stop picking at my skin

I’ve been messing with my skin the past few days. Nothing too serious, but I’ve got to cut it out. I’ll go a couple of weeks without really noticing my skin blemishes, then I get bored or distracted and go at it.

Skin-wise, things aren’t too bad. I’ve discovered the art of exfoliating my legs before shaving! I never noticed how much dead skin builds up on my skin… but it makes shaving a whole lot less bloody and irritating!

I’m growing my hair out from pixie cut to normal length, so I anticipate by summertime I’ll probably experience some skin acne. Hopefully by then I’ll be busy with things that I won’t have any time to poke around at my skin!

So the past month or so, I’ve invested in wax strips. I’m tweezing my eyebrows for the moment (trying to save money) but I’m experiencing less ingrown hairs. Less ingrown hairs = no need to pick at my skin! And I’ve been exfoliating more, so there’s less dead skin cell buildup. Less buildup = less skin acne and stuff! Scabs are healing up nicely, I’m getting better at wax strips (hurts a bit but it’s a quick thing to get used to). I’m hoping that by the time the weather gets better, I’ll be able to show off skin that I can be proud to flaunt!

I got really stressed out and went for the face. I haven’t screwed around with the blemishes on my face for a very long time now. Now I have spots…

While I can’t say that I have been 100% free of this compulsion, things have been getting better.

One, waxing my eyebrows eliminates the need for a pair of tweezers at my immediate disposal. No tweezers = no excess skin tampering.

Secondly, I’m taking better care of my skin. I’ve found that using an exfoliating body wash with a loofah, and also a pumice, helps smooth over scabs and prevents ingrown hairs. Also, Veet! No need for razors!

I’ve really had to rethink my beauty routines to change how I approach my body image as far as skin picking goes. But it’s working out nicely so far.

A couple of scabs I had for a long time are finally being buffed away! It’s a relief to not feel so self-conscious about skin. Well, winter helps, too =)

Lately I’ve been doing pretty well at keeping my skin clear, keeping my nails short and ignoring the urge to pick. Except for a couple of occasions, of course. I’ll get super stressed out and feel for something to bother. Things are looking quite well :)

I’ve been doing pretty well at keeping my hands at bay against picking. Keeping my nails short, scrubbing my skin and keeping it healthy, and my tweezers are nowhere to be found. I’ll occasionally find myself running my hands over my skin feeling for things to mess with, but generally I have improved. The inflamed skin on my shoulder has calmed down and is healing wonderfully.

The past week or so, I have taken steps to prevent excessive skin picking. My nails are quite short, I’ve been exfoliating my skin and moisturizing to promote healing, and covering up scabs so I don’t feel compulsed to look at them. I’ve had some slip-ups, but I’m not drawing blood much anymore. I find hydrogen peroxide or aloe vera helps the healing process.

Well… the past few days I’ve been really taking it out on my skin. This morning in the mirror, my shoulder was red with inflammation from bored skin-picking.

So lately though, I’ve come to a new routine to cleaning my skin. I exfoliate it and apply lotion and sometimes this Proactiv body lotion I have, and hope for the best I leave my skin alone for the rest of the day.

After I cleaned up, I put away my tweezers and trimmed my nails so I couldn’t easily scratch or squeeze any part of my skin.

Starting to notice a pattern- I usually pick right before bed or after a shower, or bored. Or I notice an imperfection or ingrown hair and I’m super-compelled to address it.

I’m gonna try and go a whole week without messing with my skin. I have no need to get out my tweezers anymore now that I’ve plucked my eyebrows, and I’ll try not to stall before bed by picking.

This is a very difficult, personal and serious Thing for me. I’m currently addressing this issue with professional help, as well as mindfully remembering not to do it.

I pick at my skin. It used to be pretty bad. It’s out of boredom/anxiety. Started when I was about 9 or so. I used to take sewing needles and scratch at my scalp and scabs and I’d get skin infections from it. It comes and goes, but recently it’s been bothering me. For a long time I didn’t think twice about it, didn’t think it was a problem until my boyfriend caught me doing it and freaked out.

I want to stop picking at my skin for my own health as well as to have smooth, unbothered skin again. I’d like to be able to address the stress in my life in more healthy, productive ways than damaging myself in the process.