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.

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!

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?

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.