A REVIEW OF SLIGHTLY ROBOTāS BEHAVIOR CURBING BRACELET
I ordered the wristband in early November. The band cost $90 and took a month to arrive. However, as each band is handmade by a pair of brothers in their kitchen, I completely understand the delay. The bracelet itself is excellent quality - very nice quality leather for the band, with plenty of apertures for the latch no matter your wrist size. The mechanism itself is simple albeit a little bulky, and unlikely to survive submersion in water (which is a problem for me, as I work constantly underwater). The battery is rechargeable using a micro-usb plug (one is provided with purchase), although it appears possible to replace should the need arise as it is somewhat exposed from the resin encasing the mechanism itself. The batteryās exposure is also what leads me to believe the bracelet would not survive submersion.
Bracelet itself, including mechanism and shipping time: 3/5.
The bracelet is bluetooth enabled and is meant to synch with an app on your smartphone (which will also work with a smart watch). The app itself is simple and took little time to figure out. Once you connect the bracelet to the app, put your arm in the undesired position (i.e. where my hand would be should I reach for my hair), and select ācalibrate.ā Make sure to have your phone close to the position it will stay in (i.e. close to my pocket). From there, whenever the bracelet tells the app that it is a certain elevation/distance from the phone, the bracelet will vibrate. It seems to be fairly accurate, although if you significantly change your position I recommend recalibrating the app.
The app is also mildly customizeable. You can change the wording of the behavior (the wording it comes with is ānail bitingā, Iāve changed the language on my device to āhair pullingā.) Additionally, you can use the app to track how long it has been since the last time you engaged in the undesired behavior, although I believe this has to be logged manually.
App rating: 4/5
Overall, I didnāt pull my hair at work today. Part of it was from knowing I had the bracelet there - when I thought about pulling my hair, I would remember the bracelet and itās purpose. When I came home, the bracelet kept me alert during my ādesignatedā picking time - when I allow myself to pluck my eyebrows and rid myself of any unwanted facial hair. Often, I fall into a quasi-hypnotic trance during this, literally forgetting where I am and losing all sense of time. The bracelet helped keep me grounded in the present, and adapted fairly well to where my hand was in relation to my face and phone, even though I forgot to recalibrate it for the change in position.
Overall, the device worked today. It helped me from absentmindedly picking and helped keep me present. The device still needs some refinement, but Slightly Robot (and the brothers who run it) is clearly something to keep an eye out for. I fully recommend investing in these two, and if you have trich or any other compulsive behavior, I fully recommend acquiring a Slightly Robot bracelet.
Hopefully, this bracelet will be the last kick I need to beat Trichotillomania for good.
You, too, can get one at slightlyrobot.com
