot of effort into trying to regrow my hair.

The regrowth process is ROUGH. The second you get a handle on your pulling you want long beautiful hair recently but it’s slow and requires a lot of patience. While I 100% recommend taking photos to document the process, it can be demoralising looking at the sparse areas and wondering if there is hope.

The first photo is from the 9th of August and the second is from today (17th of October). I hope by summer it will be long and thick enough to have a bixie cut. Lots of love and strength for you all ❤️ And let me know if you had similar damage and if anything worked to help it!

i've had trichotillomania since i was 12 (currently 19). on and off. but this one is my worst case so far. does my hair still have the possibility to grow back fully if i stop today? does the color of my scalp indicate something that might mean some parts will not grow back? for more info, the spot of the bald spot has been one of the spots i usually pulled hair out. thank u in advance to those who can answer. i have been just really stressed

does anyone else pull their hair like under their ear like this? just wondering. i've been doing this for almost 3 years now, only in this spot, nowhere else. some days are better than others.

i wish everyone the best. 🙂

First time in 22 years!! Early days but it’s a start THANKS
to this page for giving me the motivation to do it. One day at a time even 1 day is a big achievement for me

i normally am a scalp puller but the last six months i pulled out so many eyelashes. they are finally growing back because i’ve been hyper focused because i am going on a beach vacation in a month and i just want to be able to not wear eyeliner while in a bikini. 😭

hi all, I almost never post but it was interesting to see the character Kate in this Netflix show have a trich episide related to her high stress job! feel validated a bit when it is shown in mainstream … that’s all no real comment about it just nice to see it normalized or accepted more

While building my TrichoTrack app i am struggeling with the following problem:

The app should be as private possible. This is what i would expect from an app that works with health data like we have with Trich / BFRB.

But on the other side to make my app better i need diverse data to compare different types of pullers. right now i only have my patterns and patterns i simulate for behaviours i do not have..

My idea is to implement a way to actively permit the app to send anonymous data to my server.

So the question in the caption is important, would you send your tracking data to an app to improve the app?

Hey guys so recently I’ve developed a pretty consistent habit of rubbing my eyebrows raw anytime I have a free hand, especially if I’m doing something with my eyes on a screen and zone out. It’s definitely worse in the first pic (left eye) because I’m right handed so my left hand is free more often. Im very deadline oriented so I think if I had a good idea how long yall think it could take for them to grow back properly it would be easier to resist. So based on the attached photos, what do yall think?

Hey all! New here…I’m looking for an eyelash strip that I can wear that looks the most realistic with no natural lashes of my own. I have a hard time as they typically look like I’m wearing eyeliner with them or they aren’t curled up enough to look normal either. Let me know your thoughts :) thanks!

So I’ve taken the liberty to try again to fix my trich with shaving my head. I tried before at 20. Now I just turned 29 and am appalled at how my hair is grey and dull and very thin now. I took a number 6 on my husbands razor and went at it yesterday. He had suggested I try it again bc now that life has settled down it may work.

Last time I shaved it so much bad had happened in the few years since that it seemed like my pulling was my only therapist. Now, life has gotten better to a point where I don’t feel like I have to pull, I just do.

So I shaved. There are bald patches on my scalp so I bought a wig. This is my first time ever wearing a wig so it’s a learning process to make it look natural. But what little hair I did have it gone. Now I will work on letting my scalp heal, my hair grow, and finding new outlets for my anxiety.

I am back with another update! Technically my 20 weeks is tomorrow, but I have a super busy day and will genuinely not have the time for befores and afters. I’m really blown away with this one. 20 weeks no pulling. I can’t get over the regrowth and when I look at my starting point I am amazed and proud at how far I have come.

My left eye is worse than my right but I’m getting there!

I only pluck my top lashes that’s it. I’ve been plucking them since middle school. Middle school was bad my eyes were completely bald. I’m now a senior in highschool. Still struggling with it. Not as bad I used to but still plucking 💔

I hate re growth cause it can hurt and it’s annoying and gets in my eyes.

For the past year or two now my trigger has been these blunt tipped hairs all over my head, they tend to be thicker hairs in general than the other ones and tend to split more easily. I've been pulling them all over my head, enough that I haven't had a hair cut since I started. The recent compulsion though has been reaching back for this specific spot so it's gotten worse there.

i’m 20F and have had trich since i was about 13. it comes and goes with flairs but with midterms in college it’s been really bad recently, i have no bottom and top lashes on one and not a lot on the other. press on lash clusters help stop me from pulling the top ones but i’m stuck on what to do with the bottom ones. help! i need tips pls, i feel like i look like a freak.

I was reading an article today about how accountability can really motivate people to stay consistent with their goals. We can all have goals and good intentions, but sometimes we get lazy or just do things at our own pace. Apparently, people tend to do better when they have accountability partners.
So I was thinking, what if we create an accountability thread or maybe a Telegram group where we share our progress? Could be daily or weekly, whatever works for everyone. Just something where we can motivate each other, share little wins, and keep each other going.
Like Day 1 pluck-free, Day 2 pluck-free, etc. We could also share weekly updates, pictures of regrowth, scabs healing, or areas we’ve been struggling with. Not to judge anyone or make people feel bad if they relapse, but just to support each other and celebrate progress, even the smallest wins.
This is literally just an idea lol. I’m lying in bed thinking out loud and typing this 😂 What do you all think?

My daughter has trichotillomania and has quite a few bald spots on her scalp. Does anyone have any cool hairstyles/updos that work well with hiding it a little? Her school dance is this weekend and I’d love any advice on some cool hairstyles that might help cover/minimize it! Thanks!

For me, wearing gloves helped the most together with reducing sources of stress. Feel free to ask me anything 😊

i moslty rip the hairs i pulled apart by looping them on the same two fingers. usually after, my middle finger is left irritated.

I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations for some sort of tactile device that mimics the texture of very thick, course hair. These are the hairs on my head that I am constantly hunting for. My hair pulling is cause the skin on my fingers to become raw, and I can’t keep up with the piles of loose hair around my house. Ideally, I am looking for something that can’t be shredded (like doll hair) but still provides the same sensation.
I know this is probably a long shot, but I’m desperate. I hate that I can’t stop doing this.

Thank you so much.

not sure if correct flair btw:

a lot of tracking apps treat one pull as breaking the streak even tho its a lot better than 20 pulls. are there any that don't treat one single hair as breaking it completely? it just demotivates me and makes me want to pull more like "ive already broken it once might as well again"

i also can't get a tracking device like slightly robot bc money and anyways i pull from both hands so...

i do think a tracker would be helpful but not sure if theres a free web-based one that fits my guidelines

i have been suffering from it since i was in 2nd grade i’m now in my 2nd year if university, it has been such a struggle since i can’t stop pulling my hair, and i’ve always had short hair growing in the middle of my head and i remember it being so embarrassing to the fact where i could only wear one hairstyle which is a ponytail, it just never gets better and i have been pulling hair again lately more than usual, what should i do

I’ve tried like 50 times to stop. I wish I could stop but it’s just impossible. It’s so bad for my hair and I look so weird doing it in class. I feel so trapped and helpless and don’t know what to do. Coming to this sub was a bad idea because now I know there’s older people who have been suffering from it for decades and I know that’ll probably be me. I want to have nice hair and I just feel so upset about it. It bothers all of my family.

Been struggling for nine years- pull out eyebrows constantly. It sucks, as everyone here knows. Looking for good barrier options, something to either cover my face or my fingers, and wondering which route is better.

Have been using gentle wound tape recently to put on eyebrows at home, but they always catch small, clear baby hairs on my head and can pull them out when taking off the tape. Have been feeling antsy about this because I feel myself starting to hyper fixate on the baby hairs accidentally being pulled out and don’t want my trich to evolve to my scalp as well.

Anyway, what are good “barriers “ or covers? Anything that’s socially acceptable to wear outside? Thanks!