hey..
i was on here looking for some information and came across your forum. Can i start off by saying that plucking hair is not necessarily OCD, so if this is your only issue, you needn't worry. I have been diagnosed with OCD from when i was young, although ive never had the courage to actually tell the doctors/psychologists about my plucking.
I used to pull out the hair on my head.. when i tried to stop doing that, my plucking began. I've been plucking my underarms for atleast 10 years now. It drives me insane because it feels so good and relieving but the frustration when i cant get certain ones kills me. i dig out ingrowns with pins, or just break the skin with my tweezers. And the hairs that are thicker than the rest i absolutely cant leave. I will pluck for hours just at one hair that is too short to even see without stretching the skin, it kills me. I do it in public & at work all the time with my fingernails (discreetly), until my nails are so worn down they wont meet each other anymore. And now over the last 3 years i have started on my eyebrows. I have almost none left and horrible scars from digging out the extremely short ones. I do this (eyebrow and underarm) every damn day for hours, and i often get hard lumps under my left arm (not ingrown hairs.. just lumps). i recently had one, and about a day before it went away, i got this severe pain in the side of my left breast. does anyone know what this could be? Im worried but too embaressed to see a doctor about it. the pain has lasted about a week so far (but only when reaching or bending or lifting) please help if u can

Thank you for your encouragement; however, I’m sorry to say that I fell once again. I am still plucking. In fact, I was determined not to use tweezers and since my husband hid them from me, I stupidly used my nail clippers. I know, weird yeah. They actually worked but they didn’t dig like tweezers. I don’t recommend it. I really am trying to be good know though. Aaahhhhhh…But, at least my hubby knows and can try to help. I agree with you, Dorkus, everyone needs to tell at least one person whom they are really close to. It’s like a heavy burden somehow is lifted a little.

I want to say that I have used Retin A. It sounds really familiar. I went to a dermatologist about 5 years ago (did not tell them why I looked this way) and I think he prescribed it to me. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, it is a topical solution in a little bottle that has a rubber dabber thingy on top. In my case, it didn’t work but I was continuing to pluck so, I dunno.

Replying to the last post about underarm lumps; I tried plucking my underarm about a year but found that it hurt more than my legs (I guess it’s a tender spot) and that my neck cramped really bad when I did it. I pretty sure that I did get a few lumps under my skin and that sort of freaked me out but, I found that they went away in a few days. I hope that severe pain went away. Poor thing.

Please tell someone, people. It’s worth it.

Navigate through the website. They have articles, forums and actual chat rooms for "hair pullers". Hope this provides understanding and positive direction for you.

http://lilboh-nfl.dnsalias.com/trich/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=40354

I used to overpluck my eyebrows (about a year and a half ago) pretty badly as well. i always has red puffy eyebrows etc from doing it so much, trying to get every tiny little dot out etc. then i decided to get electrolysis done primarily to stop that. it worked! (the only problem is that i'm picking my face more which is another condition in the same category...haha...i'm working on stopping doing that too, but it's just as hard.)

I'm so glad I found this thread, because now I know I'm not alone. I never knew other people did this too. I started plucking my bikini line a year ago, and it was a disaster. I had puffy red bumps, scabs and ingrowns all over. Like all of you, I couldn't stop. I kept saying "this is my last day" but it never worked. I managed to stop plucking my bikini line once I started plucking my legs, and now my legs are the disaster zone! I haven't worn shorts or let anyone see my legs in months. The good news is that my bikini line is almost back to normal, which gives me hope that my legs may return to normal too. Every time I managed to pull down the tweezers, I'd look at the damage I had just done to my legs and feel like crying. But I couldn't stop.

After reading this thread a few weeks ago, I ordered Vita-K for scars and bruises, as well as the Palmer's Skin Success lotion. I've been applying each lotion twice a day (and using tend skin at least once a day) and I'm really happy to say that my legs are starting to look a little bit better. Still covered in red and brown dots, but they really do look better. The small improvement has also helped me pluck less-I still do it, but I no longer dig for ingrown hairs and can convince myself to stop after a few minutes (compared to the hours I could spend before). I'm really hoping that my legs continue to improve, because I'd love to be able to wear skirts again. Anyway, anyone hoping to see improvement in scarring might want to check these two lotions out, and let me know if it works for you! I'll keep you guys updated.

What a surprise it was to come across this forum! I have been picking and plucking at myself for years, and like many of you, I have scabby, bumpy legs and spend hours every day searching for hairs to pull. I've been telling people it's just razor irritation, so absolutely no one knows. I had no idea other people even did this.

At any rate, I sure can't stand this plucking anymore. I love to wear skirts and have even lost some weight so my legs look better, but this problem has me wearing pants in 90-some-degree weather. I, too, began in college; having a single dorm room certainly hasn't helped, since I don't have a roommate to see me doing my business and give me strange looks.

What has been the best way for you all to curb the urges to pluck? Keeping your hands busy, and not looking? I've been using Neosporin ointment for the last few days in hopes that I could make the scabs get better and feel that my legs really could look pretty. It has been working pretty well.

there are several other forums on tricholomania where people suffering from this help each other out. you can try google to find them.

[i][/i][color:#3333FF][/color]Never in a million years did I expect to see anyone else with this obsession. I am 34 yrs old as of last week and sadly enough have been plucking w/ tweezers the hair on my legs and private area since I was around 12 or so.
I don't even know what started it, I always shaved daily, but one day just did it and couldn't stop.

Unlike some people, I have told other's about it. I actually did it even when I was off at school w/ a roomie, she just giggled and said, OUCH, doesn't that hurt.

I am married and my husband will say, you really need to leave your 'area' alone, doesn't that hurt? He's nice about it, but it is bumpy. My legs look like crap, red and bumpy and I hate anyone to see them.

This summer I have noticed that if I put tanning lotion with a light color (tan color) on regularly than the hairs are harder to see compared to my lighter skin color. This made it more difficult for me to pull. This is the ONLY thing I have found to cut down the hours I spend plucking, but haven't found anything that makes me quit.

When I was PG, I would get so MAD because it was so hard to find a way to pluck my legs because of my belly, it would actually really frustrate me.

I have PMDD which is a severe form of PMS (seratonin issues) and I read that, that is part of the problem with hair pullers. I take Prozac (30 mg) and Topamax (50 mg) and that doesn't help or make it worse.

you may want to consult an OCD center near you. there are programs you can enter to change your behavior by learning what triggers it and how to control it.

Hi there
I have the same problem, I've been picking at my legs for years,
they were a mess.
I used to wax then I went on to an epilator. For me I think that caused the problem of ingrown. As when I waxed that removed the top layer of skin the same as shaving but the epilator only removed the hair, so my skin became thick and blocked them from coming through.
I've found now when I get the urge to pluck I use a silky mitt and that takes the hair and dead skin away and leaves my legs smooth. My legs are looking heaps better. I will always have some white scars when I get a tan, but that looks better than the ugly red marks.
I also started plucking at my stomach happy trail and made a mess of that realy bad.
6 weeks ago I had laser treatment on that area, and because theres been no hairs growing (i used to use a bright light and dig at the first sign of hair) the area has started to heal and i'ts looking the best it has in years. The brown scaring is begining to fade. The laser was'nt too expensive cause it was a small area.
I'm going to get my legs done a bit at i time now to see how I go with that.
I hope this helps