A. Why Does It Feel Good To Pull Out My Eyelashes?
1. Why is it good to pluck my eyelashes?
Experts believe that the urge to pull your hair is due to brain chemical signals (called neurotransmitters) not working properly. This creates the irresistible urge that makes people pull their hair. Pulling the hair gives the person a sense of relief or satisfaction.
2. How Is Trichotillomania Diagnosed?
How Is Trichotillomania Diagnosed? If symptoms are present, the doctor will initiate an investigation by taking a complete medical history and physical exam. There are no tests — like X-rays or blood tests — to diagnose trichotillomania, although tests can be used to rule out any medical cause of hair loss.
3. How to stop eyelash pulling?
a. Things to try for yourself
Squeezing an anti-stress ball or something similar.
Make a ball with your fist and tighten the muscles in that arm.
Use a fidget toy.
Wear a bandana or a fitted hat, like a beanie.
Make up a phrase and repeat it out loud until the urge to pull passes.
4. Is Trichotillomania Linked to Anxiety?
Trichotillomania can be related to emotions: negative emotions. For many people with trichotillomania, hair pulling is a way to deal with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, boredom, loneliness, fatigue, or frustration.
5. Does it hurt to pull an eyelash?
By removing the eyelash, you remove that nerve input. When you pull on an eyelash, the nerve fibers in the follicle interpret the sensation as pain. In addition, the eyelid is very sensitive. Pulling out eyelashes can hurt more than other hairs.
6. What happens when you pluck an eyelash?
If an eyelash is plucked or falls out, it takes about two months for it to grow back. However, repeated pulling can sometimes lead to follicle damage, which in turn can stunt development throughout the stages.
7. Why can’t I stop pulling my eyelashes?
Trichotillomania, also known as hair pulling disorder, is a type of impulse control disorder. People with trichotillomania have an irresistible urge to pull their hair, usually from the scalp, eyelashes, and eyebrows. They know they can do harm, but they often can’t control the urges.
8. Is it safe to pluck an eyelash?
If you cannot remove the eyelash, it could scratch your eyelid or eye. Bacteria from your hands can be introduced into your eye while it’s irritated. You can also injure your eyelid or cornea by trying to remove the eyelash with your fingernails or a sharp object.
B. Effects Of Pulling Out Hair, Pulling Eyelashes Out
The compulsive act of pulling out eyelashes or hair confuses most people, often including those performing the act. This behavior, known as trichotillomania (What is trichotillomania?), is receiving increasing attention as psychiatric experts seek to improve their understanding of the human brain. However, people with the disorder are not only concerned with the causes of trichotillomania, but also with the effects of compulsively pulling out eyelashes and hair.
1. If I pluck my eyelashes, will they grow back?
When you pluck your eyelashes, the thought comes, “Will they grow back?” may come to your mind. It’s a legitimate concern. When a hair falls out or when you pull it out, nature offers a kind of fresh start. Your hair will grow back most of the time, although sometimes it can take a while. However, if you repeat the action many times, growth in the affected area will slow down and eventually may stop altogether. Unfortunately, trichotillomania can result in permanent loss of hair, eyelashes, or eyebrows — or any body hair that exposes a person to this behavior. There are many physical complications that can arise from compulsive hair pulling. Plucking eyelashes and pulling hair often leads to infection and skin damage.
Many trichotillomania sufferers also deal with trichophagia, which is chewing or eating hair. According to the Trichotillomania Learning Center, “This behavior can range from harmless when the roots of the hair are nibbled and swallowed to dangerous when all the hairs are swallowed. Formation of a hairball (trichobezoar) can lead to intestinal obstruction and may require surgery. This is a rare but serious condition that can even be fatal if not treated promptly.”
2. Hair pulling leads to low self esteem
In addition to the physical effects mentioned above, hair pulling often leads to low self-esteem and emotional distress. The emotional impact of this condition is multifaceted. First, those affected question their own motivation without knowing why they are doing this. This alone creates doubt in a person. Add to this the visible physical signs of trichotillomania left by the behavior and you have a person who can lose confidence in their appearance and likely avoid social interactions to avoid detection.
The loss of trust and social interaction turns into depression. Jennifer Raikes, a person who lives with the disorder every day, illustrates the extremes to which trichotillomania can affect a person’s life, stating, “…I have known hundreds of women and men with trichotillomania, big and small, who headed out a windy day to get married.”
3. Pulling eyelashes doesn’t have to end badly
It sounds like a horrible situation, but pulling out your eyelashes or any other hair on your body doesn’t have to result in a life of misery. Although many patients have gone untreated for years out of shame or ignorance, modern medicine offers relief to those who seek it.
While there is no cure for trichotillomania, hair pulling help is available. As an impulse control disorder, there are specific therapies and medications that can help. Specialists often prescribe behavioral therapy, such as B. teaching relaxation techniques or cognitive therapy, along with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI antidepressants) that address the chemical imbalance in the brain associated with this disorder. Patients who follow these therapies often find some relief from their self-destructive urges and can lead happier lives.
C. Compulsive Disorders: Pulling Out Eyelashes
People with trichotillomania feel urges to pull their body hair and often engage in this behavior in a ritualistic manner, at a certain time of day or in certain situations. The causes of the disorder are unknown, but many medical professionals believe that brain abnormalities, stress, anxiety, and depression may be to blame. A common symptom of the disorder is the compulsion to pull out eyelashes. Eyelash pulling is the most common form of the condition, occurring in approximately 73% of people with trichotillomania. The symptoms and side effects of any form of trichotillomania can affect a person’s entire life. Because of the position of your eyelashes, the damage caused by this form of trichotillomania can be quite noticeable.
1. Eyelash pulling effects
Because people with this disorder use their fingertips to pull their eyelashes, the eyes can become infected when bacteria get into the eye from the hands. This can have serious consequences for a person’s health. Aesthetically, a person’s facial image can look very different if the eyelashes have been thinned or disappeared entirely from the pulling.
The emotional impact of eyelash plucking can profoundly affect people with this disorder. Some people feel so much shame and embarrassment about their disorder that they avoid social interactions, leading to depression. People without eyelashes due to pulling can experience low self-esteem and negative body image due to hair loss or skin damage.
2. Tips to avoid eyelash pulling
Fortunately, there are several ways to curb the behavior.
- Avoid mirrors. Seeing your reflection in the mirror can trigger a visual reminder to have eyelashes pulled.
- Engage in relaxation or meditation techniques. These activities can reduce stress and help suppress the urge to pull.
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and sugar.
- Coat your lashes lightly with petroleum jelly or olive oil. This makes it difficult to hold and pull the lashes.
- Seek help in the form of professional behavioral therapy, or get support by speaking to trusted family members, friends, or a support group.
3. Alternate Eyelash Options:
With false eyelashes you can conceal your eyelash loss. We offer a range of natural looking false eyelashes including options perfect for trichotillomania sufferers who have lost all of their eyelashes as well as those with thin, sparse eyelashes from pulling. We recommend attaching our false eyelashes with our pressure sensitive adhesive for a secure hold. This specially formulated adhesive will not pull out existing lashes, even with daily use. This is something very important for people who have very few natural eyelashes. While eyelash pulling can greatly affect a person’s life, utilizing the resources available to alleviate and mask symptoms can help you cope with the disorder and its effects, leading to a more positive self-image and higher self-esteem.
D. Eyelashes & Trichotillomania – Eyelash Pulling Compulsion
Trichotillomania is characterized by an irresistible urge to pull or pull hair. Although the scalp is most commonly affected by this behavior, any part of the body where hair grows is susceptible, including the eyelashes. While hair pulling can be relaxing or anxiolytic, it can also be quite painful physically. In some cases, a person with trichotillomania may crave that feeling of pain as part of their urge to pull. The area around the eye is quite sensitive, so pulling hair from this area compared to other areas such as the eyes. B. the scalp, can cause an improved pain perception.
1. How common is eyelash pulling?
Most of the scientific research studies conducted indicate that the traction of the scalp is the most common site affected by trichotillomania. However, a UK-based trichotillomania support website conducted an online survey of over 33,000 people with trichotillomania and made the surprising discovery that eyelash and eyebrow pulling is much more common than expected. The survey found that 73% of respondents plucked their eyelashes, 72% plucked their eyebrows, and only 27% plucked their scalp. The website further suggests that one possible reason is that many scalpers pull on your lashes and brows as well, but there are many eyelash and brow pullers that don’t pull on your scalp. Another possible reason is that scalp pulling can vary a lot more and is more easily passed on as a bad habit than eyelash pulling, which means most eyelash or brow pullers are aware that there is a problem and would seek support through online channels such as one who conducted the survey.
2. Plucking eyelashes as a symptom of trichotillomania
The irresistible urge to pull can be experienced in many ways. When describing the urge to pull, people with trichotillomania who pull their eyelashes often describe feeling some or all of their eyelashes every time they blink and feeling uncomfortable. This often results in the person tugging eyelashes for “the one” who is bothering them, and this leads to tugging. Although eyelash tugging is painful, the person often feels relief or pleasure. This reinforces the behavior that causes the person to keep pulling their eyelashes. There are also different pull patterns, with some pulling on just one lid while others pulling up and down and both eyes. Eyelash pulling is often accompanied by eyebrow pulling.
3. Eyelash pulling effects
The physical function of the eyelashes is to protect the eye from dirt, but they also contribute to a person’s aesthetic appearance. Eyelash pulling leaves the eye vulnerable to particles in the eye, which is very uncomfortable at best and can lead to infection at worst. Aesthetically, it is very noticeable when a person does not have eyelashes, which can be a source of embarrassment and shame, and can have a negative impact on self-esteem and confidence. Many eyelash curlers wear false eyelashes or sunglasses to cover up the problem, while others become socially withdrawn. This leads to a decrease in the quality of life.
