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Post by Kris on May 26, 2004 10:10:20 GMT -5
Hi everyone. I've been picking my arms for several months, and I already have white scars, lighter than the rest of my skin. Now that it is hot out, I'm totally freaked out! Will these scars fade with time, or will I have to hide them forever? Has anyone found a good scar cream that actually works? Please help!!!
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Post by Mars on May 30, 2004 16:27:43 GMT -5
It takes a long time for them to fade , but eventually many will. Sun tanning can make them look worse. My friend used retin-a and decreased the look of her superficial scars --but it took a long time with no new picking. Unfortunately, we tend to keep making new scars over our old scars.
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Post by Nancy on Jun 1, 2004 23:27:34 GMT -5
Down the line, when your skin has started to clear up, and you are in better control.....you might try a chemical peel. It helps make the skin look a little more uniform in color, and softens the look of the scars. But be careful, I had a tendency to want to peel the skin off after the peel too soon, which can cause scarring of its own. Make sure the doctor knows about your picking problem. The Doctor might be able to recommend something temporary for anxiety, or may want to keep it bandaged until it heals. Nancy
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Post by Nancy on Jun 1, 2004 23:28:14 GMT -5
Down the line, when your skin has started to clear up, and you are in better control.....you might try a chemical peel. It helps make the skin look a little more uniform in color, and softens the look of the scars. But be careful, I had a tendency to want to peel the skin off after the peel too soon, which can cause scarring of its own. Make sure the doctor knows about your picking problem. The Doctor might be able to recommend something temporary for anxiety, or may want to keep it bandaged until it heals. Nancy
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sos
Junior Member
Posts: 77
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Post by sos on Jun 3, 2004 7:43:10 GMT -5
Hi, I just wanted to say the little white scars that I have will never go away because the pigment is gone in the spots that are white. They do not tan or anything because they are scars on my body. My face on the other hand is different skin any I'm trying to get rid of the red marks, but then there is always a slight indentation from scarring when the reddness goes away only around my mouth and eyes where the skin is thin. Just try your hardest not to create new ones. Peace, sos  |
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Post by EllemElle on Jun 4, 2004 8:49:31 GMT -5
I just have to say what a wonderful group this is! I feel so relieved to have found people who understand the issues facing people who pick. I thought that I was the only person who can't just jump into the shower and get out and leave the bathroom... it is like the mirror's pull is the strongest then... ! Good news - the scars on my back have faded to almost nothing (I rarely pick there anymore..) and my arms as well. My face is taking longer... there are areas of marks that seem to become more bold when I am hot or upset. Makeup covers it well, but when I saw pictures of me with my son just minutes after he was born (no chance to touch up the makeup! LOL!) I was surprised  at how bad my face looked. Photos with no makeup on are a good way to open my eyes to what I am doing to my once nice complexion. I look at my sister (who has beautiful skin and does not pick) and am so jealous of her complexion. I did manage to stop for a few monthes when my son was an infant (too tired to pick??!) and I started to look better. I also lost a lot of weight too and was really proud of myself. Then I started again... I am considerng a chemical peel once everything on my face has healed, and wonder if anyone has had success with that? |
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Kat
New Member
Posts: 46
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Post by Kat on Jun 5, 2004 12:38:54 GMT -5
i have many which haven't. They're slight, but to a trained eye (ie mine) they're so obvious.
The worst, both for level of visability and mental scarring is when i went through my cutting phase.
It had gone, but it's come back, and it's dark brown. Most would thing it was pen, i know it's not.
I think it's the darker edges which happen to be very close together doing that.
But i scar very easily. I have a chunk missing off my nose from a chicken poc that fell off a few weeks after the rest!
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ashenn
Junior Member
"you must be the change you wish to see." - Ghandi
Posts: 94
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Post by ashenn on Jun 6, 2004 22:40:35 GMT -5
okay guys. get ready for some serious spirtual schpeiling right here... Awhile ago, i read this book about Shamanism. It was written by an American-born doctor who was basically adopted into a tribe of native Polynesians. In his book, he set forth some of the previously unavailable beliefs of the Polynesian peoples, including their age-old philosophies of Shamanism. One of the things he gave particular emphasis to was the importance of touch. Touch, he said, was a way to imbue whatever was being touched with the toucher's energy. They also believe that the body is a wise identity in and of itself, with it's own personality and energy. So think about that, girls, that for years and years, everytime you have touched your face, you have touched it with mal-intent, or have touched it with an absence of thought as to it's hurting and sufferring. So i'm giving everyone who reads this a mission: as soon as you latch onto some peaceful free-time, go into the bathroom, shut and lock the door, and give yourself a few moments to look in the mirror (at a safe distance, of course.) It might be nicer to wash of your makeup before doing this. Now, close your eyes, and concentrate on how you would touch someone you love. If you're a mother, summon the loving touch you use for your children. I always concentrate on how I touch my boyfriend's cheek when he's sleeping. Then lift your hands to your face, and without opening your eyes, just move your hands across the expanse of your face, forgetting about the way you look or how you might look doing it. I know this might sound ridiculous to some people. But literally, those scars are a product of years of mistreatment, not only physically, but emotionally. And i promise when you open your eyes after you've finished, you'll have a new brightness in your eyes. Just don't get too close to the mirror on the way out of the bathroom.... Love, guys. <3 |
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ashenn
Junior Member
"you must be the change you wish to see." - Ghandi
Posts: 94
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Post by ashenn on Jun 7, 2004 11:11:39 GMT -5
....I suppose I should mention, try to hold onto "that loving feeling" the entire time you have your hands on your face. Keep your palms open-- don't let your fingers begin to search for irregularities. (If you don't trust yourself to do that, keep your hands 1/2 an inch or so above the surface of your skin.) Just move your hands around as if you were washing your face in love.
Even if you're skeptical, please, please try it. Every time i've done this, I feel calm afterward. When I stopped picking the first time (i've been 'clean' for 6 months....only recently started up again.) THIS is the catalyst that I used to help. Every time I went in the bathroom to pick, I did this instead....it gave me the tactility I desired and when I opened my eyes, the urge to seek-n-destroy had subsided.
Good ruck, girls...(n boys)
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Post by confused on Jun 7, 2004 13:43:31 GMT -5
I'm so confused about where the sun/tanning plays into the whole skin issue. My junior and senior years of high school, i tanned for a month before prom each time, and my arms looked really good...(i also didnt pick as much when i went because my skin cleared up a lot).
also, one summer my arms got a little burnt from being on the beach one day and they looked AMAZING. i was so happy! they looked pretty good the whole summer too because i was so psyched that they looked good that i didnt pick as much.
anyway...i havent been tanning to that extreme since high school because i dont want to abuse tanning...however, i would go every once in a while. i've been trying to sit out in the sun a lot this summer, but i honestly cannot tell if the sun is making it worse or better...
could it be because i've picked so much that there are too many scars now? because i really cant remember how bad the condition of my arms were in high school (as you all probably know, it always seems bad and then it gets worse)
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at how bad my face looked. Photos with no makeup on are a good way to open my eyes to what I am doing to my once nice complexion. I look at my sister (who has beautiful skin and does not pick) and am so jealous of her complexion. 