picking at skin

[tweedledum]

there was a lady on obsessed who struggled with this, but unfortunately she didn't stop, it was hard to watch! the therapist even offered free help after the show was over but she refused it

[Lonely]

I know that I have a hard time because I have adult acne, and if there's ANYTHING on my face, anything at all I pick it until it's bleeding. :/ It's the same with anything on my skin anywhere. It's bad because I have a few small scars on my face from it.

[Mianis]

Quite often I pop/pluck ingrown hairs I have on my arms and legs.
And I pick at my hands a LOT, and dead flaps of skin/dry skin/nicks I peel/clip off.
I can spend hours a week clipping my nails and dead skin off my finger tips. It's left some raw skin that hurts for a few days and bleeds.

[Beckytea]

I pick at my head and scalp, and squeeze pores on my arms and legs (not necessarily spots either) and pluck my leg hairs

[Secret-Obsession]

Omg!!! I do the same. Not till it scabs though. I've had acne since I was like 12. And my mum used to pop them. So it got me into the habit. Now I pick at my pimples and such.
And I'm with ya on plucking the hairs on your legs!! I do ingrown ones, but also after I shave I do it to get the ones ive missed. And that way you get less hairs on your legs cos you sometimes get the roots out!
And I also search for split ends and broken ends of my hair. I can to it for hours a day!! And if I find a thick hair I'll pull it out.

Only slightly OCD, right??

[Secret-Obsession]

Oh. And I'm now 19 and still have acne, though it is way better than it was. But you still couldn't find a clear spot in my face!

[Secret-Obsession]

i have a very very very bad habit of this. i have a skin condition called keratosis pilaris and it causes little bumps with trapped hair around my upper arms and thighs. whenever i see one i pop it, kinda like a pimple to free the hair. lol then i go and pluck the hair out.

Omg!!! I never knew there was a name for it!!! I just always thought it was because me arms were so fat. Cos the only other person I knew who had it was on the heavier side...
But it's great to know I'm not alone!!! And that it's an actual condition!!! Mum always told me that I just needed to use a loofa scrub thing on it. Is there some kind of cream you can get??
I mainly have it on my arms. But also on my thighs! Yay!!! It's a thing!! Lol.

[insight]

And I also search for split ends and broken ends of my hair. I can to it for hours a day!! And if I find a thick hair I'll pull it out.

Oh, wow. I do this too along with picking at "flaws" on my face/scalp.

...It's addictive, what can I say?

[silver_elf]

I definitely could rip out split ends for hours too...

I can't believe this thread is still going strong months after I started it I feel pretty relieved (and happy to have helped people feel the same)
I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!!!!

Now, for the part where I figure out how to stop...

[stories]

I am a compulsive skin picker as well. I pick at my scabs and acne mainly. And at the my SI scars, which makes it hard for them to heal (I even pick after I've SI'd and they started closing/clotting up). It is mostly on my arms and thighs and then my face because of acne. If I have a scab somewhere else I'll probably pick at it too though. If my anxiety or depression is high I have a hard time trying not to pick. Sometimes I will do it when I am bored too. I sometimes just spend time looking for things I can pick at. And if my fingernails cannot do the job I look for something like a safety pin which can. The only downside if the potential of SI if I use something else to "help" me pick.