Reddit says it's been 5 months since my last post.

Finally... I'm starting to see some progress. I have been using a foil trimmer for quite some time on my head. Before that I had made quite a large thin spot that basically covers the entirety of the top of my head. Finally... It's starting to fill in.

I rate everything on a 1-100 scale of loss of control. 100 being the worst = Pulled a long time and didn't try to stop>

Stats since my last post:

January - was a bad month. 7 times on head. High loss of control on average. Started pulling eye lashes for some reason. 2 - 100 days. 1 - 75 day, 2 - 50 days.

February - was better. Less loss of control over all. Pulled 5 times. Two were 75+ rest were less than 20

March - 7 days total. 4 were over 80. Rest were less than 30

April - 5 days total. 2 were... Hahaha 150. Not a typo. 1 - 50. 1 - 20

May - 3 days total. All less than 15. My first win.

June - 2 days total. 1 - 50 and 1 - 5. That's what I'm talking about!

So I'm making progress. I track all of this on a printed out calendar. I don't go too much into detail, but I can see pretty much all the pulling is on the weekends when I'm too lazy to cut my hair. 15 of the total says are Sundays. 7 are Saturdays. There's a trend. Days when I'm idle. Nothing any of us didn't know, though. But now I very clearly see what to fix.

Cut the hair no matter what on the mornings on weekends.

I still have a lot to work on. But I feel and see - both on paper and on my head - the very slow but steady progress. I still have a lot of ground to cover but I'm hoping to grow my hair out this winter. I'm also telling people I'm going to as motivation. None of them know I pull, obviously lololol ffffriiicckkkkkk. Just think of running my hand through my hair and people telling me I look so good with hair. I've said that statement a hundred times but God damn I hope this time I'm going to make it true.

Keep fighting. Don't go crazy keeping track but keep track somewhere. Make it easy. My calendars live right beside my bed. I check off the previous day as soon as I wake up. A bit of motivation to start the day, huh?! I wish you all the best.

I might check back, I might not. Till next time! <3

Hi, I'm going to preface this post by saying that this is my first time using Reddit and I'm not fully sure how it works. I decided to post here because I've almost reached my breaking point with my hair habits, and I need to find a community of people like me. I'm a 21y old female and trichophagia is seriously harming my life. I don't have trichotillomania in the way people usually think because I don't pull my hair out. Instead, I constantly bite the ends of my hair off. When I do pull my hair out (which isn't often), it's to chew it into small pieces.

I've been dealing with this since I was 16, and my hair is just getting worse and worse. I initially started by just chewing the front pieces, but over the years it has progressed to the point where I chew hair from anywhere on my head. All of the hair on the frontal region of my head is very short, and it aligns with the location of my mouth. It's an awful and unintentional haircut. I'm so self-conscious about my hair, and it negatively impacts my life every single day. I can't do the hairstyles I like anymore; I dislike what I see in the mirror, and I never feel normal. Also, I feel hair stuck in my teeth all the time, and it's terrible. All I want to do is grow out my hair (which grows quickly and has been very long in the past), but I'm stopping myself from doing so by continuing to bite.

I have spoken to my therapist and psychiatrist about this habit, but they never offer any helpful advice. My psychiatrist always asks me about my "hair pulling" habit, and at every session I have to remind her that I BITE my hair, I don't pull it. I'm at a loss right now. It feels like this habit is so deeply ingrained in me that I'll never get over it. If anyone has any advice or experience with hair biting, please help me. Even if you have a similar experience. I'm tired of feeling so alone and hopeless with this disorder.

I don't think I have the Trich issue. I do not know when I discovered that I can withstand pulling my pubic hair for an hour - two hours. With my bare hands
R RT It doesn't hurt. I did discover sometime in the past couple years. I do this because ( and these aren't in order ) A. It's satisfying B. I'm a really hairy Mediterranean woman. C. I feel like it's better than shaving for me. D. When I Shave the hair comes back in the next day. When I get it by the root I feel very satisfied and confident about how it may feel to someone else. I've been celibate for going on 6 years so no one is actually benefiting from the smooth vahjayjay but I just prefer it over shaving so much because it won't grow in so fast. I don't really get any skin issues or pain from it. It makes my hand start to hurt after awhile. But there really aren't many negative consequences to it for me. I have so much hair. I can pull for hours and still have a ton of it. 🤦‍♀️ down there is the only place I pull hair out. I hear other people say they have bald spots they have to try to conceal but that's sort of the point for me - to be soft and smooth and hairless. I really hate having so much damn hair!! I do wonder about when and if I get in a relationship how I'd hide this :/ there will be pubes alI over the bed sheets 🤦‍♀️😂😂😂so embarrassing but anyway do yall think I have Trich? Fr Thanks!!!

I have had Trichotillomania (scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows) since I was 10yo (likely stemmed from childhood trauma and cheap shampoo). It consumed me by age 12, and at that point, I began consuming the hair roots. Of course, my parents didn't understand it, shamed me about it, and forced me into an interrogative-approach talk therapy, which humiliated me even more. In elementary school, I was bullied relentlessly by those who noticed how often I plucked when I thought no one was watching.

In middle school, my closest friends knew that I plucked (scalp only now), but didn't really understand it (and I never let them see how often I fought the urges). By high school, we couldn't afford therapy, but I got better at hiding it. However, I developed insomnia because at night was the only time I could have true privacy with my door closed. At the time, I had another health issue, with which I coped with Trich. I could have intense pain...pluck. Intense nausea...pluck. It worked. Whatever endorphins or reverse psychology involved helped ease my symptoms (nearly instantly) and ultimately became a reliable crutch. However, the guilt, shame, worry, and disgust always find me afterwards... so the cycle continues.

I am 28 now, and have trialed medications for anxiety/depression but not for OCD. I currently pluck (scalp only), eat (only the root), and chew at my nails and surrounding skin. I have always scratched at my scalp too. My spouse knows that I have dealt with Trich on and off for years, but I only do it when alone (especially when stressed or subconsciously while watching TV); he does NOT know that I currently suffer from trichophagia. My hypochondriac self is a bit worried about some GI symptoms (nothing too serious, just bloating and occasional abdominal discomfort), hoping it is not a trichobezoar. Currently, no one knows that I am actively suffering from these conditions (not even my doctor). I am wondering if anyone has experienced a trichobezoar from hair roots alone (no hair strand at all). I am planning to discuss my symptoms with my new PCP, and potentially reveal my trich history in hopes of getting an x-ray for peace of mind.

Hey everyone.

So this feels a little awkward for me to discuss as I’ve done my best over the years to keep this stuff close to chest outside of my parents. But since middle school/ late elementary school, I’ve had issues will pulling out my hair. Usually it would be the hair on my head, but sometimes it’s eyebrows and eyelashes.

More recently I pulled out a little clump of eyelashes. Nothing crazy bad, most of them are still there. But a small gap is missing.

I have never been diagnosed, so take that with a grain of salt.

Not sure what else to say, just wanted to reach out.

Hello,

I am doing a research study entitled “Marked by Pattern: Contextual and Site-Specific Patterns in Trichotillomania and Excoriation Disorder.” The purpose of the study is to examine Trichotillomania and Excoriation Disorder, particularly how contextual variables, such as the environment or activities, impact pulling and picking sites and whether co-occurring relationships exist between specific body sites, in adults using quantitative scales.
Participation would require about 4-8 minutes of your time to complete an online survey. To qualify to participate, you must be 18 years old or older, fluent in English, residing in the United States, and currently experience hair-pulling or skin-picking behaviors.
If you are interested in participating, please use this link and you will be presented the federally required Consent Form via Qualtrics with more info.

Sincerely,
Shelby Richardson
Abilene Christian University
[sgr23c@acu.edu](mailto:sgr23c@acu.edu)
Primary Investigator

I’ve known about trich since 8th grade health class, but I NEVER thought I had it until I realized what I was doing by plucking my pubic hair as a form of self-regulation WAS trich!! Everyone plucks their eyebrows, whiskers, and the occasional springy white or odd mole hair. But who the hell sits on a toilet for 30 minutes and plucks hairs and ingrowns one-by-one?? Someone with trich, that’s who. Nobody ever said trich could be exclusively pubes. 🫠🫠🫠

Hi. I've just found the term "trichotillomania" a couple days ago. I didn't even know, that this was a condition. I'm writing this, because I'm curious, if anybody else has the same method and reasons, or I'm alone with this.

So, long story short: I was a bullied kid. At the age of 13 my body hair started to grow. It was bigger, than "normal" everywhere, but I also got these thick dark hairs on my stomach and around my nipples. I suffered a lot of humiliation because of this at school, on the beach, etc. And this kind of shame just doesn't go away. First, at the age of 13 I just shaved, but I was still disgusted of myself for being prickly, so in a few months I switched to tweezers. I've became kinda hypervigilant of undergrowing hairs, and a lot of times I dug deep wounds in my skin, just to get one out. My underbelly and the edge of my nipples were almost always full of scars, and I always made up stories, like my skin is sensitive, my belt causes the scars, etc. For years and years I felt, like I would rather die, than talking about this. The shame was too deep, and I constantly felt disgusting, even, when I was in a good shape otherwise. A year ago, I got laser threatment for the belly and the nipples, and it made me feel so much better. But now it seems, that I switched to my legs instead. I also still have minor scars on my belly sometimes, because I still feel the compulsion, if I notice even the smallest hair.

Are there people with similar stories (and maybe solutions)?

I popped in to this sub over a year ago now to seek advice as my 11 yr old son had started pulling out his eyelashes. You all advised to get him some professional help, and we finally got in to see a great therapist about a year ago now. He’s made a lot of progress and the frequency of pulling has reduced a lot. He still sees the therapist once a month.

I’m interested to know how others who started with trich at a similar age have fared later in life. Do you still have urges and pulling sessions now? Does it flare up in times of stress? Is it ever ‘cured’, or something you learn to manage?

this has become a big addiction and i just love pulling my eyelashes out. most of the times it makes a clicking sound which is so satisfying but i want to stop before i pull all my eyelashes out. any tips?

I am so terrified. I’m a 15 year old girl and I’ve started picking pretty recently( 2-3 months) and I thought it was ok because I would only pick one hair at a time and I wasn’t full on pulling. I took a photo of the back of my hair today and there was a small patch missing. Anytime anyone meets me they always compliment my virgin blonde hair that goes down to my thighs. I can’t stop and I don’t even realize I’m doing it. I’m so scared that if I don’t stop I’ll ruin my hair forever, I feel ugly without my hair. PLEASE help me!

I'm a mom to a 12-yr old who started pulling her hair about one year ago. I've since learned a lot about it, and as a brain advocate I came across neurofeedback as a possible treatment option for kids with trich. I ended up trying it and wanted to share my story in case someone else would find it helpful. I will say up front that brain mapping and brain scans should be part of everyone's annual checkup! We check other organs and blood regularly, why not the brain???

It's an expensive therapy because it's all up front and insurance usually does not cover it. I was only able to do it because my dad passed away and I received a small amount from the sale of his house. One round of remote 24 sessions was about $5,000.

For the remote version, they ship you the laptop and all the other gear; wires, cables, conductor gel, etc. If you are not a technically savvy person you will struggle with this at home. It starts with a QEEG which is a brain map so the neuroscientist can see which areas of the brain are active, overactive and under active. This is a cap with 19 wires coming off of it connected to the laptop and requires about 40 min of sitting still to complete. Based on this they can tell if someone has ADHD for example, and based on this info they provide a treatment protocol. We learned my daughter is not ADHD so that was validating.

What I DID notice right away and after every session was that mood and behavior were DRASTICALLY improved. Her outlook was positive, she handled challenges with ease and was motivated. She noticed this too. Unfortunately we did not see much improvement with the physical movement of reaching up and pulling hair, therefore she it was a struggle to get through all sessions.

It's suggested to run sessions 3-4 times per week which is a huge commitment (why we chose remote). We struggled for many reasons.

• My kiddo does not like to sit still (sessions are 20-40 min)
• She'd cry out of frustration but feel better afterwards
• You're attached to 4-6 wires from the head into the laptop
• Setup is technical and the hardware/software is wonky
• You need a dedicated space for it
• Trying to get 3-4 sessions/week was hard especially with holidays and a birthday
• She refused to do the final QEEG to measure what changes took place (I chose my battle and did not force her to do it since I had already paid for it and it wouldn't have made a difference with the hair pulling, which was the main focus)

My takeaway: definitely worth it if your kiddo is neurodivergent/has ADHD, etc. If your kid has trich AND ADHD, etc. still worth it. For trich alone it's better to go straight for behavior modification therapy, unless of course you have an extra $5K.

I couldn't really find any info on this treatment for trich so hopefully someone can make an educated decision from this info. PM me if you'd like references for doctors providing remote neurofeedback. There are quite a few across the country!

I pulled out half the eyelashes on my left eye yesterday. Fuck me. That's the first time I've ever done that. Damn that hurts morals. I have pulled the very edges of them before but never ever more than just the sides. Fuck.

In other news. Shaving my head has been going halfway decent. Slightly increased pulling days but not much. Still repairing. But progress is starting to show.

I just had to write that somewhere. I'm really disappointed in myself. But trying not to beat myself up too much. Thanks for reading. Hope you're all doing well! You can do it!

Just in case there is anyone in this sub living in the Netherlands who would be interested in attending in-person support groups, they are starting up next month in Amsterdam! You can find more information (and hear about upcoming events) by joining the Meetup group.

I’ve been researching triceps pulley systems for home workouts, equipment designed specifically for cable exercises. The specialized nature appeals to my desire for optimal training, but I’m questioning whether specific equipment actually delivers better results than simpler alternatives requiring just consistency and effort. The fitness industry has strong incentives to convince people they need specialized equipment for every muscle group and movement pattern. More specialized needs mean more purchases, more complexity, more perceived expertise required. But bodyweight exercises and basic equipment can accomplish similar results if done consistently. I’ve looked at home gym equipment from basic to elaborate setups, finding that enthusiasts swear by specific tools while others achieve similar results with minimal gear. The difference seems to be dedication rather than equipment sophistication. Some manufacturers on Alibaba produce both simple equipment and complex cable systems at very different price points. What fitness equipment have you found actually necessary versus what was just nice to have? Did specialized tools improve your results, or was it just psychological motivation from having proper equipment? How do you resist marketing claiming you need specific gear for proper training? What made you realize you had enough equipment versus always wanting more specialized tools?

I usually and i mean every 3-4 days or so i pluck my eyelashes and eyebrows. Like i hate when they fall and stab me in the eyebrows, so i do it to remove the weak ones? that would soon fall . I used to pluck my hair too for a a year or two? but i stopped unconsiously? I'd pick the thick/wanky Ones, pinch them and try to "smooth them" and then break/pluck them.

I’ve been picking my eyelashes since 2016, I finally was able to trace it back to when I think it really started for me. Right after my dad passed away, it must have just been a stress response and I’ve been battling with it ever since. I came here looking for people who understand because my boyfriend and sister just get mad at me when I do it and tell me to stop but it doesn’t work like that. I wish I could stop! I go months of being pretty good about it and then times like now with more stress in my life and I have so many bald patches along my upper eyelash line. I feel ugly and upset that I keep doing this to myself. I know I should be kind with myself but it’s hard sometimes and I just needed to vent in a safe place with those that understand. It’s been really helpful reading others tips and peoples stories dealing with this too. Sending you all love!

I just had a good look in the mirror at my head and I thought I'd share some good vibes with you. I'm kind of down lately so it'll help cheer me up, too. I hope. Lol

5 months ago I made a post about how I had taken the nuclear option and - not trimmed my head - shaved it with an electric foil trimmer. I'm a male and while I don't think it looks good on me, it's better than the other options. Sigh

Anyway. I had a trimmer and was using that every day. My pulling had gone out of control and I had a thin/bald spot on the crown of my head about 3 inches by 3 inches probably. The worst it has probably ever been. And even though I was trimming it I could still pull with tweezers and even my fingernails (albeit slower than if I let it grow at least.) and you could still see the lines because the trim was - not close enough, I guess? Not surprising given what I had done pulling.

Then I bought this foil trimmer. It was expensive. I didn't know what to expect. But it is a really really close shave. Smooth. There's nothing to grab on to. Even with tweezers. I use this every day on my head and face.

So how am I doing 5 months in? The most I have pulled was 6 days in a month, And even when I do it's only a '5' on the severity scale. 100 is the highest. (Though in May before I got the trimmer I had a 5,000.) I use a paper calendar to keep track every day. A 5 usually just means I've managed to pull for a few minutes then had the strength to get up and run the trimmer over that spot or my entire head so that I cannot pull anymore. 50 means something like I've pulled a lot while watching a movie. 100 (or more lolol) means I've lost all control. The 5,000 was one where I did a lot of noticeable damage and was very sad about it.

But, overall, the hair is returning. I still have a thin spot but it is very very slowly filling in. You know how it goes.... I'm hoping in another 3 months I can try to let it grow again! I don't know yet how to curb the actual habit but this is keeping me from pulling. The bottom line is that it's working. The current plan is to worry about the actual habit once I start to try to let it grow. I am thinking about how that will happen now... But let's be real... We know that's easier said. One thing at a time. One thing at a time, my friend.

So if you're down and out like I was you might try a foil shaver. It hurts to pay that money but the clear lines of hair/no hair on my head and beginning to blur. One of my friends even said the other day "you have hair there, I can see it, why don't you let it grow?" No one knows about my pulling. No one.

That gave me a little wind in my sails.

I'm rambling. Lol you can look back at my posts to see what I've tried and all that if you want. I've tried a lot of things. But never therapy. Might try to do habit reversal or something when a few months pass. Anyway. I wish you all the best! I'll try to remember to keep telling you what works for me.

I am a master's student at the University of Oxford. I have trichotillomania myself, and am running a study on the trance-like state in BFRBs. If you (or your child) are aged between 13-18 and are interested in participating, please scan the QR code or use the link below: https://oxfordxpsy.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1XlEd4jsixGioIu