Anyone who feels their hair plucking has gotten to a level where it is a concern should speak with a health professional about options for controlling obsessive behaviors. In some cases amd anti-anxiety drugand/or therapy can help get these kinds of things under control.
Thanks all of you… you have made me feel normal. I pluck with sewing needles; I have started shaving all over just to get some hairs to pluck. It really soothes me; sometimes I spend an hour looking for hairs to pluck. I even think about it when I go to sleep. I think that if there was a profession for pulling out ingrown hairs, I would be the woman. I still feel weird writing this. When I start looking at my legs and arms for ingrown hairs in public, and someone asks me what I’m doing, I have to make excuses like, “Oh, I missed a spot shaving,” or “I think I got bit by a bug.”
I think we should all keep in touch and create some sort of support group!
Thanks again!!!
LOL! Wow! Thanks for the laugh!
Wow! I seriously thought I was the only one! Thanks everybody for sharing! I too liked to pluck my legs, especially lower legs, and pick out the ingrown hairs! I went on to pluck my armpit hairs, but that wasn’t as satisfying as the leg hairs. And unfortunately, I have the scars and hyperpigmentation on my legs from all the plucking and picking! I’ve tried to stop the picking and plucking, because I’m going to get laser hair removal. I’m going to try Patricia Wexler M.D. Exfoliating Glyco Peel System. because supposedly glycolic-acid works great on fixing uneven pigmentation. Wish me luck!
Well ladies, I too must join the club. I thought I was just strange, bored, lonely or a mixture of the three. I spend hours in the bathroom plucking my bikini area. I do it over several days. I hope I’m not OCD, but from what I’m reading, may have to at least consider. I’ve used sewing needles, pins from the dry cleaners, earring backs, whatever was in reach… At least discussing it gives me an outlet so I don’t just feel weird. Thank you for sharing.
I’m still at it. Not as bad though. I have found that if I wear pantyhose, I am much less likely to pluck during the day. Once I am home and take off the panyhose, I put on a lot of lotion (see below). This really is helping. I also have tried “hiding” my tweezers by sticking them in a hard to reach place. That works for awhile but unfortunetly, I get them back out to pluck my eyebrows and then I’m right back to my legs.
A few weeks ago, I was at Walgreens and I found Vita-K Solution for Blotchy Skin. On the back of the package is a picture of a skin sample. It looked a lot like my legs so I bought one. (Actualy they were buy one get one free) Yeah! I put it on every morning after I get out of the shower and every night before I go to bed. It hasn’t done any miricles, but it has lightend my scars and my legs don’t seem to be as red.
I don’t have the money for laser or anything like that, so this is my best bet so far.
Here is a link for Vita-K:
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100304&id=prod7724
Good luck and hope this helped. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Hi everyone–I just wanted to say that I’m so glad I found this site! I have a same obsession and up til now I thought I was the only one. I’m so ashamed of my legs. I used to wear shorts and dresses all year round and people would always complement how nice my legs were. But when I entered college 4 years ago I started plucking them (I saw my mother do it) and I got such a satisfaction from doing it. It didn’t take more than a year for my legs to look permanently scarred and discolored. Now I dread having to wear dresses or go to the beach. My boyfriend and I went river tubing in New Braunsfels, TX with a bunch of his friends last month and I felt like everyone was staring at my now ugly legs. I won’t even let my boyfriend look at or touch them because I’m afraid he’ll think they’re repulsive. What’s worse is that I’ve started doing the same thing to my bikini area, and now that’s scarred and full of dark, ugly bumps too.
Does anyone know if there’s a cure or some kind of regiment that would help to stop doing this? I’ve tried to stop but every time I go to the bathroom or am left by myself the first thing I go for are my tweezers. And I’m afraid that it may be too late–that I’ll be stuck with these scars and hyperpigmentation.
Sorry I’ve rambled so much. I’m just so relieved to find others who are going through the same thing. I hope that we all can stop this bad habit and that we get our nice legs back. At least for me, I know it would boost my esteem by ten fold!
It’s actually so common there is a name for it: trichotillomania.
http://www.nmha.org/infoctr/factsheets/92.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania
Check out the information above if you are concerned about the amount of time and energy you put into plucking hair or thinking about it.
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I just stubbled across this website this evening while I was doing a google search on how to heal my legs from the ingrown hair and plucking damage I’ve experienced. You’re not alone! I was so relieved to read all of the stories on this web posting. I thought for sure I was the only one that plucked my leg hairs! I haven’t told a soul! I feel so alone in this! I NEVER wear shorts. I so long to have normal, clear skin! I also have a condition called keratosis pilaris (which, to my understanding, is a benign condition in which the hair follicles get keratin plugs and become reddened, inflamed, and unsightly!). So, due to this I have red bumps on the back of my arms and on my legs. So I’m used to not being able to wear shorts and feeling very uneasy about wearing sleeveless shirts). One day there was an ingrown hair on my leg that I plucked out with a tweezer and ever since then I’ve been plucking the hairs on my lower legs (especially the ingrown hairs). Now it’s become an almost daily habit. I don’t know what to do with the ingrown hairs that are left. Just let them heal on their own? I know plucking them can’t be the answer. I’m very frustrated. However, it’s such a relief to know I’m not alone! Thanks to each and every one of you who posted your struggles with this…it has brought me so much comfort to know I’m not a freak!
Any suggestions on how to heal my legs? What to do with the remaining ingrown hairs?
Hey everybody. I’m trying but, I am not strong enough. I keep telling myself, “I’ll quit tomorrow” or, “I’ll quit when if I get the job I want”, or silly stuff like that. It hasn’t worked. Even my husband doesn’t know. He’s seen me a few times but, I tell him I have an ingrown and I’m just getting it loose. It’s sort of the truth. I’ve also realized that this hair thing is a bit OCD. My husband will sometimes get a long hair on his back and I just want to yank it out so badly. Sometimes I have. I just don’t want him to think of me as a freak, although her already thinks I’m OCD about hair. I also can’t stand hair in the bathtub or on the toilet. It’s gross. Anyway, I’m still not better. I do shave my legs in the morning but, I always accidentaly leave some patches hairy and I can’t stand that. Instead of being smart and getting out the razor again, I usualy go for the tweezers. Ahhhh…when is this going to end??? I to hate wearing shorts, espacialy around new people. I do it anyway but it is hard. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon last month and I felt like everyone was whispering behind my back. I saw all of those beautiful women with smooth legs and it made me wish I had never done this to myself. I’m not nearly as red and bumpy as I used to be; now I just have a lot of discoloration and scabs.
I’m right there with you guys. I try to not even look at my legs. Out of sight, out of mind sort of thing. Keep fighting the good fight. I’ll let you know if I come across any miricle meds, lotions, or fixes. Hang in there.
Hey everybody. I’m trying but, I am not strong enough. I keep telling myself, “I’ll quit tomorrow” or, “I’ll quit when if I get the job I want”, or silly stuff like that. It hasn’t worked. Even my husband doesn’t know. He’s seen me a few times but, I tell him I have an ingrown and I’m just getting it loose. It’s sort of the truth. I’ve also realized that this hair thing is a bit OCD. My husband will sometimes get a long hair on his back and I just want to yank it out so badly. Sometimes I have. I just don’t want him to think of me as a freak, although her already thinks I’m OCD about hair. I also can’t stand hair in the bathtub or on the toilet. It’s gross. Anyway, I’m still not better. I do shave my legs in the morning but, I always accidentaly leave some patches hairy and I can’t stand that. Instead of being smart and getting out the razor again, I usualy go for the tweezers. Ahhhh…when is this going to end??? I to hate wearing shorts, espacialy around new people. I do it anyway but it is hard. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon last month and I felt like everyone was whispering behind my back. I saw all of those beautiful women with smooth legs and it made me wish I had never done this to myself. I’m not nearly as red and bumpy as I used to be; now I just have a lot of discoloration and scabs.
I’m right there with you guys. I try to not even look at my legs. Out of sight, out of mind sort of thing. Keep fighting the good fight. I’ll let you know if I come across any miricle meds, lotions, or fixes. Hang in there.
What happened with using the vita-k? Did you see any results?
It really didn’t seem to do a whole lot; although, it was probably my fault. The experiment was faulty because I still was plucking.
I am trying to make it a point to shave my legs in the morning and put a lot of lotion on them. I’ve been using cocoa butter lately. Got a big bottle at Walmart for under $2. When I get home from work, I like to take a quick rinse off in the shower and I may do a little shaving again. Then another application of the lotion. Because my legs are slippery with lotion, that deteres me from plucking. Like I said before, I am also trying not to even look at my legs very much and certainly refraining from plopping them up on the bathroom counter.
Does anyone else have trouble shaving their legs? I don’t know if it is my razor or if I simply just aren’t shaving correctly but, I keep cutting myself. Not bad cuts but there is blood. It’s also hard because of all of my scabs. If I hit one of those, I’ll bleed. How and where do you shave? I shave in the shower and I use a shaving gel. The thing is, is that the gel seams to make my legs too smooth and slippery and that is how I cut myself. I just didn’t know if there was a better way to do this.
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what kind of razor do you use? How often do you change the blade?
Don’t press the blade down too hard when shaving.
And most importantly, stop plucking and picking!
OMG I just found the best stuff in the world!!! It’s called dermablend. Here is their website http://www.dermablend.com/productDetails.aspx?prodID=17
I bought mine at Belk and I got the set for 28.00. This stuff rocks. Of course, it doesn’t heal up the scars but if covers them really well. I’m going tomorrow to see if I can get an extra tube of the cover up because it probably won’t last long. I am amazed that this stuff. Check it out. I’m so happy!!! Hope it works for you!
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Thank you! I’ve been looking for body make up! I’m going to buy it as soon as I can afford it.
I want to make sure I get the right shade, and thankfully some Macy’s stores sell dermablend so hopefully I’ll get the perfect color.
After reading this forum back in June I promised myself that I would go cold turkey on the plucking. And I did for a little over two months! I shaved every day (or every other day). At first shaving was very painful because I had all those bumps and ingrown hairs still, but if you keep at it, eventually your hair will start growing back normally without any ingrowns, and you’ll be less prone to getting cuts when shaving. Oh also, I don’t know if it helps promote new skin growth and thus heal scarring, but I used a pumice stone to exfoliate before shaving–that with shaving gel made my legs really smooth (after all the bumps and ingrowns went away). I even reached the point where I could look at my legs and see hairs and not grab for my tweezers. Unfortunately, I speak in the past tense. I came back to college and don’t really have time to shave everyday, plus with the stress I started plucking again. But it’s been about a week now and I haven’t done it again yet, so hopefully I’ll maintain it. I really hope so, at least. My legs were really improving, though it was a slow process but I don’t know if the scars would have ever gone away. I want to see a dermatologist about it but I’m afraid he’ll just think I’m a freak or not know what to prescribe me, or if there even is a way to get rid of the scars.
Anyway, thanks pink_piper for the dermablend link. Please keep us posted on how well the product works!
P.S. does it make your legs look waxy, like it obvious that there’s make up on them?
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i dont know if i fall under this category, but i hate hair, and plucking or gettig rid of them makes me happy so much… but having thick hair has definately affected my life to a point where i’ve missed out on everythig, including my social life, freinds, and family , because i’m always worrying about hair…and i do always inspect my skin for ingrown hair or hair to get rid of, this has left my skin really ugly
This is kind of going off on a tangent, but does anyone know why plucking hairs messes up your skin so badly, while waxing doesn’t at all? I would have thought they’d have the same effect since isn’t waxing, essentially, the same thing as plucking a lot of hairs at the same time?
I am so glad I found this forum! My story is pretty much the same as everyone else here. I have been plucking up to my knees for about 4 years now, and my legs looks like I have some kind of terminal rash or tropical parasitic disease! I haven’t worn shorts (or even capri pants) since I started. It’s so very comfortable wearing jeans when its over 100 degrees out!
I do it about 1-3 times a day, spending at least an hour total. Once I get the idea in my head I have to stop whatever I’m doing and grab the tweezers. I’ve tried throwing them away, giving them to someone for safekeeping and plucking my eyebrows only while under supervision, but I always go out and buy new ones.
I feel so ashamed and guilty because no matter how bad I want to stop, I love doing it! It’s such a stress reliever, and its just very satisfying. I’m embarassed to say, but when I run out of leg hairs and dug out all the ones I can see growing under my skin with a sewing needle, I’ve gone so far as to start on my pubic and underarm hair.
I want to stop, but once you stop, how do you get rid of all the remaining scars? I figure that since I’m going to be scarred anyway, I might as well keep doing it (stupid logic, right?). I’ve used vitamin E (straight from the vitamin capsule) and palmer’s cocoa butter lotion, and it does help to soften the scars up a bit. Does anyone know if skin lightening scream or mederma might help? I’m definitely going to check out the dermabland, thanks for that suggestion.
My next try is going to be shaving my legs every time I feel the urge, even if it means shaving three times a day. Any other ideas?
Oh, and I also am being treated for bipolar and anxiety, and have been on many different meds. They have worked wonders for my other symptoms, but haven’t helped at wll with this. I think good old fashioned therapy and behavior modification are going to be the only ways to stop.
dorkusmalorkus, thanks for the pumice stone advice. I’ll give it a try. As far as the dermablend goes, I’ve noticed that in direct sunlight it does kind of look waxy and sort of fake. So, I usually wear it when I’m going out at night. You also don’t seem to notice it very much under normal house lights.
I too have started plucking my pubic hair. I tried under my arms once but it hurt too much. I have noticed that the backs of my legs are getting much better looking because I’m not plucking them very much. The fronts are still terrible, ugly, red, scabbed, and bloody because I am still plucking them.
I too find it stress relieving and I am also in college and know how stressful it can be. Unfortunately, even though I tell myself when I am plucking that I need to stop and maybe I would have pretty legs if I stopped, I still continue until I am either satisfied, I hear someone coming, or my legs start to ache. They do get really sore and achy after a good plucking. Anybody else? I have been to a dermatologist several years ago but, I played dumb and didn’t tell them how my legs ended up looking that way. They prescribed me all sorts of stuff but nothing worked. I too am afraid to tell anyone because I don’t want to be thought of as a freak and me sent to therapy or to so a psychologist. I think I would rather have ugly legs. Do you consider this self-mutilation? I don’t know.
I have heard it described as a form of self-mutilation, but not quite the same as cutting or burning of course. I asked some health care type people and they said they consider it a form of trich and the treatment is different.
going to a therapist isn’t a bad idea because some kind of behavior awareness and modification is necessary to stop and a therapist or counselor (one who is familiar with trich) can help you figure out the best way to do that, whether by practicing visualization, keeping a plucking journal, learning ways to deal with stress, etc. no one has to know why you are there except the person you are speaking to. you can just say you are seeing a counselor because you’re stressed out from school and want to learn ways to deal with it. your school counselor should be able to recommend someone, or they might even have someone on campus you can see.