With all the glitz and glamor of the cosmetic industry, it`s easy to forget there are many unfortunate people stricken with various diseases or disorders that make it impossible for them to enjoy the same beauty experiences that most of us take for granted.
Some of these conditions are serious enough to be life threatening, others are not physically harmful but cause startling changes in appearance that are psychologically damaging. All of these cases are sad.
This series highlights a few of these cosmetic diseases and disorders. If you have any of these, our hearts go out to you. If you don`t have them “ be thankful you`re healthy! Part 1 of this series covers trichotillomania (or TTM).
TTM is an impulse disorder that causes people to pull out the hair from their scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, or other parts of the body. They literally can not stop tugging on their hair. If enough hair is pulled out over time, it stops growing back, this is called traction alopecia.
Who Does It Affect?
According to the Trichotillomania Learning Center this condition affects between 1 and 2% of all Americans. Other sources estimate that as much as 10% of the world`s population are affected by this condition to some degree. TTM usually strikes in the pre- or early adolescent years. Women are most often diagnosed with TTM but the research is not clear if this means there is a real gender bias, or if men are just less likely to report symptoms or are better at hiding them. This may be the case since researchers have identified a type of TTM that affects very young boys and girls at an equal rate.
What are the Symptoms?
The primary symptom of this condition is the appearance of bald spots or patches where hair has been pulled out. The amount of hair pulled out and the area of the body affected varies from person to person. But must serious suffers have permanent bald areas that they attempt to hide or disguise (using scarves,clothing, make up, etc). The frequency of hair pulling and the intensity of the urge, varies as well. Sometimes the urge is mild and can be controlled through will power but for some people it becomes an unstoppable obsession.
Follow the links below to see examples of Trichsters (the affectionate term used to describe people who suffer from this condition.) The first one is an amazing before and after picture of a Trichster with hair extensions:
Trichster with hair extentions
What Causes TTM?
Some researchers suggest that a reaction to Malassezia, a common skin yeast, could cause the itch-like urge that many trichsters report. Once triggered, the urge can grow into an psychological obsession. There is also data that indicates this process is stress related.
Can TTM be treated?
There may be an underlying physical effect that triggers the urge, but there is no doubt that an emotional component drives the condition. Therefore, treatment typically involves cognitive-behavior therapy. Several sites have links to good information on treatment options. With the right treatment, it is possible to recover and those who have over come this condition are said to be Pull Free. To learn more directly from those who have suffered from this condition, check out this UK trichotillomania site.
With the advancement in the field of plastic surgery, now it’s possible to cure the acne treatments of the most scary skin disorders. With the help of numerous surgical and non surgical procedures, the appearance and function of a person’s body is changed. Plastic surgery procedures consist of both aesthetic enhancements plus functionally reconstructive operations as a part of skin treatment.
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Hey everyone!
I have been suffering with Trichotillomania since I was 4 years old. To be honest, it’s embarrassing to say that I pull my hair. My parents divorced when I was 4, and I think it (could) be a possible result of my struggle with this illness.I’m really glad this site covered this topic, and respects that this is a disease that NOONE should have to go through. My scalp itches constantly, and it feels like the only way I can stop is by pulling my hair out- but even that doesn’t help the itch, so I usually end up in a downward spiral of pulling. Also, I end up eating the roots- as if it’s a reward for pulling out my hair.
Unfortunately, I live in a city who does not have any help on the matter, so I feel like online is my only option. I still battle the condition on the daily basis, and I hope that one day this matter will be more aware and publicly accessible.
i first remember pulling at my hair during christmas brake from school in 6th grade i was 12 years old and i came back and a girl noticed i had a bald spot on my head. and i quit for a bit and started back again in early adulthood and im now almost 35 im a male and i have had to keep my hair shaved off and when it grows back i just get the erge to pull it out not by one hair but a patch at a time, i cant control this im sick of this i want to stop can someone help me please? im a man and dont know why i do it i just do and i also at times pull at my pubic hair i know that sounds groose but it is true im a normal person and look normal just i have issues and is tierd of this…please someone help!
im only 16, and i only have it slightly, i always thought it was just a bad habit that i had, until i looked it up one day and i found this, i used to get yelled at cause i did it, but i just couldnt stop.
im not bad enough that i leave bald spots, not yet anyways, but i do something like sierra said, i end up running the roots through my mouth, and i can’t help it. im so glad i found this website.
im 14 and and have been “pulling” for 4 years.. i just stoped but drinking water when I got the urger to pull my hair out on the top of my head, i am compleatly bald there and it sucks that i have to put my hair up at school. I havent pulled any out in a week and now im not bald my hair on the top is just very short, but at least i can wear it down!
First, none of your links work. Secondly, I wonder if I have this, cos I don’t pull the hair on my head, but I pluck out all of the hair on my legs instead. Of course, this causes many of them to ‘ingrow’, and then I have to ‘dig’ to get them. I end up with sores on my legs, so I can’t wear skirts, ever. Of course I also have scars in many places too. I really don’t have much hair left on my legs, as most isn’t regrowing. I’m afraid that once there is no more left, I will ‘move on’ to other areas of my body. Help!
BTW; The links I was referring to are the links to the pictures. And, to be clear, I use tweezers to pluck the hairs,and I use the really pointy ones to get under the ingrown hairs. I can resist to up for a week, then start again. I don’t shave my legs, as then I have to dig for each hair, plus it’s hard to shave over the sore spots.
Thanks for the clarification. The images must’ve been moved since we posted. We’ll try to find new ones. I’d suggest you explore the http://www.trich.org site.
I have this..ocd..I find it horribly embarrassing, I am only 13, and have to lie to my friends about it, I stopped once, and now I am trying again.
I also run the roots over my lips, and sometimes pull that part off with my teeth..I am scared it will turn into Rapunzel disorder, I really am. I just want to stop. Stop embarrassing myself. Stop making my mom cry. Just stop.
It sounds like you should get some professional help. This is a problem that can be addressed but not always on your own.
MY name is mallory, im 14and i just discovered i had TTM. Going through Jr.high is really tough when someon spots a bald spot on your head, and you never know what to tell them. usually i just say i cut it off accedintly, but they know its a lie. i just dont know what to do? >.<
I have been pulling my eyelashes/eyebrow hair for two years now. It got bad one time where I pulled all my eyelashes off and blamed it on waterproof mascara so no one would think I’m crazy or something for doing it. I really don’t know what to do.
I have had TTM for 14 years; since I was 12. It would come and go, depending on how my life was. Once I didn’t pull my hair for months. Just recently I had a breakthrough, a real lightbulb moment. I suddenly realised “this doesn’t satisfy me”. The urge to pull was completely gone… for two weeks. I also suffer from grey hairs (which I believe is due to scalp tension) and the urge to “hunt them down” was too much and the pulling came back. Occasionally I again realise that when it comes down to it.. IT DOESN’T SATISFY ME. No matter how much you feel that tension release at the time, it is greatly outweighed by everything it causes. One day you will have that lightbulb moment, and it will help you get through it.
Finding something to help distract you is wondrous. I took up gardening. Pulling weeds can help get rid of the urge to pluck, it really can! But putting your energy into something peaceful, keeping your hands busy, especially while wearing gloves, helps immensely. Talk to someone who will listen and understand, I talk to my sister.
I’ve been trying to find something that could distract me but nothing really works. I did once tell my boyfriend about it he really doesn’t get it or even notice any change when I do pull my eyelashes off. He thinks I just cover it up well with makeup. Usually I can/would go a week or two without pulling but then it will just randomly hit me and I can’t stop for the moment.
I’m 16 and i’ve been pulling for about two years now. often times i ‘clear out’ my eyebrows so to speak and then i have to use eyebrow makeup to cover it up. my family is going to the beach soon and although i have waterproof eyeliner for my eyebrows, i’m so worried it’s all gonna come off and i’m gonna look like a creeper. i’ve been to two specialists so far, and i’m kind of losing motivation to keep trying to stop with various strategies. what do i do?
I’m 19 and have had it for 5 years, I had cut my hair short and was regrowing it nicely when I started. Now, I’ve dropped/been kicked out of high school last year( they were going to “baker act” me for pulling, which is when they put you in a mental hospital for 3 days) Its depressing, but I’ve kinda accepted it, I can’t stop. I miss my long hair, and sometimes I cry when I look in the mirror with what I see, but nothing works for me. I’ve tried the whole distraction thing, only to find myself still pulling… I wear my hair in a spiky pixi cut like I did before I started growing it out(even though it hasn’t been cut in 5 years) and it hides it pretty well
Wow. Thats kind of scary. My friend that i sit by in 4th hour noticed me pulling at my scalp and my eyelashes a few weeks ago, but she never said anything about it till today.
I thought it was just a bad habit, but then I realized that I was doing it all the time, even right now im fighting the urdge to pull my eyelashes out. I am pretty sure I only have it slightly though because I don’t HAVE to pull at myself. I stopped pulling at my scalp. Its just my eyelashes now…I know I have to stop. Hopfully i may be able to get some help.
Oh and also she said that it could be from depression…I am a sixteen year old boy with no worries…so is there more it could be from?
From the LA Times (10/19/09):
Q: I suffer from trichotillomania. I pull hairs constantly, and this leaves little bald spots. I heard on your radio program about an amino acid to calm this compulsion.
A: Trichotillomania is a condition in which people feel an overwhelming urge to pull hair from their heads, eyebrows, eyelashes or even pubic area. Physicians don’t understand the cause. There is no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment.
Researchers reported in July in the Archives of General Psychiatry that the amino acid N-acetylcysteine could help. Subjects received 1,200 milligrams per day of the dietary supplement or placebo. If there was no improvement after six weeks, the dose was increased to 2,400 milligrams.
The investigators concluded that the trial showed “that N-acetylcysteine is safe and more effective than placebo for the treatment of trichotillomania.” No adverse events were reported, but some may experience headache, itching, flatulence, increased blood pressure or fatigue.
Last year around November-December I started pulling out hairs on my head..it was the top of my head and I just couldn’t stop. I just..like the feeling of touching the hairs and when theyre thick or sturdy hairs I just love feeling them. I don’t know whats wrong with me but this might be it. I’m 13 and a girl, and I pull eyelashes and eyebrows out too. It started with eyelashes when I was younger, then on to eyebrows also, now its this. my mom saw a bald spot on my head and watched me closely. I stopped pulling from the top of my head and the hair is growing back there. But now I pull from underneath the back of my hair all the time. I just can’t stop! It is so hard to resist the urge and it just feels GOOD when I pull them out..I know there is something really wrong with me and I want to stop. It’s horrible and I can barely control it. I never put the hairs into my mouth though, but sometimes if theres a bit of skin left on it I like to take that part off and feel it. I want and need to stop. :[
When I was in 4th grade I used to pull my hair out, I used to pull it out next to my ears and eventually I’d pulled so much out that there were bald spots. It was really embarrasing for me and a kid because i could never tuck my hair behind my ears or wear it up. It eventually grew back and I didn’t pull my hair out anymore. When I turned 14 I started pulling hair off the top of the back of my head and I got a small bald spot. It grew back, but I still liked to pull out the corse hairs from my head, I just thought it felt good. I never did it again to the point where there was a bald spot, but I still pulled a little bit out. When I turned 15 I always liked plucking my eyebrows and basically plucked them all off. Then I started to pluck the hairs out of my legs, which led to ingrown hairs so now I have to like dig them out. It leaves sores on my legs and looks gross. I’ve tried to stop I don’t know how many times, but then my legs start itching and I just start doing it again, I still like pulling hairs out of my head too. I don’t know why I have to do this and I wish I knew how to stop it’s just hard because everytime I try to, I get an urge to start again
I’ve been pulling out hair for about nine years. When I was younger I used to twirl my hair into big knots and then pull it off, or just pluck them out. I did them constantly, especially in school, and my favorite part was (and still is) to pull of the hair follicle with my nails. I didn’t have eyebrows for a year when I was in 7th grade (which EVERYBODY noticed), and I also tend to pull my eye lashes. I still pluck my eyebrows like crazy, but I can satisfy myself with just the sides and leave the majority now. I love plucking hair from my toes, my legs (only for a bit, because it starts to hurt), and several other parts of my body — I LOVE tweezers. Over the summer I started pulling off hair like crazy again. What I do is search for hairs that have a certain texture, sort of like the grey hair texture, and I pull them out from the top of my head and then take off the roots. My therapist was able to get me to stop by using a certain type of string, but it has recently come back and I’ve been pulling out several huge hairballs a day. I don’t have any bald spots yet, but that’s simply because I literally have at least 3x the amount of hair as the normal person. I also have OCD, social phobia, and dissociative amnesia, so having this doesn’t surprise me. I don’t really know why I do it, but I physically can’t stop, even when my scalp is super sore. My family and friends don’t understand it and they tell me to stop….but I can’t. It’s all I can focus on. I’m on zoloft 150 mg a day for OCD and social phobia, but my psychiatrist recently put me on an anti seizure pill because they’ve been shown to help stop urges like this in the brain. I’ve only been on it a few days, so I don’t know if it’s going to work, but here’s to hoping!
Good luck to you all.
I have recently started pullin out my eyelashes and eyebrows. I only pull them out because they “hurt” or get “sore” and I feel accomplished after pulling them out. I am 16 years old and I do get made fun of, people will see me pickin at my eyes and then notice that I dont have hardly any eyelashes left. I dont pull out my hair as much, but I honestly have a lot of hair, more than the average person. I dont brush my hair. Only when i take showers, when I wash my hair I run my fingers through it and get the hair out then instead of with a brush. I also get grey hairs, which freaks me out. I’m always on the look out for them and once I see them I pull and pull. My scalp also itches and the only way I feel it will stop is to wash it or pull some out. I don’t have bald spots on my head, just my eyelashes and somewhat if my eyebrows. I think I’m developing TTM. I’m scared and I don’t know what to do.
I am 47 years old and have suffered from Trich at 2 separate times in my life where it was severe with bald spots. I want to say that I found my problem was in relation to hormonal changes but I wish to offer some advice to all sufferers of Trich. I cannot find the original website that I found this information on but I suggest that you try these tricks because they have helped me tremendously. The first trick I use is White Rain shampoo. I am not sure why it works but it does. Keep your hair clean this also helps. I never use any shampoo but White Rain to this day. Also when I have severe itching I take Acidophilus which I keep in the refrigerator. There is some allergens to yeast I believe in Trich sufferers and this will greatly reduce your itch. I hope this helps somebody. God bless.
i have been pulling out my hair since i was 14 years old it is so bad now that i am bold at the top of my ahair and sides and i remeber when my hair was so nice and long anf full can somone please give me ideas to make this stop it has taking over my life it s to the point i dont even want to leave my house and i dont even go to the hair dressers i cut my own hair i want to have my old hair back plese
im Ashley and im 12 years old TTM started happening to me was over christmas break. I started going to the bathroom pulling out the hair on the top of my head, i ate the rots. When i wore my hair in a ponytail a week after my head band came off wear it was covering the bald spots and my grandma told my mom to look at my head so she did and she said “ashley what happend to your head” i just said i thought i had liece so i pulled out the area that was itchy and so every time my mom would look at my head she would see it get worse every day. So she keeped on yeeling at me to stop! but i couldnt do it so we went and looked it up TTM and she started crying. We got braclets, toys, stressballs, journal all for me to keep me ocupied to not do that it didnt work at first but i started getting a ruteen and i went 1 month and 1 week without doing it im so proud of myself.