Since many people find my site to help answer the question of why they pull their hair, I thought I should mention pulling eyebrows. Most of the time I talk about pulling out the hair on my scalp, but trichotillomania also includes pulling eyebrows, eyelashes, pubic hair or any other body hair.
This post serves as an introduction for anyone who has found my site looking for an answer as to why they pull their eyebrows.
Pulling Eyebrows – What Is It?
Pulling eyebrows is also trichotillomania, which means compulsive hair pulling. If you pull your eyebrows you may do it without realising, or find it very hard to stop. It might seem ‘weird’ but it is actually quite common, and you aren’t alone.
When I Used to Pull My Eyebrows
I started pulling eyebrows around the same time as I started pulling from my scalp. I don’t know why, but I liked the way it felt and pretty soon one of my eyebrows was pretty much bald.
In my case I stopped pulling my eyebrows and they grew right back to normal. In fact many people compliment me on how nice they are. It really is odd, and I can’t explain what made me stop.
If you pull your eyebrows you might not find it as easy as me to ‘just stop’ but there is a lot of support available. Sometimes it just really helps to know that there are a lot of others who do the same thing as you.
Hi! I was wondering, how long did it take to grow back from baldness to a full set for you? Mine are currently bald. I’m trying really hard to stop. I already got my eyelashes to grow back so I look forwards to my eyebrows again!
Hi, sorry I have taken so long to reply! Honestly I don’t know how long they took. When I pulled I only did it on one eyebrow, but I’m pretty sure it grew back very quickly. I was young and I guess I just grew out of it, unfortunately that didn’t happen with the scalp hair! Good luck stopping pulling!!
I am now 11 years old turning 12 I have had this habit
For 4 years and I can’t seem to stop I tend to pull out
My eyelashes I had extremely long ones and people
Always say how beautiful my eyes are I do not know how
To stop and to answer your question it takes a month and 2-3 weeks
For them to grow back
Can someone help me!!
I am worried they will not grow back!
I am 9 and have done it since 5 my parents tell me they won’t grow back but I think It is just to stop me doing it. We could stop together.
We could I am also moving and my mom says I can leave it in this house you could find a tree or some spot that you don’t see often and leave it there since we are almost the same age we HAVE a chance to stop this together !
If we don’t we could lose them forever
Hope I talk to u soon
me too i cant stop i’m 9 doing since7 my eyes are almost bald help i cant stop i hurt myself when i do it to make me stop doesn’t work very long
Try looking into neurotherapy. I am looking into it from a guy. I have read a success story on the web somewhere i cant remember where from a boy who had several sessions and stopped. I have also read about NAC pills and amino acid therapy as well as EEG on the brain to measure brain waves. I am looking into the science behind it in the brain as I have had trichotillomania since I was 7 and I am now 24. Mine still grow back so dont worry, but just try to look into neuro therapy which is to do with the brain / amino acids – we may be lacking in, rather than behavioural therapy. I found therapy doesnt work.
I have not had any sessions of neurotherapy yet but it will prob take several sessions or even maybe 15 or something, who knows.
Good luck. All the best to you. It must be really hard being at school and trying to cover it up. I am so lucky i never got picked on It must not have been that obvious, but i have been wearing false eyelashes for about 10 years now with lots of liquid eyeliner. People notice i wear false eyelashes but I just say yeah i like wearing them and change the subject. It saves me a lot of embarassment in my job and with my boyfriend who doesnt know. sucks though, i have to be careful in the rain, in summer the humidity etc. but it is a life saver. I wear them all day and all night above my eyelashes so it doesnt harm them as they can still grow and get through. good luck
I pull my eyebrows from time to time, but not properly i just pull it lightly to let all the loose ones come out. I started this when i initially thought that they were too bushy and there was too much hair. I also think this is what kinda started me off to pulling altogether. The fact that i felt i had too much body hair so i thought i’d lessen it some.
Sorry for all the bombardment of posts, but it is such a good blog.
Thanks for leaving the comments, I really enjoy connecting with others through the blog. I understand what you mean about pulling loose ones. I actually just pulled out some of my eyebrows so they cld have a better shape (I would usually tweeze, but I just did it with my fingers). Although I don’t have trich with my eyebrows anymore, I was still kind of worried that it could trigger something. So I try to avoid it.
Yeah, same
I just sometimes get an urge to just rub them to let all the loose ones fall out, but i don’t go all the way to pull, i think pulling from my scalp is enough torment already, don’t wanna add eyebrows or anything else to that
i pull my eyebrows too. it’s really bad. i started really early maybe when i was 5 or 6 years old and it’s been going on till now. I’m 19 and i really want to stop doing this. it makes me look weird!! I had always thought of it as a dirty habit and didn’t know it is actually a medical condition.
and i dont even know if it will ever grow back! i’m afraid of that. my incessant pulling has probably weakened the hair follicles or something. Please advise me on how i can overcome this.
Lily, I have exactly the same problem as you! I have been rubbing them and sort of tugging on them ever since i was in year 7, and i am 20 now ! If i don’ draw them I look like ive had chemotherapy or something. I feel like a weirdo, and feel so ugly
I hate drawing them on and really need some help on how to stop. I feel embarrassed to tell anyone about it.
I’m scared that they will never grow back either.
I have managed to find today this brow regrowth “eyebrow stimulator” called Librow which i plan on buying, even though it’s expensive. I’ll pay anything just to get them back lol i don’t even know what i look like with eyebrows anymore because it’s been so long!!
It’s awesome knowing that i’m not the only one, and you seem to have the most similar condition to me out of any response i’ve read.
Do you mind exchanging an email or something?
Any and Lilly I have the exact same problem but I pull eyelashes
I am 12 right now and and I have been pulling them out since I was 7
I am really skared I have the time to stop but it is SO hard
Please help someone!!!
Hey Ani,
I have nearly the exact same problem as you and Lily and we’re all similar age im 20, but the only thing is i think you two are so very lucky because you are girls and you can hide the baldness of your eyebrows with makeup most of the time.
But im a guy and i can’t even use makeup to cover up my eyebrows. i believe when i pick it is mostly stress related because im at university and whenever it comes to this time of the year im handed a bunch of really long assignments to do at home and so i find myself picking my eyebrows a lot more when im in the middle of typing up an assignment. let me know how you are getting along and hopefully i can get my assignments done with my eyebrows on my face haha.
i started rubbing my eyebrow about 4 years ago when there was one hair that felt different. I haven’t been able to stop and find it comforting when watching tv, reading, or working at my computer during the day. I equate it with a child sucking their thumb. i have to ‘fill in’ portions of my eyebrow in every day because there are two bald spots through each brow. I have tried to tell myself to stop, but i find my hand automatically goes there, especially when i am over tired. I hate how it looks! any advice on how to stop?
I’m 14. I pull at my eyebrows and touch them alot. I’m not actually pulling the hair out, because I mean, they’re still there. I usually only do it when i’m bored. It occupies me. I don’t know, to be honest. I feel like i’m “untangling” them, or something.
Im 17. Ive tried for so many years to stop, but I can’t. Its normally at school, so theres no way out! Ive gone to therapy, which I haven’t found helpful. I find that I seem to do better once i stop for about a week. If you can make it through a week, then They will begin to grow back and your will power will grow stronger. Thats just my opinion. Good luck everyone
Hannah – Firstly, sorry for taking a month to reply to this message. I have found the same as you sometimes. Though sometimes I find it easy to get through that week, sometimes more difficult. I hope you manage to go pull free for more than a week again!
i also started pulling my eyebrow hair about 6 years ago. I was in a very borning job but noticed one hair that was thicker and i was determined to get it. I used to have very pretty eyebrowns but now they are patchy and I hate them.. my husband hates it and comments on it a lot, but when i’m at the computer working i really can’t help myself. i keep a mirror at my desk to check the damage…lol i’m doing it now and try to keep it at “just feeling” them, but what a weird thing. i think stress from my family life could be a part of it.
Thanks for the info, i have the same problem it started a couple of years ago when a lash from my eyebrow fell on the school table so i brush it off, i also thought i had bushy eyebrows so id stroke them sometimes to let the loose ones fall out. then it turned to pulling some out to ‘trim’ it but now not much is left and im concerned. my advice is if you find yourself stroking but not pulling you need to stop immediatly before it gets worse
Matt – That is good advice, if you can just tell yourself to stop before it gets out of hand. I’m really sorry to hear about your troubles but I really hope talking about it helps in some way.
oh my gosh im so glad i found this site ive been pulling my eyebrows out for yrs then i switched to doing it to my eyelashes but someone told me they would never grow back so i stoped right away. as far as my eyebrows i still do it bad i cant stop its like there is a hair that feels weird and i try and pick it out and i cant…next thing i know their all gone. i also do that when im stressed and thinking hard i wish i could stop its super embarassing
Jenny – So glad you managed to stop pulling your eyelashes! I used to pull out my eyebrows and managed to stop but don’t even know why. I really hope just talking about it can help in some way.
i totally understand… i hate it too
Hello everyone,
I’m a fellow trickster as well. I’ve come to realize that it has definately taken it’s toll on my self-esteem, sucks I know. Oh well, what can I do but keep on trying to stop. I started when I was 17 detoxing off of drugs which was a very stressful time. I was trying to fall asleep one night and didn’t have my tweezers with me when I noticed I needed to pluck a couple hairs that were growing back in. Needless to say, there went the fingers to work. I’m 26 now and still in the midst of pulling by eyebrows out. It hasn’t gotten as bad as it was when I was younger but were getting there slowly but surely. I do want to add that I did stop pulling for about 3 years, hell I never even thought about it. It was like “poof and it was gone.” I had no urge and no sub-conscious reaction to pulling. Nevertheless, I’ve been pulling again for about 3 years now. Pray for me and I will do the same for ya’ll. XOXO
Cassie – Thank you for leaving your story here, it is encouraging to hear you stopped for three years. I miraculously stopped pulling my eyebrows too, though I still pull the scalp. If we did it before, we can do it again!
Hello to all!
Wow I was amazed after reading through everyone’s comment. I started pulling out my eye lashes and eyebrows since I was about 14. My mother used to get angry with me when I would ask her to draw my eyebrows back in. I would tell her I couldn’t help it, and that it would always feel like a hair needed to be pulled! I guess I pulled and pulled until there were no more. I stopped for a few years, and now I noticed that I am starting back. I have also noticed that I tend to leave my eyebrows alone when I go to the salon to get them arched. WHICH can also be a problem b/c I tend to start pulling at my eyelashes! This is something I know I will over come, it just takes a little time and dedication! Good luck to everyone.
Tanya – Sometimes it’s hard for parents to understand, my mum was the same. Good luck!!
Hi, i’ve been pulling my eyebrows for about 4 years now and can’t seem to stop! I noticed that most people mention pulling with their fingers however I seem to be obsessed with touching them and tweezing out any hairs that feel different ie. too thick, too thin, too short! Does anyone else do this? If so, has anyone else managed to stop completely? I hate my eyebrows from doing this, they look awful and patchy and it’s ruining my self confidence! x
Louise – I don’t do this but I have definitely heard of a lot of people doing this. Is there any way you can get rid of all your tweezers so you just won’t do it?
i use my fingers but also tweezers. i use the tweezers to try and even them out but i also pluck thick ones or odd colored ones for sure
I am a parent of a 10year old girl who pulls out her eyebrows and eyelashes, its nice to know she is not the only one as i had never heard of this before. Could you please give me advice on how to handle this as i am not sure what to do. Thank you. x
Well all of your stories sound like mine………. well this started when i was around 10 or so and it never really bothered me with pulling my eyebrows i touched them very little and it didnt really change my appearance at all until i was around 13 (im 17 now) my eyebrows were always so bushy and thick …. i finaly got my eyebrows arched at like 14 without telling my mom and i was so happy i got compliments the whole bit until they started growing back then i wanted it done again my mom wouldnt do it because she said i was to young……….. i had already been pulling my hair out but now it went into overtime pulling out my hair took over my life until eventually all my eyebrow hairs were gone…i quickly found a new enemy my eyelashes soon they were all gone and the little hairs always seem to grow back so quick so once they were all gone one day the next i found some more ……. i started drawing on my… eyebrows around 15 i hated it i felt bald face lol thats how i describe my face now……. i gone so far as to shave my whole face clean, cut every inch of my nails off get a manicure with long fake nails nothing works my hands always find that right position to get the hairs thats necessary. i feel so naked and its the worst when people ask you weres your eyelashes or eyebrows my skin has become raw around my eyelashes and my eyebrows have tiny little irritated bumps from the constent pulling …….ive taught myself i guess to not even think of my hair at school because at one point i went to school and couldnt stop pulling them and had to continuously go to the bathroom and draw them back on i guess i got tired of wandering if the makeup stayed on ………ive only been able to go without pulling for 2 weeks im just starting to wander should i just except this and just stop tryna find away to stop and except this life style i dont know right now but i just dream of the day were i will be able to wake up in the morning and go somewhere without drawin on eyebrows……my confidence is low i can fill my self slowly slipping away from life ive gave up my health im fat and ugly i just dont fill like i belong ……..if i could stop i would be so much happier
Thanks for listening just another story from a person with trichotillomania
I have pulled at my eyebrows since I was 16. I’m 31 now. I know exactly how you feel. I draw my brows in as well and sometimes I can’t stop picking and take my make up off. I think about them constantly and it makes me feel horrible. If its any consolation you are not the only one.
Hi Hanna I am 12 years i have been pulling my eye lashes for since I was 7
Now that I read your message I am skared out of my mind that the skin around my eyes will tern raw I even started crying and every morning I have to go to school I have to go into the bathroom and cover up what I have done to my eyes a lot of parents ask my mom why she would let her daughter that young wear makeup
Your masage had tought me something …
That I hate this habit and I want to stop all it us doing is distroing my eyes!
Mine are all bald with 2 raw spots on top my gran says about 6 months and the will all be there
Hope this helps ya
omg I thought I was the only one! I have never met or heard of anyone else doing this and I can’t believe there is a name for it! I feel for certain hairs, thick short ones and long ones, its like a constant battle for me everyday, telling myself I will stop doing it but then I do it without realising and then all of a sudden I have pulled another one out. There is a strange satisfaction that I find bizarre and I hate myself because I have bald patches! I have to colour the patches with pencil! it is really ridiculous. I am obsessed with having the perfect eyebrows now, constantly tweezing them but I can never achieve the perfect arch cause I end up pulling them out! I am jealous when I see other people who have perfect eyebrows. It almost makes me feel worse that its a condition, I don’t like the sound of that to be honest. Another worrying thing is that a couple of times I have pulled my eyelashes out and I have had an urge to do it recently but I stopped myself. It’s weird talking about this, its a bit embarrassing.
It’s a comfort thing I have come to realise, I do it when I watch TV ect. I used to bite my nails down to the point I had hardly any left but I managed to stop one day, now they’re really long and nice so I hope I can stop this eyebrow pulling! My aim is to stop doing it and get them shaped professionally so that will give me the push I need to stop all together.
I’m off to do some google research on this haha. Anyway its nice to know I’m not alone.
I know exactly how you feel. I’ve been pulling my eyebrows for probably 7 or 8 years now (I’m 25 now) and I don’t even know how it started. I remember seeing my dad watching tv on the couch one day rubbing his eyebrows but not pulling them… and I think i subconsciously picked up the habit and it turned into pulling when i’m stressed or bored. I don’t know how to stop! I want to stop so bad… the longest i’ve made it without pulling was probably 2 weeks. I hate that it has a label too… and I don’t want to go to a therapist or anything because I cannot have that on my record for work reasons.
It’s so embarrassing… I know people see me doing it at my desk at work too. When i’m at my desk, I don’t even realize i’m doing it until it’s too late and i’ve already pulled out 20-30 hairs. It’s like a feeling of tension that can only be relieved by pulling out my eyebrows, and I get a weird sense of satisfaction when I pull one out. I feel terrible about myself after I look in the mirror and see bald patches. When im around other people, i can’t talk to them without watching their eyes to see if they’ll look at my eyebrows and realize how weird I look. I really have to stop this before it gets worse… but part of me feels like it’s already too late. It’s affecting my personal life (my gf yells at me about it all the time), and I know it will have a negative impact on my professional life if I let this continue. Does anyone have any advice on what they did to help curb this terrible habit? Thanks to everyone for posting, it’s great to know others are facing the same challenge with this as I am.
If you are pulling your eybrows out, you need to realise that if you continue doing this it will continue, and grow into an almost unstoppable desire to pull them out for the rest of your life. It does not look attractive when your missing eyebrows. Also it can damage the hair folicle to where it takes a long time to grow back. If you want advice on how to stop pulling them out, next time your hand goes to touch your eyes, put your hand down immediately no matter how hard it is to do…the more you are able to stop the urge when it arrises the easier it is to move on from this obsession. Advice for growing them back faster, if you need to get your hair back i would suggest going to a store and buying rogaine to put on your eyebrows(NOT EYE LASHES) this will have them back within a few weeks depending on how much you pulled, but no longer than 5 if you pulled all of them out. Good luck. Put your hand down!!!
I have the same problem, as I’ve been plucking my eyebrows for about 1 year now. They don’t yet look normal , but I’ve tried to stop instinctively doing it and I think I’m on the good way. I read different opinions about how fast hair grows back, but I was wondering how fast hair grows back after plucking it this way.
Also, could I have during this period of time damaged my eyebrows so badly that they won’t fully recover (eg. destroyed hair follicles) or does it usually take longer?
I have been pulling out my eyebrows for probably 15 – 20 years now. My mum says it all started when my Dad moved out and I would constantly worry and think about my Mum and Dad not being together.
I was 10 years old then and I am now 29.
In the first few years I would say I pulled due to being extremely worried or anxious. I would pull so much (including my eyelashes) that a few times I contracted conjuctivitis in the eye. I think a mixture of having Trich and also having extremely bad hayfever (grass pollen) meant that not only was I picking in and around my eyes, I was also rubbing them excessively due to the grass pollen irritation in the eye.
I went on eye antibiotics to get rid of the conjunctivitis a few times and learnt not to touch or rub my eyes, particularly if I hadn’t washed my hands for a while.
In more recent years I would say that I do still pull due to being anxious but for the most part I tend to feel (like others have stated) the need to relieve something that feels loose/itchy/irritable in the eyebrows/eyelashes. It feels extremely pleasurable when you feels a few roots coming out.
I must admit I really haven’t sought any kind of professional help due to me thinking it is a total waste of a Doctor’s time. Like most people you do go through phases where you will pull lots and then there will be “quiet periods.” But all in all I have been suffering from this condition for at least 15 years, probably nearer 20.
As you can imagine it feels impossible to stop. For all those people worrying about eyebrows and eyelashes not growing back, in all the years I have been doing it they always grow back. I would say that it takes mine to grow back fully about 2 months. After about a month they start to lightly cover the gaps which is not so embarrassing.
I will also add that I suffer from biting my finger nails and the skin around them, on occasions to the point of disfigurement and bleeding. In recent times I have managed to curb this habbit somewhat. It does get a lot easier if you can get through the first week or so without feeling any urges.
I feel for you guys and girls out there. Hope my story helps you get some understanding.
Love to all,
Dan.
I can really relate to Joe’s comment. I started pulling out the hair on my head when I was a child. I remember people remarking on the bald spot I was creating at the crown, and that was enough to make me stop that particular type of pulling.
I became obsessed with Michael Jackson in the early 90′s and started plucking my eyebrows in order to achieve the arched look that he had. I would stand in front of the mirror for hours trying to tweeze and shape the perfect brow.
In recent years, I began pulling out clumps of my eyebrows while watching television or using the computer. I’m usually conscious of what I’m doing and I hate the results, but I can’t seem to make myself stop. One hair might feel too long or too stiff, and I will pull and rip out all the hair in that vicinity until the culprit is gone. I always dread looking in the mirror afterwards, because I know I’m going to feel a combination of regret and anger.
I feel like I’m stuck in some kind of tweezing/pulling cycle that will never end. I work so hard to achieve a certain look with my eyebrows, but then I destroy them in a manner of seconds. I’m tired of using an eyebrow pencil every morning in order to avoid looking like a freak of nature. I constantly worry about my eyebrows looking unnatural or whether the eyebrow pencil is going to rub off. I feel silly, shallow, and pathetic because I allow my eyebrows to have so much control over my life.
Anyway, reading the comments on this page was refreshing. It isn’t something that I can just talk about with anyone, so it’s nice to be able to get my thoughts out here. Peace.
i can related to all of you. i felt better looking this up…my husband mentioned that it was a disorder a few months back, but i was scared to look it up on line, but it is amazing how all of our stories are the same. i’m in a place where my eyebrows look better than they have in a long time, but they are still patchy. I try really hard to stop at “just touching” and if I must pull I get the tweezers which minimizes the injury to the nearby non offenders
plus that amount of time it takes to get the tweezers from my purse tends to delay the urge. I really want to stop this so bad. I often have this feeling of pain or tension in my eyebrow, so i know it must be stress related…
Hiya
I started pulling my eyebrows out the febuary of this year, i dont really know why i started to be honest but it was around the time of my exams and i was really stressed out. Even though my exams are long gone now and i did well in them, im still constently pulling them out, i wish i could stop but its so hard. My mum is always telling me to stop doing it but its odd cause most of the time im doing it without thinking, i think its just a way to relieve stress to be honest but the irony is that looking in the mirror to see massive bald patches in my eyebrows just makes me even more stressed out, i hate it. It a vacious cycle that i really want to break.
well…this is my problem too…i pull my eyebrow and recently i they are finally growing back…only to find my eyelashes have disappeared…..i am so stupid for pulling,,,,,I CANT STOP!!
so i dont actually pull on them, i just like rub them..? and then hairs fall out. like i pinch the skin and rub it back and forth and i SERIOUSLY can not stop because i dont even realize im doing it! what is wrong with me, is it an anxiety thing? and its usually only my right eyebrow which is like half bald, its really embarrassing
This is exactly what I do! So relieved to read this. I rub my eyebrows (but the right one mostly) until the hairs fall out, pinch and poke at it with my fingernails. I’m really trying to stop but it’s so hard because I don’t even always realize I’m doing it!
This blog has really been helpful, thank you for that, But I continue to have a problem with pulling my eyebrows and eyelashes. i have done it for the past 10 years. And now in my 20′s I really need to find a cure. I hate having to wear fake lashes and eyebrow liner out in public. I am very ashamed of it. A few years ago I did stop out of nowhere. I cant explain it. I was so happy with myself and with life. Then the stress hit and I started pulling again. At first it was just half of my eyebrow, then half of my lashes. Then I thought “Man, this looks so uneven. Why dont I just pull them all out and wait for them to grow in evenly…” Big mistake. I havent stopped pulling since. And now I’m left with a very hair less face. Any suggestions??
i just want to say: i remember the day i started pulling out my eyebrows, when i was 8 years old. i started because it felt good. it didnt start to mess with my appearance until i was 13. which is wehn i started wearning make up. (im really good at it now, in fact i get compliments on how perfect my brows always are. which actually doesnt make me any less stressed about how bald they are )
i have never stopped pulling for more than a couple weeks since i started, and I am almost 23 now.
i used to suffer from depression and i have overcome that. i thought maybe trich was a symptom of my depression, but even though i feel like i lead a normal life, i still have that pulling battle almost every single night (the last few nights have been particularly bad). im doing something while my brain is screaming for me to stop! and every morning im angry with myself for having done it again.
when im focusing on not pulling, i usually start to bite my tongue and the inside of my mouth
whenever anyone (ever) has asked me to do something (whether it be a sleep over or going swimming, etc,) the first tthing that pops in my head is my eyebrows, and i usually try to avoid those situtaitons.
i’ve never met anyone whos admitted to having the same problem as me. and i like to, every once in a while, read about others who are going through the same thing. stay strong!
I have a 12 year old son who has pulled his eyebrows a couple times. Once, he left just one small balled spot and now in the middle of the night, he almost has no eyebrows. I am glad to see that he is not alone. I asked him why he did it and he said he didn’t know. I asked him if it hurt when he did and he said that it did. Is this something that I need to worry about with him? He has other issues such as ADHD, ODD, Bipolar and post-traumatic stress. I wasn’t sure if this would be just another symptom of one of these or if this is something else for him to be diagnosed with. Do doctors prescribe medication to help him stop or is it something that will go away on it’s own? This is all new too me and I am worried about my son.
Hi Jessie about your son when he is older and does not stop that they will stop to grow and he will have none
I think it is caused by the stress
You can take him to someone who speahalieses in that witch basically is therapy
Hi Jessi,
I’m studying to be a therapist. You said your son has other disorders as well? It’s possible that his compulsive pulling is comorbid with his other disorders, meaning that when a child has one disorder, he is often likely to have another. Trichotillomania is kind of like obsessive compulsive disorder, if you know what that is. He’s compulsively pulling because of anxiety and stress. This is just a way for him to take out his anxiety. He obsesses over the pulling (meaning he can’t stop thinking about it), and his anxiety goes up. The actual pulling of the hair is a compulsion, and once he pulls the hair his anxiety goes down. He feels better after pulling his hair, and therefore keeps doing it. The anxiety reduction reinforces his compulsive behavior, making him more likely to pull again, if that makes sense. If he keeps doing this, I would take him to see someone. Hope that helps!
Try being popular and having like half an eyebrow on each side. I’m in 9th grade currently and not being cocky but I am popular idk how when I look weird sometimes bc of my trich I usually never pull my eyebrows just lashes for like 9 years now but right now I probably have more lashes than brows. I dont even want to go to school because everyone will notice. I am currently in therapy bc of my mom being well herself lol. So any tips?
Im 12 years old and my friend has been noticing that i pull my eyebrows so that hair comes out.
I used to bite my nails but i cant bite them now cos i got a brace and im not sure if that is something to do with it.
Im quite confused – please help!
well im kind of happy to hear those stories coz now i feel that i’m not alone in that . i start that bad habit when i was 9 when my parent recognised that they yell at me and i stopped but i started it over about 10 years from now ( i’m 23 now) i feel horrible and i don’t like it when people look at my fake eyebrws and start to ask me why i’m doing that i simply donno how to reply i just run away or change the subject . i hate my look and i feel that all other people are better than me and i’m just a freak . i just want my eyebrows and eyelashes back i want to stop what i’m doing
i want to get up in the morning and not feel the urge to look at the mirror to check if my eyebrows are still there i just want to swim freely and not ask every minute if brows are still there lol
i hope i know why i’m doing that
i ve never talked to anyone about that it’s my first time hope we could overcome it
good luck to everyone
ive had this problem since i was in first grade and i am about to finish 8th. it all started when my one friend told me a story about how her dad had picked her up one day giving her a hug and she noticed an eyebrow on his cheek and she was going to make a wish but it had fallen so he pulled one out to give it to her to make one. lol i know weird story but thats how it started i would pull them and make wishes eventually my mom found out and told me it wasnt true and told me i had to stop. i never did stop then it became more serious i looked horrible, i went to therapy and it did end up helping i quit for a year or so but then it started up again i blamed it on stress but i dont believe thats the reason anymore, i cant stop. and now people are noticing and i dont know what to do i need to stop..
…I can relate to all of this. I am now 15 and I started pulling at my eyebrows when I was about 11. I went without drawing them on for about 2 years and then I got made fun of a lot. I now draw my eyebrows on and it makes me look so weird, but I dont get made fun of anymore (however, since being made fun of, I always worry about people asking about my eyebrows which makes me not want to talk)…. I hate it! I have my bangs cut so that they will kind of cover my brows and make them look some what natural. I have tried and tried to stop pulling at them but somehow I always wake up and the hairs that were once there are now gone. I use to be really outgoing until I started this and now I am really shy and backwards. I’ve missed out on a ton and I dont want to miss out on anymore. I really really want to stop pulling at them, but just cant fight the urge. This is so embarassing and it makes me really angry and upset that I do this to myself. I have extremely low self esteem now. I am hoping to have them grow back before school starts which is in almost 3 months. Any advice? Does therapy really work? Is there some kind of pill or something I can take? Please help!!!!!
wow! i thought i was a freak for doin this, mine started when i found out there were little microscopic bugs that live in our eyebrows and eyelashes so i’d start trying to pick them out! Crazy to think i could actually grab something that microscopic in sie, i know. lol. Anyways i noticed they were thinning out alot cause of that so i backed off to just rubbing them. Then i noticed if i just kind of pushed on them, like, trying to push the hair straight back into its root it felt the same, (thats why it became such a habit, the feeling. i cant explain it, its kind of like a pain feeling but in the same way it feels good?) So yeah, i started doing that and its been a habit ever since. I noticed i did it alot more when i was in school sitting in class. Its like biting your nails, which i also do, to an extreme. lol. It blows my mind how addicting it is, probably because its like a comfort zone thing for me. Its soothing and it calms me. For awhile i’d switch between eyelashes and eyebrows once one or the other started looking or feeling bad enough where people would notice at a glance. My eyebrows got so bad at one point it looked like i had a scar over em due to the lack of hair. but yeah, its not something i’m proud of thats for sure, its like a nervous tick or something. 90% of me wants to stop doing it and thinks its crazy, but that other 10% is still bout it and its extasy feeling of perpetual bliss. lol :p
Im 12.
I pick at my eyebrows all the time especially when I’m bored.
I have hardly any brows so I have to have a full fringe:/
I hate it.
Is there any way I can stop ?!
Hi Lauren I am also 12 years old but I pull my eyelashes
One way to stop eyebrow pulling is putting on fake nails
Because if you continue you will lose them for when your older!
I used to pull my eyelashes then I started to pull my eyebrows than I went back to my eye lashes
When you fringe your eyes try to put on some eye liner To help I do not pull every day I haven’t till like a month now
It takes about 4-7 weeks to grow them back
Read my other messages that I wroght under the name mistory girl if you want
ByE
I have been rubbing my eyebrows for the past twelve years. I know it’s that long because twelve years ago was when I found out my wife was having a baby girl!! I’m 50!
I can remember being really anxious and when I was relaxing or watching TV I would stroke my eyebrows, obviously for some kind of comfort.
The problem I find is that a lot of the time I do it without realising, usually one of my family mentions it to me. I end up with bald patches especially if I’m stressed.
I have recently been away for a relaxing holiday and I don’t think I did it at all, but as soon as I came back it has slowly started again.
I realised that on holiday my hands were occupied a lot, swimming, archery, water polo and taking lots of photographs.
So far I have heard of a lot of people on here with similar problems and only one offering any kind of advice to stop.
I am going to try the ‘keep my hands down’ method as Jack the Ripper suggested, I will let you know if I am successful.
I feel that if I can stop doing it for a few weeks then I might break the habit.
Good Luck everyone, your not alone !
So I guess I started pulling my eyelashes when I was little, but just one or two sometimes. A couple years ago I started doing it everyday all day practically. I can’t really pin point why or when I do it the most. I used to not notice until I had done it and saw the bald spot. Now I mostly pull my eyebrows and its gotten pretty bad over the past few weeks. Its to the point now that I know I’m doing it and just don’t want to stop. I even think about how upset I’m going to be after and still pull them. I have no idea what to do : (
I am 17 and have been pulling my hair since 13, it has never gotten bad enough that I have visible bald spots cause my hair is thick (it used to be) and it is easy to cover small areas. Just recently I started on my eyelashes and eyebrows. My eyelashes I have managed to leave alone and they are now grown back but my eyebrows are almost completely bald. On my right I have none and on my left I have a small amount left. I don’t know what to do because I just can’t stop and I don’t understand why I stopped with the rest of my hair and not my eyebrow. What can I do to get rid of this NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!????????
Hey guys, I can relate to a lot of the comments. 46 and have been doing it for……not sure, I used to do it in a more “practical” just the ones that felt “wrong”, too thick or too long. I don’t believe it is a vanity thing and that I’m trying to groom them, it’s more like an addictive feeling, when you get that perfect “bad” hair. Problem is, somewhere along the line I now started taking out all the “innocent bystanders” too while searching for the bad guys. Long story short, I’m getting noticable patches and I’m concerned about them because of my age and not 100% sure everything grows back at my age, especially in that I keep pulling out the roots. I precisely (or not so precisely, when I’m out of control) pick them out between nails usually, but I do a lot of rubbing too.
Hey John, do you only rub or do you pluck too, and have you noticed any growback problems at 50?
Thanks everyone for sharing
that’s the best way I can describe it too. when you get the right, perfect pull, it feels great and you put your hand back to pull another compulsively. then you see what you’ve got and for me i feel really upset when i see a clump of 7-8 hairs. its really sad and i just cannot stop, stay strong you guys, two weeks can break any habit right?
sorry, when I say I’m getting “noticeable patches”, I mean bald patches of course. More on one side than the other.
I just feel like I have to get control of this right now before it starts looking weird, I’m looking for a job right now, so weird looks are not helpful.
Gotta feed the kids! Of course, my current stress levels is probably why I’m doing it more than usual, but hopefully this will give me the incentive to quit cold turkey, will check back in a few days and let you guys know how it’s going. I’m quitting starting now!
hi thank you for making this page, i’m glad i found. When i was six years old i started pulling out my eyebrows and eyelashes during school. I had ADD, i don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but i pulled all my eyebrows out and my mother really hated me for it. I stopped after that but it has really flared up again this year, my final year of high school. the in-between years of 1st to 12th grade, I constantly have pulled my scalp hair out, pulled out eyebrows and eyelashes on and off, I have ripped out my split ends for years, once in 4th grade i actually shaved my arms. In every region of my body i have pulled out hair with tweezers. I also cut my own hair during stressful times and at the beginning of 2011, I cut off all of my hair so i had a sort of mod boy cut, but soon after, I had no split ends to idly rip out, so i pulled out every single one of my eyelashes. I have cried so much over all of this. it’s something I’ve strugged with. I mean, throughout my senior year of high school, I actually HAD to wear false eyelashes. I didn’t have a choice. my mother gets so angry at me, and I wish i could stop. she tells me I look like a cancer patient. a few hours ago i had the compulsion to rip out my top right eyelashes only, so i have all the other ones, but the top of my right eye is bare. I just don’t know how i will be able to cover this up.
I am 12 years old I have a different habit I pull my eyelashes I have been doing this for 5 years.
I am so skared that they will never grow back. I am so young and every day I have to go to school and i have to put on makeup to hide what I have done to my eyes
People ask my mom why she would let her child wear makeup that young.
Only some people noticed so far that some eyelashes are mising
I hope I stop so I can have them back for September that’s when school starts again!
I HATE THIS!!
i am 15 nearly 16 and i have picking my eye brows out since i was 14, i cannot help but pick them i like the feeling of picking them out and hurting where they should grow for some reason, i git the mick took out of me and people ask where they have gone. but i cannot help it, its so addicting, i wish i could stop i just want to look normal, but instead i have patchy, bald eyebrows :’(
ahhhhhhhh! i just can’t stop either. i’m 37 and have been doing it for about 5 years. great to see that i am not alone. Just like Isiah siad: “I used to do it in a more “practical” just the ones that felt “wrong”, too thick or too long. I don’t believe it is a vanity thing and that I’m trying to groom them, it’s more like an addictive feeling, when you get that perfect “bad” hair. ”
i have tried wearing gloves and tapping up my finger tips, which seems to work (although i look a bit odd at work wearing gloves….)
any other techniques for stopping would be very welcome. i hate the bald patches.
I am so surprised that many of you have the same fcuked up problem as me. i hate it so much. i started pulling out my eyebrows when i was 13 or something, I am now 21 !! and I am still doing this dirty habit! i stop from time to time and it grows back on but then the same shit happens again. at one point i was pulling my eyelashes as well till i had none. but its been a long time since i did that. my problem now is with the eyebrows, i wish i could just STOP and be normal. I’ve been in so much awkward situations where someone would notice that my eyebrows are painted. i feel like shit and wouldn’t know what to say and later on ill try to avoid that person. i thought I’m the only one with this habit! it feels kinda good to know I’m not alone..
It’s good to hear there are other people who take eyebrow and lash pulling seriously- sometimes I feel people think I’m just being silly as it’s ‘not as bad as scalp pulling’. It still makes me feel awful. I started pulling my lashes when I was very young (maybe 4 or 5 years old) and switched to eyebrow pulling when I got glasses. I now still pull both non stop and I’m 23. I can’t seem to find a way out, and feel it’s pointless to even bother now as by bald eyebrows will never grow back
(
Hi every one can u please see my comment about all of this under the name mystery girl cause I repeated this story like 7 times already thx
Good luck 2 all of u !!!!
Wanna stop too please gimme a cure if you have one
Do u pull your eyelashes or eye brows?
I’ve been pulling my brows for 2 or 3 years now. There’s just something so satisfying about finding the thick hairs and pulling them out. I really wish I could stop. Last year I stopped pulling on my scalp, so hopefully I can stop pulling my brows soon.
I started pulling out my eyebrows about a month ago. It felt very good and had the urge to do it again and again. Then my eyebrows looked horrible. I decided to stop about 2 weeks ago, and haven’t touched them ever since. They have been growing, slowly though, but they still grow. To stop pulling your eyebrows after making it a habit may be hard, but we are in full control of our actions, and must overcome the challenge. If people keep pulling them, then they will soon never grow back. Although resisting the temptation will be hard, don’t give up, trust me, at the end, you’ll get your self-esteem back, and it will be worth it.
I’ve been rubbing my eyebrows ever since I was a baby, my mother told me that I had once reached out for my father’s eyebrow and began rubbing them. Ever since, I had become addicted to it. I seem to rub them as a source of comfort..other times it’s out of stress. And you can tell how stressed I am based on the amount of bald patches. It really is embarrassing. I’ve tried so many different things my doctor suggested but no matter what I can’t stop. My parents even tried these techniques when I was a child but that obviously did not stop me either. I’ve been struggling with this problem all of my life and I feel so insecure and ugly. The fact that I have to draw my eyebrows in all the time is just extremely embarrassing. I am currently 18 years old and I just really want to just stop. My family often comments on it and makes fun of me and puts me down and that hurts a lot. They tell me to stop all the time, yet, they don’t understand my condition at all…if I could just stop like that do you think I’d still be doing it? I obviously don’t want to be doing it, I just wish I could find a way to stop. I’m tired of it. I want to just want to feel pretty again.
My wife thought that I was weird and alone!! HA!!
I don’t know why I started, but I was probably in and around age 7 – 8… I started with my eyelashes because it just felt good. When I pulled out one or two (sometimes a whole grouping) I would rub them on my lip… WTF is that about? I stopped doing my eyelashes in high school when noticeable patches started to make me look like a freak.
The older I got, I liked to pull out my eyebrows. Now these babies are great. Sometimes I get the long ones, and I still like to rub it on my lip… again WTF is that about?
In all seriousness, we’re not messed up… but we have a compulsion of some sort.
When I’m at work, I usually just spend time scratching at my chin (Shaggy from Scooby Doo look) or playing with the hair, but I don’t pull it out.
Hi thx for the advice do u hav all your eye lashes back by now?or do u only have some
Are fake lashes hard to wear ? How many eye lashes do u have to hav to put them on
Thankyou for your advice and can u please anwer some of my questions
Hi Mistory Girl,
My eyelashes are all grown back, and I don’t like to pull them out unless they are jabbing into my eye.
I’ve stopped my eyebrows too, as I’m getting kind of sparse.
The last two weeks I’ve been growing a “Shaggy” chin beard, and love pulling at that.
So tomorrow I’m shaving, and will give my pulling urges a rest.
Hi everyone,
I know it has been said by all but it can’t be said enough, it is so inspirational to know there are others who have the same problem. I was 12 when I began pulling my eyelashes to the point that I had huge bald spots after about a year I moved to my eyebrows and it didn’t start and there would be times when I had healthy eyebrows and times when I had batching missing. It got really bad when I graduated from college, for me it’s triggered by stress and idleness. Reading a book, on the computer, it has always been an unbreakable habit. The first thing to step forward and overcome this was be open with my boyfriend (now husband) and my network (my true friends and family members) and I was amazed at how supportive they were, I wasn’t a freak and I was the one who shamed myself, thinking they would be as harsh. The next thing I did was wipe off all make up (i never use to take my eyebrow make up off) when I got home. It forced me to see what i am doing to myself, what i do to feel so unattractive. My husband is the first and only person to see it and it doesn’t phase him one bit. He tells me how beautiful I am and that he prefers it because he doesn’t want me to hide behind anything from him. For the first time since I was 12 years old I’ve felt hope and it comes with acknowledgement and self control. For all the younger girls, you can face this and you can and will overcome this. Trust in yourself and in your family. They love you and it isnt coming from a place of judgement, people are afraid of what they don’t understand. It’s been a month and they are growing slowly and I mostly don’t feel the urge anymore but it will always be a struggle. But we can do it!
I’m sorry that sounded disconnected, the iPhone replaces words!
good luck to us all and have a great weekend 
I have had trichotillomania for 30 years. The pulling seems to be related to seasons; winter being the worst time, and summer the best. This will likely be something I will battle for the rest of my life.
I’m 19 and have been dealing with hair pulling since i was born. My parents used to get angry with me because the hair i pulled clogged the vacuum cleaner. but now it’s my eyebrows, and has been, since about my sophomore year of high school. I’m embarrassed of my looks, even though manyyy people tell me i’m pretty with my eyebrows “filled in” (that’s what i tell them). But i’m taking vitamins and busying my schedule so stress and boredom don’t cause this compulsiveness. i feel so lucky to know there are more ppl with this same issue. thank you everyone and good luck!