17 Useful Tips From Trichsters That Will Help You Deal With Hair PullingSkip To ContentHomepageSign InSearch BuzzFeedSearch BuzzFeedlol Badge Feedwin Badge Feedtrending Badge FeedCalifornia residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data.Do Not Sell My Personal Information 2022 BuzzFeed, Inc PressRSSPrivacyConsent PreferencesUser TermsAd ChoicesHelpContactSitemap Posted on 11 Sept 2017 17 Useful Tips From Trichsters That Will Help You Deal With Hair PullingTop tips from trichsters themselves. by Fiona RutherfordBuzzFeed News ReporterFacebookPinterestTwitterMailLink We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the best tips or products for dealing with trichotillomania Trichotillomania is a type of "impulse-control disorder" which leads to people pulling out the hair on their head, eyebrows, eyelashes, arms, or other places on their body. It can lead to feelings of low self-esteem, increased anxiety, and other negative emotions. In addition to seeking professional help, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, here are some tips from people with trichotillomania about how they deal with hair pulling. We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. 1 Grow your nails or wear acrylics so it s difficult to get a grip on your hair View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "Getting long fake nails actually helped me. Having these nice nails made me not want to ruin them and when looking down at my hands as I get the urge to pick reminded me not to. "This doesn't work for everyone but it is something to try as it can even be harder to pull out the hair with long nails as you can't get a good grip on your hair." – hayleyp49d3a0961 2 Start a new hobby that keeps your hands busy View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "Knitting has helped immensely. I have been knitting since I was six and keeping my hands busy making beautiful things has been really beneficial. I am working on four different projects at the moment and it keeps me distracted." – Jane Glicini, Facebook. 3 Or keep a fidget toy with you and play with it when you get the urge to pull View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "The fidget cube, there are five different activities to do with your hands and it distracts you from reaching for your hair, it helped me a lot." – megm4a50c5921 Get it on Amazon, £10.99. 4 Download a habit tracker app on your phone View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "I use an iPhone app called Productive. You can list tasks and mark them off on a daily basis. "It helps me to see how many days in a row I've not pulled. I also find that I pull mostly when I'll watching tv and I'm not sure why. This app is also very helpful and remembering other tasks too." – amymm2 Get it for free on the App Store. 5 Or invest in a Habit Aware bracelet View this post on Facebook facebook.com "My Habit Aware bracelet! It vibrates when I go to pull!" – ginevrap2 Buy it on the Habit Aware website from £97. 6 Pull the fur from a pillow instead of pulling your hair View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "I've struggled with trichotillomania since I was 14 – I'm now in my 20s. I've tried so many things. I found that I'd like to pull the thick kinky hairs out. "One of the most effective methods I've found was buying a decorative pillow with faux fur on it and pulling hair from that whenever I was home. I also can't recommend hair, skin, and nail vitamins enough!" – megaloaf 7 If you have patchy or non-existent eyebrows because of over pulling or plucking then create new ones with makeup View this photo on Instagram Instagram: @thebrowgal "I swear by BrowGal's eyebrow brush and eyebrow pallet. It gives enough coverage to look natural but at the same time hides the bald spots on my eyebrows."– ashleyshlyk Buy a BrowGal starter set for £57. 8 And help regrow your eyebrows and eyelashes with MaryKays brow and lash growth gel View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "I found MaryKays brow and lash growth gel and it has seriously helped me so much! It's about $40 so not cheap, but so worth it. Once it got so bad that I was bald I was determined to stop so I decided to invest in the gel and try to stop picking because I spent the money. "I still occasionally have rough days, mostly went I'm anxious or doing homework or quizzes, but my eyebrows have become so much better." – Molly Becker, Facebook Buy it from the Mary Kay website for £27. 9 Invest in a spinning ring for when you feel anxious or feel the urge to pull View this photo on Instagram Instagram: @charlotteswebuk "Spinny rings! Whenever I noticed I was pulling I would just swish it around my thumb. It's also helped me during times of panic." – ellec9 Get a spinning ring on Amazon for £25. 10 Or treat yourself to a thumb ring or a piece of jewellery you can play with to distract yourself View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "I bought a thumb ring off of Amazon. I noticed an immediate change. I would pick at the ring or play with it to keep my hands occupied! It also helped with my anxiety." – stoudtalexa Get yourself thumb ring on Amazon for £9.25. 11 Wrap bandages or medical tape around your thumbs so you don t feel the texture of your hair View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "I've had trich for six years and one thing that helps a lot is putting medical tape or bandages on my thumbs. "It helps you not feel the texture of the hair." – emmaf416e64ba1 12 Or if you don t like the look of bandages or tape try Lee Tippi micro gel fingertip grips Lee Products / Via leeproducts.com "These bad boys keep my fingers out of my hair plus they are inconspicuous at my office job." – halino22 Get yourself some Lee Tippi micro gel fingertip grips from Amazon for £8.60. 13 Wear a weave to protect your hair and stop yourself pulling View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "I wear weaves when the pulling gets bad to reset and to give the follicles a break so that they do not become too damaged." – misslaurynn 14 Or get a complete new hairstyle like an undercut View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "My undercut!! I don't have the guts to shave it all off - I like my hair most of the time. But getting SOME of it short enough to leave alone has helped." – Bonjour612 15 Changing your the colour of your hair can give you an extra boost of confidence View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "Dying my hair blue has been the most wonderful thing to curb my pulling. It homogenized the texture, so individual strands don't feel out of place when I run my hands through my hair absentmindedly. Plus now I have badass mermaid hair and it's done wonders for my confidence." – brith4778049bb 16 Talk about your problems and share your experiences with other trichsters View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "What helps me the most is sharing my experience with this disorder and reading others' stories that are just like me. There's nothing quite like having an actual person tell you that you are not alone. – sarav43539078e 17 Most importantly don t forget to celebrate the victories View this photo on Instagram instagram.com "Keep track of how many hours you haven't pulled. Then, when your hours turn into days, celebrate those. It is so, so important to celebrate the victories, however small or seemingly insignificant. It gets better, I promise." – rhiannab42d9c99d9 Make sure to follow the BuzzFeed Community on Twitter and Facebook Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. Share This ArticleFacebook PinterestTwitterMailLink BuzzFeed DailyKeep up with the latest daily buzz with the BuzzFeed Daily newsletter!This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.