#trichtalk

[trichtalk]

I am new to this but I'm reaching out for help. I have trichotillomania. I pull my eyebrows and eyelashes. I started this in middle school and have struggled ever since. I was wondering if anyone has ever tattooed either one if so how did it go?

Hey crs604! Thanks for reaching out! I know exactly how you are feeling as I pull from my eyebrows and eyelashes as well. I haven’t gotten my eyeliner tattooed but I have taken the plug with my eyebrows and I can honestly say it was the best decision I have ever made. Here is a picture from before when I used to draw my eyebrows on:

And here is a picture from a week or so after my tattoos healed :

I love my tattoos and it has honestly made my life living with Trich so much easier. Finally for once in my life (or since 9th grade lol) I can just wake up and leave the house without having to take the time to draw my brows, I can go swimming, wipe my face, sweat, etc. All the concerns that I really had before when I was drawing them on everyday are gone.

I got my tattoos from the Permanent Makeup Clinic in McLean, VA and they were wonderful. BUT **Important Note** : Before you decide to go forward with a tattoo make sure you have done your research! If you need help with this I will gladly assist!

I do have to have touch ups like once a year, and this year I’m trying Microblading which is something else I would recommend for Trich suffers. I’m going back next week for a touch up and I’ll be sure to do a post so you can see what it’s all about and how the results for me. Until then, here are some pictures from the Dollistic Instagram Account where I currently go for MicroBlading :

If you are feeling nervous about getting tattoos you can always try out a temporary tattoo first and see how you feel about it. I know that HeadCovers Unlimited Sells a variety of different options.

I can’t praise my permanent tattoos enough, however, after getting them I am more willing to pull my brows because the consequences aren’t the same…. Whether I pull or not the tattoos are still there… So I would kind of say that getting them made my pulling worse.Whether that makes a difference in your decision is up to you. But I hope some of this information has been helpful and here are the links to the more in-depth posts that I have done about my tattoos in the past :

Permanent Makeup Clinic : Eyebrow Tattoos

Eyebrow Tattoo 2 Week Update

Eyebrow Tattoo Touchup!

Eyebrow Tattoo Touch Up! (2 Years)

Good Luck Love <3

[trichtalk]

Woohoo! I went live y’all! I’ve never done a video related to Trich or Derma so although I was a nervous fumbling wreck I made it through! Most importantly, I hope some of the information that I shared benefits others. If you want to check it out click HERE <3 Jess

[trichtalk]

Going Facebook Live!

Hey all! As some of you might know I have been working as a member of the Millennial Task Force for the TLC for a few months now. One of our big focuses is BFRB Awareness Week which is the first week in October! Because this week is something that is such a big deal and a time that is very special to us we are holding Facebook Live Events with some of the members of the Task Force that I wanted to share with you all!

We have something going on almost every day and here is what the schedule looks like thus far :

General Q & A about Living with BFRBs October 2 : 11:30am PT / 12:30pm MT / 1:30pm CT / 2:30pm ET Mackensie Freeman, moderated by Maddie Lapp

Coping strategies BFRB Urges October 2 : 4:30pm PT / 5:30pm MT / 6:30pm Claire Cameron, moderated by Sera Torregiano

Make-up, Skin and Hair care October 3 : 5:30pm PT / 6:30pm MT / 7:30pm CT / 8:30pm ET Jessica Jones, moderated by Maddie Lapp (Woohooo this one is mine!)

Parent Q & A October 4 : 9:00am PT / 10:00am MT / 11:00am CT / 12:00pm ET Paula & Katie Koppel

Talking to others About BFRBs: October 5 : 4:00pm PT / 5:00pm MT / 6:00pm CT / 7:00pm ET Sera Torregiano, moderated by Claire Cameron

Ask the Dr. with Marla Deibler, PsyD, MSCP October 7 : 9:00am PT / 10:00am MT / 11:00am CT / 12:00pm ET Moderated by Leslie Lee

BFRBs and School October 7 : 12:00pm PT / 1:00pm MT / 2:00pm CT / 3:00pm ET Katherine Paris, moderated by Mackensie Freeman

Once the events get closer I’ll be able to provide links to the link chats for you all to view and participate in if you want to! Make sure to tune into The TLC Foundation for BFRBs Page for more information : https://www.facebook.com/tlcbfrb

Just something that I wanted to share I hope to see some of you at my Live chat on the third! <3

[trichtalk]

Hi! I am so glad I have just found this blog! I have had trich for 20+ years (I’m 31). I mainly attack my eyebrows and sometimes my eyelashes. I nearly have no eyebrows left but I have had them semipermanent tattooed. Do you have any ideas that would help me to stop this long lasting habit? My doctor doesn't seem to recognise this as a real thing that is a problem! I've tried hypnotherapy but it had no effect. I'm getting so down about this now that I'm worried it will lead me back to depression

Hey lyagirl thanks for reaching out! I’m glad you’ve found this blog too! Over the years I have posted a lot of different ideas to combating Trich that might be able to help you out! Definitely scroll through my blog and take a look at some of the posts, you’ll definitely find some ideas there.

If you told me a little more about your pulling style I might be able to help you think of some things that can prevent you from doing it. As I told the previous Anon there is a model that is out now called the SCAMP Model that tries to pinpoint how and why people pull and gives them alternate things to do to deter and retrain themselves to refrain from pulling. The Model includes Sensory, Cognitive, Affective, Motoric and Place/Environment pulling styles. Maybe dig a little deeper into when and why you are pulling and maybe we can come up with a plan to help you stop this.

In reference to your doctor… Trichotillomania is a real thing which has been classified, and given an ICD-9-CM Diagnosis code (which I have copied below). You might want to remind him of this next time you see him/her! ICD-10: F63.3ICD-9-CM : 312.39OMIM : 613229DiseasesDB : 29681

On a side note, I have talked about my HeadCovers Unlimited Fake Eyebrows that I wear and this is the number one thing (aside from acrylic nails) that prevents me from pulling because they fully cover my eyebrows for extended periods of time. Here is a post that I did about the brows so you might be able to get a better idea of what I am talking about : HeadCovers Brows

I know how hard it can be not to get down on yourself, and not the let your pulling spiral you into a depression. Believe me, all of us Trichsters have felt that one and one time or another, just know that you are not alone if ever you ever need anyone to talk or vent to, I’m here!

Looking forward to talking with you more!

[trichtalk]

I think I might have trich? But it's weird where instead of pulling out my eyebrow hairs with my fingers, I twist the hairs constantly until they're bent and won't brush back, and then I use tweezers to pull the bent hairs out. I'll twist constantly (like when I'm bored or stressed or thinking) but I only go through with tweezers once a day. Does this constitute trich, and if so is this common? Is there any way to stop this?

Hey Anon! Thanks for reaching out! Although I am not a doctor and can’t officially diagnosis anything I would say that this still constitutes as Trichotillomania. That is actually how Trich kind of started for me. I started twisting my hairs and eventually the twisting led to pulling them out. Although you aren’t going straight to pull the hair out right off the bat, you are later singling out hairs that look or feel different and then pulling them out.  I would say that this is pretty common action along with rubbing them and just touching on and around the brows in general. When I went to the TLC conference two years ago I learned that there are several different pulling styles, five to be more exact, The SCAMP Model (Sensory, Cognitive, Affective, Motoric, and Place/Environmental). And we each pull for a different reason or multiple. It might be best to do a little research into what type of pulling style you have and what might be best to help prevent that. Once you determine what is making you pull it might be easier for me to offer some suggestions for you :)

Something that I thought of off of the top of my head is using brow wax to help reduce the twisting and pulling. The main purpose is brow wax is the prevent the eyebrows from moving, kind of like setting them in place for people who have “wonky untamed” brows so to speak.

I think if you were to use some of this wax, that you wouldn’t “like” the feeling of twisting the hairs, that now have wax on them, in between your fingers. The hairs will feel sticky and not the same as the way that they currently feel.

If you are interested in trying this you can look for brow wax or brow sculpting wax at any beauty store, Ulta, Sephora etc. and I know they do have a limited supply of these types of sets at like CVS and Walgreens, Maybelline has a brow Drama Plate that should be available at either one of those places.

Not sure if this will work for you but I just wanted to put it out there as something to try. Let me know how it works out!

[trichtalk]

Sorry you are getting so many of my asks (prom anon here again who would have guessed) but there is noone I can talk to about it. Basicly I went to the hairdresser today to get my undercut shaved and she didnt say anything about it? Which was really cool & also I noticed my hair is growing back! I dont think I have to shave my head anymore which is a big yay and in a few months that spot might look normal again and i am just so happy about that its unbelievable

Hey lady thanks for reaching out again! I’m so happy to hear that your hair is starting to grow back and that you were able to have a great experience with your hair dresser. How perfect that she shaved your undercut because that it actually really trending right now, for people to have their undercuts shaved and to even have designs put in them. 

I’m sure that you looked absolutely beautiful at prom, and am so happy to hear about your progress! Keep me updated Love! 

[trichtalk]

I just found your blog, and I want to thank you for being such a kind and open person! I've had trich since I was 7 years old and derm since before that and I've never been able to function quite right with how to present myself. Just within the last year or two (I'm 19 now) I've started to gain come confidence. I'm so glad I stumbled upon your posts because they are really helping me with finding ways to learn to prevent pulling, and how to accept myself and feel confident! Thank you so much!!

Hey Anon! Thanks for reaching out! Aw that is so sweet of you to say! I love getting posts like this and hearing about how others are learning to accept themselves and feel more confident in their own skin. It took me a while to do that myself and I’m super happy that my posts have been helping you on your journey! Keep me updated and I hope you are doing well :)

[trichtalk]

Hey! I’ve just recently found out about dermo and I think I might have it. I’ve been picking at my skin for so long I’ve forgotten when I actually started and i don’t know what to do. I hate my skin a lot tbh cause i have so many scars and scabs but i can never seem to stop picking. My mom found out about this but she doesn’t seem want to help me get over the problem she just to want the scars and scabs to not be noticeable so people "Won’t look at me strange" do you have any advice on what I can do?

Hey there thanks for reaching out to us! With the skin picking it definitely sounds like you might be suffering from derma and I can certainly understand how you are feeling about your skin. I too have countless number of scars on my face and body and can empathize with the frustrations that you are dealing with. I can offer some tips to make the scarring less noticeable through some makeup tips, topical cream and medications that were recommended to me by friends and doctors, and I’ve even done a light chemical peel on my face that has helped with the scarring that I can share some information with as well. As far as makeup goes I would definitely recommend the Susan Posnick line.

I have tried countless different types of makeup to hide the scars and acne on my skin and this is by far the best that I have come across. I use the Colorflo Loose Mineral Foundation for all over my face and the ColorCorrect for scar and spot treatment.

I have also found that using a primer for my foundation has made a huge difference in reducing the appearance of my scars. My favorite right now is  The Urban Decay Complexion Primer Potion.

Personally going to see a dermatologist really has helped with my Dermatillomania. I pick at my skin usually because there is a bump, blemish or an imperfection already there. I’m not sure if you are picking for the same reasons but finding a way to reduce the number of imperfections and pimples through the use of a oral medication, birth control and topical creams prescribed by my dermatologist or family doctor has worked wonders for my picking. I would suggest checking into some dermatologists in your area and seeing what help they can provide to you. I also decided to get several chemical peels from my dermatologist to help with the scarring and acne, as they remove the damaged outer layers of skin. There are several different types of peels and I got some very mild ones but I was pretty happy with the results. Some other things that might help to reduce the skin picking would be getting acrylic nails, and possibly putting a barrier between your nails and the skin. I did a post on this last month that might help!

In reference to what you had said about your mom... that stinks. I know how hard it can be to help your parents understand what you are going through as no one really does understand what it’s like expect for other people that have Derma. Having the support of your parents definitely helps when combating the disorder to hopefully she will come around.  Have you tried to show your mom the TLC Foundation for BFRB's webpage? The Skin Picking Section?  Or maybe our blog? Sometimes showing parents that this is an actual disorder helps them to understand that we may need help to stop picking and that it is not just a habit. I might also show her that some doctors  actually specialize in this disorder and that you would like to look into speaking to someone about it. Whether it’s a doctor, behavioral therapist, or just someone to talk to.. I would suggest telling her that the only way of getting it “to stop” is getting help. I would suggest exploring the TLC webpage’s Find and Support Section and I think we will be coming out with some stuff for parents too which might be helpful! Let us know if you have any other questions and if any of this stuff works for you!

Good Luck!

- Jess

To read more questions that I’ve answered like this feel free to visit us at the Trich-N-Picks Tumblr Account too! :)