About eyelashes and stuff

Congrats on your weight loss! It seems that weight loss is always needed when a person is under lots of pressusre, stress, or has too many things to do at one time. It just says how incredible those pounds lost really are! Keep up the good work! It's wonderful that you're honoring your self worth in this way. Ij

Hi, I found your blog today, and I just wanted to wish you the very best of luck with overcoming your trich and accomplishing your weight goals! Although I'm only 16 years old, we're kind of alike... I used to have a (pretty mild) case of trich; I only pulled my eyelashes. And I've lost 10 pounds in the past few months! Hahaha.

So yeah, I now have pretty decent eyelashes, but they're still a bit... Empty looking *cries*. At one point, I thought that they would stop growing completely, because there was a period where nothing grew for like 2 weeks. It was just because I put so much eyeliner on, though. Sigh, bad memories.

I'm now living happily again, only pulling a maximum of 4 lashes, when I'm really overcome with the urge to do it. This comment is so long already!! I hope you can keep up your great progress, and good luck again!

Wow, look how many people you are helping! You're just full of ideas lately. Thats so cool.
Your sis
P.S. I dont wear mascara either for the same reason.
Gee maybe I should put Vaseline on my eyebrows? Wouldnt THAT be a cool look for me? heeee

I'm 16 too, and have been a trichotillomaniac since I was about 10 (I can't exactly remember when it started). I know it began by pulling the hair on the top of my head - my parents and the doctors thought it was a fungal infection. It may have been that too, but I was too ashamed to tell anyone what I was doing. I don't touch my head much anymore, except for a few hairs here and there; barely noticeable. But it's moved to my eyelashes and eyebrows. I haven't had eyelashes properly for years, except for when I was homeschooling. It's stress-related. Usually they grow back during the summer, but this time they haven't; if anything, it's gotten worse, and I don't know why. Even though I've been trying to stop...
I got away for years looking like I just plucked my eyebrows really oddly, but that's getting serious too. I'm so ugly! (and I know that's not helping anything)

I've been following your blog for a while - thanks, you really inspire me. I'll see if any of these tips help. Good luck on the weight loss, and here's to overcoming trich once and for all!

Kirsty, I know exactly what you are going through. I am 36 and have had on and off problems with pulling out my eyelashes and eyebrows since the age of 12. Seems I could go years without pulling and then something, which I have not pinpointed, starts it all over again. This is the first time;however, I have pulled all my eyelashes and eyebrows out. I have been to the doctor to see if it was related to Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, anxiety, etc. I have been on all the meds at high and low doses and I still have the problem. I recently have read about ADD(Attention Defecit Disorder) and Trich being in the same category of "Impulse" Disorders. I have an appointment to see my doctor on Monday. I took an Adult Screen Questionairre and I have all the signs of ADD. I grew up with problems concentrating, not following through with projects I started, and feeling as if I should constantly be doing something. I read how pulling hairs could be a symptom of someone with ADD. It gives a person a sense of meditation and allows them to
focus whereas normally that is hard to do with ADD. If there is anything I can suggest to you to kind of put a band-aid on the embarrassment of having no eyebrows, check into a website called "Beautibrow". I read along the way about someone else with the exact same problem and these eyebrows that are temporary tattoos look great and don't wash off when wet. I was embarrassed to even have to go such a route, but I did and I have to admit they have made me feel a whole lot more confident. I hope I, you, as well as everyone else in this same boat, gets past the pulling. I hope some of this has helped you.

Hi, My name is Jane, I posted a comment on a website yesterday Im not sure if this is the one but here goes, Im 49 and have been pulling my eyeyelashesince highschool, I never understood why, I just thought it was a bad habit and didnt tell anybody, and would hide it. I saw something on t.v a few nights ago, and was so happy there is a name for this thing and Im not alone, Im finding a lot of information on the internet and feeling better about it already. Its been 3 days without pulling, I have a doctors appointment today with a new doctor Im thinking about telling him, Im being treated for depression now, hes really going to think Im nuts. Thank you for helping me, I cant tell you how much this means to me.

Ive gone to the doctors since my last entry, and he believes me, my last doctor i went to , I finally got the guts to tell him and he said oh its just a nervous habit, so i put it off yet again, now this doctor understands, I explained to him, its not just the pulling, its what happens before i do it,anxiety, watching t.v., anything and then when i pull, i feel a sense of gratification, and I rub it on my lip and sometimes bite it, i dont swallow it thank god,but im just so relieved i saw the show a couple of weeks ago, I dont feel so alone, nobody in my family knows, now I feel I have someone to talk to, and get more information. My doctor upped my dose of celexa, to see if that might help, so far im pullfree, Im taking advise about not wearing mascara, and vaseline, and keeping a diary, and tapping my fingers when I get urges. I honestyl think I have ADD, I struggled in school, I bearly got by, I felt stupid and ashamed that I couldnt keep up or concentrate. Im really starting to understand this disorder. Thank you again, Im still pull free, my goal is to have a full set of eyelashes on my left eye for my 50th birtday, however long it lasts you never know, but Im really aware of it know, Im trying so hard

Hi, I started pulling my eyelashes around the age of 7 and I was able to stop until about age 9. Now I'm 15 and have almost stopped, but every once in a while I get the urge to pull one out. They are pretty long on the outer edges of my eye but are REALLY sparse on the rest. Will they ever grow back? I am totally sick of looking like a freak all the time.

Oh, and good luck to everyone here! You can make it through!

hairpulling i was told started when i was 7 about the time my beloved cat was put down. it stopped and at age 8 my gran died which i think is when i started. parents took my too drs, hypnotherapists to no avail. i did not know why i did it. Self soothing in hindsight. I stopped 12 & not wanting to go to high school looking horrid after years of praying to god to help me stop because of the teasing of peers, taunting from parents & family members. I was so alone. Age 12 i took up picking pimples on my back, chest where ever they popped up & still do to this day. I also took to pulling out very very bushy eyebrows after i was teased. Now at 34 i still pull out my eyebrows because i think that the hairs feel to thick & are not in place. I'm a great eyebrow drawer yet am tired of this ridiculous behaviour. the only times i've stopped is when i learnt vipassana medition. when i stop meditating i start pulling the hair again.
Tired of doing this...stress & anxiety, fustration that my life is not on track in areas and I take it out on myself the bottled up anger. I hope this helps others recognise what triggers us to 'pull'. I now pray that i'll stop the plucking of eyebrows, upperlip, chin & picking of pimples, one day soon. Maybe its so i will fit in and be 'perfect' in a parents eyes...though

I am PERFECT in my Own eyes as I Am NOW!

A bird may be known by its song... Timothy

First think, then speak... Ninion

Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves... Pierce

Don't put all your eggs in one basket... Pompey

To come off with flying colours... Juliana

New lords, new laws... Matthew

New lords, new laws... Matthew

A close mouth catches no flies... Faith

A fair face may hide a foul heart... Silvester

I came across this site doing a google search on eyebrow and eyelash picking. I didn't know the name as Trich....I have never seen a doctor about it and have been picking since about the age of 7 and am now 34. I always color in the bald spots with black eyeliner on my eyes and eyebrows. I don't like talking to people too close because I dont' want them to see my imperfections. I also try to keep my hair covered over my brows a bit for the same reason. Maybe I do need to see a doctor for help. I know that stress will trigger my hair pulling and I'm just really exhausted about the whole thing...I've been told so many times how beautiful my eyes are...but..if people only knew how much I cover up.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. This is the first time in my life that I've ever approached my issue.

Hi, ok, here it goes. I've pulled my eyelashes out and occasionally eyebrows since I was 7. Totally stress related. Now I'm 15. Its all consuming, and really not easy to go through. I've never been on meds, random therapist meetings, but thats over diffrent things. Life is odd and "pulls" at you for weird things, but you have to learn not to tug back I guess. And boy is it HARD! alright, I feel better!!!!

I've been plucking my eyelashes from 6 years old i am now 31. Today is the first time I have ever researched it I always thought - bad habit, I am glad to know I am not alone in my struggle. Tired of the stares and the questions. It is hard on my self confidence and I am scared to wear false ones since I think it will stop the new ones coming out. Help!!

I have no eyebrows. I am 19 and i have been doing this since i was about 14. I just want to stop. I haven't gone to a dr. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm tired of having to draw in my eyebrows and avoid the beach.

I have this aswell a few years back i puled my eyelashews out but they grew back over the past few years i've not touched them a all but recently ive been wearing mascara everyday and today i pulled at them and half came out, i dont know what to do please help? ill get bullied at school if i dont stop

i have had the problem of pulling my eyelashes for about 3 yrs now, I am now 18 and still cant stop. I fight the urges at times and win but only for about a month 3 at the most until something happens, which I can never find out what, but something happens and then i end up pulling again. When I do pull at them i dont notice im doing it untill im done and look at myself in the mirror and see that I have none to few left. Its that bad. Or i'll finally catch myself when my fingers miss the lashes and end up pinching the skin, which hurts so much btw!! This is a huge deal fr me as i used to have beautiful eyes. My dad gets on me about it all the time and so do people at school. Not too mention that i wear contacts and glasses not being able to wear my contacts unless i have enough eyelashes to pass the look of having none. I'm so scared to talk to people because i am one of those who has great eye contact and am always affraid that someone will have great eye contact back and then end up noticing. I have to wear thick eye liner to cover it up but lately im in a rush to school where i have no time for makeup and thats when im most self concious about my habit. I just found out theres a name, trich, and never googles it untill tonight. im also looking for a bf but am afraid now that they find out they wont want me. im so fed up with it and want my beautifull eyelashes back! please someone help me. help me stop and also let me know if i should go to the drs for this or if there is meds over the counter i can take to help them grow faster? will i ever run out of eyelashes, im so affraid! this trich thing has me rying all the time, im at my lowest self confidence.......please email me and help

I am also a sufferer. Today is the first time I've researched it. I'm hoping that everything I have read will scare me into fixing my habit. My husband doesn't know. I managed to let all my lashes grow back in for our wedding but that was 5 months ago and they're mostly gone now. I want to try working through it one day at a time. I think it would be great to have someone to keep tabs on me, and I could keep tabs on them and we could work together. anyone interested?

It's such a relief to hear I'm not the only one! I only started like a year ago, not really caused by anything in particular that I can remember, but I just can't stop. I'm now 15, almost 16, and I've come pretty close to pulling out all my eyelashes, as well as the better part of my eyebrows. I've only recently starting pulling out of my scalp. I never knew that this was, like, a disorder, I thought it was just a bad habit. I even did the elastic thing where I snapped it everytime I caught myself pulling. I think next I'll try a shoelace around my finger to remind me that I just need to hold off until summer, so everything will be normal and I can go swimming without worrying about eyeliner or eyebrow pencil washing off.

At first I thought no one would notice that I drew my eyebrows on, but recently I've been getting comments from my peers and family about it, so I've taken to letting my hair fall right in front of my face so no one will see clearly even up close. I look down when someone feels the need to talk to me closely so they won't see my eyelashes, or lack thereof. I did, however, try using some hair growth thing that said "for men over 18 only" but I figured it was just going on my eyebrows, so how much harm could that cause? None thus far, but I think it's actually working a bit. It's quite possible it's just the placebo effect, except without a placebo, but that my thinking it's doing something is making me more confident that the hair is growing up. Mental tricks, I think that's what I'll try for a bit. I'll try quitting on my own before telling anyone. You know, this whole Trich thing isn't helping me one bit. I already had a very low self-esteem before this started, and this has just made it plummet even further.

Hi! My 9 year old daughter who is the greatest kid just started doing this about three weeks ago and has very few eyelashes left on her upper lashes. I have tried to be very calm and open when discussing this with her. Would you all please give me some advice on things your folks did that helped you or really didn't help in the beginning. Looking back on your own situations could you come up with any ideas that might help me now to save my daughter from years of pain with this? I aam so hoping there is some way to snuff this out early and even just replace it with some other habit if possible. Thank you so much for any ideas!

Dear Concerned Mom,
I started pulling sometime in high school or junior high and I remember my mom always being on my back about it. I didn't want to be doing what I was doing but I didn't know how to stop. She would always look at me and say how horrible it was, or catch me in the act and tell me to stop. Looking back now, I wish she would have said something like "I know this is hard for you but I want to help you stop so lets think of something we can do together" At present, if I had someone to help me that I wasn't embaressed to talk to, I would love the help. It's nice to have support. Also, perhaps you could show her this website. I ran onto it the other day and I have hardly pulled since! I think it just brought everything to reality for me and I have been very motivated to kill this thing!
Hope that helps.

I thought that I was the only one in the entire world with the problem of pulling out my lashes, but now I see that I am not.. I'll say, "after this 'one' I'm thru, and then.........

I thought that I was the only one in the entire world with the problem of pulling out my lashes, but now I see that I am not.. I'll say, "after this 'one' I'm thru, and then

i completely understand how all of yall feel i am only 18 and have been pulling out my eyelashes for years and now i barley have any left at all and it seems that no matter how hard i try not to i always seem to find my hands at my eyelashes. and now everytime i look at my eyes in the mirror all i want to do is cry which just makes things worse and pull out even more. a few months ago i auctually let my eyelashes grow back then about a month ago i had to take the sats and by the time i left they were all gone again, i just wish i knew how to stop completely!

Wow I'm 36 and I was watching MTV and a young girl had this problem then a light went off in my head. I have been pulling my lashes for about 24 years. Thank you for your ideas I will try and pray for deliverance.

hmm i was looking up this stuff because i wanted to know what i had as kid i think i was in third grade so i was about 10 i started pulling my hair...it acutally started with my eyebrows i think then my eyelashes in the cornors sometimes and then the top of my head....kids teased me and told me i had a bald spot so in order to hide it i always wore my hair up...however it stoped in about 8th was when it ended abrotly...actually i guess it was because people stoped being mean to me what i did though that seemed to kind of work was put eyeliner on my brows...

i pull out them two they keep growing for me

i pull out them two they keep growing for me

Sigh.. I;am 17 years old when i was 11 years old i was in school and was just bored pulling on my eye and a lash came out it was no big deal but after i a while i could not stop! its like a HUGE FORCE to do it i know i dont want to i know its not good but i cant help it its imbarising alwas looking down afraid people will notice if thear is any one out thear that can guide me threw this please contact me on my email or make a blog i want to stop so badly but it overcomes me.

I'm also in shock, I had NO idea that I wasn't the only one doing this. I'm 15 now and I've been at my eyelashes since I was 4/5. I don't know why I started and I haven't ever stopped completely. At one stage I could wear mascara but that was because I was trying so hard to be able to wear mascara for a dancing concert, after the concert I went downhill again.

My biggest obsession is with the inner and outer corners of my eyes. I mostly pluck when I'm lying in bed at night reading a boring book or a book that I'd read before. slowly but surely my hand goes up to my eyes and I run my finger along the lid, and if an eyelash feels like its sharp and irritates my fingers then my forefinger and thumb curl and pluck it out.

I highly doubt that I have ADD as I do really well in school and don't have trouble concentrating, I don't think it's stress related either seeing as I've done this for about 10 years. I've been to therapists but nothing seems to help. When I do pluck I think to myself 'no, don't do it. don't do it' or 'just this one then I'll stop' but I do it anyway and it really frustrates me when I look in the mirror and I have these little stubs of eyelashes or nothing at all.

I really wish all of you luck with your eyelashes and eyebrows and I hope that someday I'll also be able to stop completely.

OMG! i'm 13 i have bin doing this for 1 year and i have no eye lashes and i can't stop noone knows and i don't know what do do! it hurts sooooo badly! what do i do?

Hello. I'm 11 and I have been picking out my eyelashes since I was 4. Part of it might've been because my older sister would pick out my hair and it felt good.

I didn't do it a lot then, but now it's gotten crazy. Almost everyday I will pick out my lashes. It feels really good at first, but then it hurts. It leaves them all red. EVERYONE notices and I feel like an idiot because everyone has eyelashes and I don't. People say that I look ill. When I have the urge to pick at night, I can't sleep because I'm so occupied and it feels like I can't close my eyes. My mom has a similar problem with her eyebrows. Now we've found some ideas to help eachother stop. If I see her picking, I'll cough and vice-versa. Or put a rubber band around your wrist and when I get the urge to pull I'll snap it.

I've stopped for about a week now and my eyelashes are hardly growing at all! But now that I've found some ways it's getting a lot easier. This was really helpful. I know I'm not alone. Thanks!

wow, today i was just google seaching 'eyelash plucking' cause i was trying to figure out if what i do is common or not...? i NEVER knew that there was actually a name for this type of thing...its so embarrassing, but im glad there are other people out there that deal with this same type of thing. im almost 18 and ive been plucking my eyelashes and eyebrows for 2 years or so...its a horrible thing, i hate that i do it. like most of you it just ends up happening when i dont even realize it. sometimes i can "feel" the eyelashes in my lid, and feel that they NEED to come out. after i do that, i feel better. but i shouldnt feel better..its not so bad that all my eyelashes are gone, its just one or two spots on my lids where you can tell ive overplucked. thats when i put on the eyeliner to make it look like normal. and i spread out the lashes that i have left so it looks normal.

the eyebrow plucking started after that, when i found that i get the same type of "high" plucking those. i pluck the ones that actually need to be plucked with a tweezers. but the ones that dont, i use my fingers...sometimes i even end up with missing spots in the brow...my whole family thinks im crazy. my sister once said, your eyebrow looks like a dashed line. thats what killed me. i ALWAYS use eyeliner to fill them in and make them look darker and fuller than they are. but deep down i still know how bad they are.

i feel like this isnt an ADD issue, because im a very organized, good student. i get straight As, and ive never had problems with attention disorder. thats why im just so confused at why i do this...

anyways, its good to know there are other people out there...im working on it. i want to stop because im going to college in the fall and i want to look at least a little decent when i take my makeup off at night. wish me luck!!

and thanks all for the support.

email me at edtgirl07@comcast.net if you want...

I REALY CANT BELIVE THIS THERES ACTULLY A NAME FOT THIS! This thing that i have carried with me for all these years in secret.. im 25 yrs old and i've done this since i could even remember! as a child i always had styes my mom never knew why BUT I DID! threw out my childhood i always had styes! i whould pull my eyelashes to the point it whould hurt and burn. i never got the chance to pull them all out because a stye whould form before i got the chance.. in fact i have one right now i dont get them nerly as much as i did before but i started pulling again this last week because of masscarra i dont ware it very offten but i just got a new job and i have to dress very nicley and with that comes makeup! its so weird that i found this site my boyfreind thought he whould be helpfull and look online for the causes of styes HE HAS NO IDEA OF WHATS REALY GOING ON! when he went to the bathroom i googled eyevlash pulling and i got this site! thank god im not alone i just wonder if anyone else has gotten styes from pulling? and other things that can happen from pulling?

0-M-G !!
i NEVER KNEW THERE WAS REALLY A NAME F0R THiSz !!
i TH0UGHT iT WAS A PERS0NAL BAD HABiT . i JUST G0T THR0UGH PLUCKiNG 0UT MY WH0LE LEFT EYE'Sz SET & i DECiDED T0 L00K iT UP HEARiNG 0NE TiME THAT iT WAS A MENTAL DiS0RDER .
i DiDN'T BELiEVE iT BUT iT REALLY iSz !!! W000000000000W . i D0N'T EVEN KN0W WHAT T0 D0 .
iM G0NNA TRY THE VASELiNE THiNG BUT iM 0NLY A FRESHMAN iVE BEEN PULLiNG SiNCE THE END 0F 6TH GRADE ALM0ST 2 & A HALF YEARS & N0W iM AFRAiD . THiS SiT WAS REALLY HELPFUL TH0UGH !! i TH0UGHT iT WAS JUST ME !

hi im a male and ive been pulling my eyelashes for 2 years. Im now 13 will they grow back there are gaps and im not putting anything on them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi. I didnt know anything about eyelash pulling, until I started to do it. I dont know how or why it started, it just started happening. I would be sitting on the couch watching T.V or talking to my boyfriend and I wouldnt relize what i was doing. I didnt think anything of it until one morning when i woke up and looked in the mirror, I had big blank gaps all over my eyes. it started to get worse. I didnt know there was a name for it or anything until today when i looked up if eyelashes grew back. I didnt know it was a problem with anyone else, I thought it was just me. I dont know what to do.

I have been pulling at my eyelashes since I was 13 years old. I'm glad that I stumbled across this website as I am now 43 years old and want to stop my pulling for good! I did not know there was a name for this condition. I will try the vaseline and tapping and see if this stops me or distracts me from pulling at my eyelashes.

Hello everyone. I pull my eyelashes. I have been doing this for about 1 1/2 years and I NEED to stop. I usually do this at night, so I am going to get some sort of squishy ball, or stress ball to hold when I do this the most. Try it! I think it just might work. I usually pick them at night. When I first started I would pick them so bad that I would prick myself and bleed. Gtg!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi. I am 13 and I pick my eyelashes. I looked this up a while ago and I had no idea that this was some kind of disorder called trich. I am 13 and I started when I was 11. It's so embarassing going around and seeing people stare at you. They come up to you and say "Hey what happened to your eyelashes?" and once when a person asked me this I heard another in the background say " What did she burn them off or something. haha..." I think all this MIGHT be related to stress since I ma now a 7th grader and I am new to big hallways weird people and stuff like that. If ANYONE, JUST ANYONE has any advice PLEASE tell me, Even if you think it won't work. I need all I cant get!

I just came across this blog while doing some research, i too pick my eyelashes. i just googled it out of curiousity but reading this blog has given me hope! to see that im not the only one with this problem is amazing. im only 21 years old and ive been pulling my eyelashes since high school. i just wanted to thank the person responsible for this because just knowing that you arent the only one with a problem like this is releaving. i hope the best for those who struggle on a day to day basis as we speak i am sitting on my hand so i dont pick! i will keep reading the stories and researching information! and if youv given up hope stop while you can! i have picked out every single eyelash on my left eye and they still grow back, im not sure how much longer that will last though so over the past week i have started to focus that negative energy towards other habits, such as cleaning the underneath of my fingernails compulsivley. this is not the healthiest way of kicking the habit but i'd rather my nails than my eyelashes. i feel so supported not bieng the only one thank you

Hey, I'm Jeni. I've been picking my eyelashes and eyebrows since around 6th grade, I'm now a senior in high school. I haven't had a lot of success in resisting to pull but it makes me a bit happier to know I'm not the only one with this problem. My own sister has it and we talk about it a bit, so it's really cool to have the support from both inside and outside of my family. I love the support everyone gives on here and I hope you all attain your hair filled goals. =3

I've pulled my ALL eyelashes out for so many years, that now it takes six months or more for any to start grwoing back. And as soon as some grow back, I pull them ALL out until I am totally bald again. I want to stop SO BAD but nothing can stop me. I have a LOT of stress and so I am stressed nearly all of the time.

I want my eyelashes but I ALWAYS get a irresistable urge to rip every single one of them out (if I pull a few out, I cannot stand to leave the rest alone, because they get this prickley wierd feeling in them that feels like they really ought to be rippd out). I feel relief from stress when I am doing it and I feel sickened when it's all done because it makes me so UGLY and I NEVER have eyelashes because I will not allow them to stay.

Will my lashes quit growing back at all one day?

I don;t have Vaseline; I don;t like it; would anything else work at all? How can I break myself of it? I just CANNOT seem to stop!!! Of course, my folks think I am nuts...

SORRY I guess I have too much to say because it wouldn't let me post anymore haha. So anyway I was just wondering if anyone new what this "black jelly" stuff is at the end of the eyelash is and I would love if anyone emailed me about there stories so maybe we could help each other out :]

I must say it is a relief to see that others have this. I have been picking my eyelashes since I was about 10 and moved to my eyebrows when I was about 13. I am almost 20 now and still continue to pick my eyelashes and eyebrows daily. I usually don’t even let them grow in a little. I cover them up daily with eyeliner and as much as it’s become a pain, it’s become a part of my life. I have accepted it and often it doesn’t affect me. Not many people even notice that I have no eyelashes and eyebrows. I have become pro at applying makeup =P but I really want to let this habit go. I have always wanted my lush beautiful Italian lashes back. I was called maybelline when I was younger and I want that nickname back. I went through a stage where I would where fake eyelashes but it was a pain and they would always fall off. More people actually noticed my condition when I was trying to cover it up with fake eyelashes. It affected me more when I was younger but now it’s just apart of me. I want to let it go and I really think I have it in me to do so. But I have tried absolutely everything and I’ve always gone back to picking them. I have thought about getting hypnotized. I hear it works for some people to quit smoking. But I don’t know, it’s just a thought. Is it worth a shot?

Hello. I'm really very distraught about eyelash pulling. I'm 22, I've been pulling since...I can't even remember- 7 or 9 years old. I think it was triggered by stressful home life, no friends, insecurity and low self-esteem. It's been a huge battle, that I've tried to struggle with on my own. When I seeked external help- it was of little use. I really don't know what to do. I saw a counsellor once with my Mum (I don't get along with my Mother (direct opposites and personality clash full throttle, which I be quite and take the blow)- I think that's what started it all, the situation is still the same today). Although I see that i've changed alot over the years, it's stills seems like a cover up- in the sense that I seem self-confident to others, but if i had a grip or a sense of control then why am I still doing this. feelings of frustration, anxiety and depression have been chronic i guess, and i've only truly recognised that that's the cause of my continual trichotillomania (doesnt help being infp personality type either). I can't wear make up and only where it when i have to because i find that it promotes an itchy eye which is gonna entice me to pull. and once i start i cant stop. sad part is- i feel like i have no one who unconditionally accepts me that i would feel comfortable to talk to... its like a continual downward spiral. i feel so much despair, and i do it at night time too as im frustrated and i suffer insomnia, and im always tired. im really losing 'it'

I believe that eyelash plucking is form of relievinng stress!!!! I tryed to search that but nothing came up!!!

We have had this problem with my 8 year old son off and on for about 4 years we thought it was a habit he had got into until today when we have been told he is displaying other symptoms in school ADHD. (Naughty Child Syndrome) which I have called it up until now, I am trying to find out more information and the best way to help him, he does well at school he is in the top half of the class, but has problems staying still and keeps interupting yelling out answers when he is not suppose to also has problems with staying focused while studying. Has anyone else on the site suffered from similar problems and what have you done to help. He is bright happy and has a great nature and I really don't wish him to be pumped full of drugs that will take his personality away from us. It was a real shock to be hit with this today as it was not what we were expecting at a Parent/Teacher interview.

Hi, I have the same problem and I'm a guy. I'm 15 and I find it very hard to socialize with people because I dont want to get too close to them. Last year during exams I became really anxious and was probably the reason why i pulled out my eyelashes and eyebrows. Now I'm 15 and I dont pick my eyebrows as much and they look decent. I still have the eyelash problem though and I'm finding it really hard to stop...any suggestions for a guy?

Reading all of these comments I feel kinda pissed off. I never knew that this was a disorder and thought I was just a nutcase. The only medication I had was being punished by my parents and ridiculed/mocked by society. THE REMEDY: at least for me, was a strong moderation of the pulling which the results are barely noticable by anyone! Of course this was perfected over the years, so not a problem, one down and many others to tackle.

betrayed by ignorance,

ae

just started like a month or so ago! horrible! just horrible.
good luck everyone!

I've been pulling my eyelashes out since I was 6 years old. I used to pull my hair out too, but I told myself I would go bald and quit that- I couldn't give up my eylashes though. My parents thought I was nuts and brought me to see shrinks and things like that- I was never put on medication or anything. People in school made fun of me, and my family wasn't even supportive of helping me stop, they just got all angry about it and told me I looked like an alien. Today I am 17 years old, and I'm a senior in high school. The worst thing about this habit is that I do it while I sleep, without knowing. I will wake up in the morning all angry that I have no eyelashes, but because I do it asleep I couldn't even help it. I started to put tape on my fingers, and that has helped for the past three years. Every now and then the tape comes off, and I wake up with bald spots, but for the most part I'm doing well. The tape, and excersising, as well as my antidepressant medication for migraines has done wonders for me.

Hey, I am now 15 years old and i began my pulling habits around 5th grade when I discovered tweezers. my eyebrows transformed from being thick and dark to pencil thin. My parents criticized me for it, and around 7th grade is when I realized they actually did look bad yet still I could not let them grow back. I resorted to wearing my bangs in front of my face for several weeks to cover the ugly little stubs of hair untill my eyebrows were back. They have not been entirely grown in since 4th grade. They look good now but only when they are filled in with dark brown eyeliner and I still shape them with twezzers just not as harshly. I started pulling my eyebrow hair out with my fingers when I was 12 and then it progressed to eyelashes then eventually to scalp. I usually do this when I am reading, writing, doing homework, or any activity that requires a lot of thought. I have a lot of stress issues, probably genetic, and have very irrational fears of failure. I have noticed these behaviors to worsen extremely after any loss of sleep. There have been periods of time where I have not pulled at all, usually during summer. It was worst in 8th grade and my eyelashes were almost always gone completely. It hurt and i wear contacts so that didnt help. My parents couldnt understand why I was doing this and thought that i lacked self control. The first time my eyelashes were completely full was the start of 9th grade because i wanted so badly to start fresh and be be free of the impulse to pull entirely. I thought it had gone away but here i am a freshman in highschool with very few eyelashes, gaps in my eyebrows, and hair thin around my ears. I am worried this will never go away and want to see a doctor if there is any help for this. the only things i have found that seem to work is regular excercise, eating less junk food, good sleeping habits, not putting off schoolwork and projects, joining lots of teams and clubs (staying busy), the vaseline trick along with not wearing makeup is helpful, and realizing that believe it or not, people do NOT judge you by how many eyelashes or eyebrows you have and if they do then it is not your problem. Not many people aside from my very pressuring parents have even noticed, and actually telling my friends if they do ask causes me not to feel so self concious around them. i really hope this helps for those of you that want to stop as badly as i do. (:
Good Luck!!

wow, the counting thing works while i was reading this i was poking at my eyelahes that are stubbed from continuous poking and i did the countng thing with your fingers and just like that there was no urge at all so amazing thank you so much.

I've been dealing with trich (mostly eyelashes and eyebrows) for nearly 30 years. I think that there are many things that can cause the urge to pull - environmental, psychological and physical. I think that pulling in response to those urges is psychological (trich). If you search, you'll find that a lot of people with trich will say that when they find the "right" hair, it often has a plump, fat root. This is my problem, especially with my brows. The only comments I saw above that seemed to touch on that were Austin's (#58 & #59). John Kender has suggested that yeast could be the culprit and the cause of these fat roots (http://home.intekom.com/jly2/ttmhypothesis.htm). Doing some more research, I've also found some suggestions that Demodex (mites)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demodex#Demodex_folliculorum_and_Demodex_brevis) could be the creating the fat, itchy roots. This may be uncomfortable for some to read. so I'm sorry if it causes any distress to my fellow pullers. The mites are believed to live in the follicles of most adults but only some of them experience high levels of irritation. And (this is my suggestion) only some of them may have (or be predisposed to) trich. It could be the perfect storm so to speak that's causes the problem for many (not all) trich sufferers. There are some products that claim to get rid of the Demodex. I plan to do a little more research and possibly experiment with some.

one thing that sometimes helps me, which im still trying to figure out new ideas, is bandades on fingers when it becomes worse (ie doing homework, watching tv, etc...) Any other ideas?

So Basically none of those tricks work at all for me. i think the real solution would be go to a doctor. But i just can't bring myself to do it. I guess im a little afraid of what the doctor will think. I've tried soo hard to stop, but nothing seems to work and it's just so frustrating.