Scalp Picking

[madtown]

I am 33 years old, and remember a friend in high school telling me she picked her scalp until it bled. I remember thinking hmmm, I just might try that. Strange, I know, but that's my first memory of a beginning. I started picking on and off, and it wasn't really such a big issue, causing such pain, until about four years ago when major stress started happening in my life. Being in therapy the last year and a half was what really helped. I was working hard in therapy, and really wanted to work through this issue, and many others, and I was starting to get better.

Unfortunately, we moved, and I haven't found a new therapist yet, and my picking has gotten worse in the last few months. Of course, the stress of moving has made an impact as well. Honestly, like I wrote before, it's a constant struggle, a constant conversation with myself. I also have a four year old daughter, and it really scares me to think of her watching me do this to myself, and have her pick up the habit. So that is helping me stop picking at least around her......Most of the time. My fear of bald spots is also helping me a little. i see my hair thinning a bit, and I really don't want to add that to my list of things to worry about! So, again, it's a CONSTANT struggle.

In the past I have tried St. Johns Wort, and that seemed to help. Maybe I should try that again. I also started to see an acupuncturist, and told her about my habit, and she seemed to think she could really help. I have only seen her once, so not enough to see a difference yet. I may go back, it was a good experience, but takes time and money, both difficult for me right now.

So, I don't know if this helps anyone, but it's what I have tried. I too, am just relieved that this site exists. It feels good to have a place to "check in". A therapist who knows and cares about me would definitely be better, and I recommend it to anyone out there, but in the meantime, I'm grateful this board is here. Thanks for reading, and posting. It needs to be talked about.
Good luck.

[Grandma]

This site is amazing. Like all the others, its like I could have written most of these messages myself. I had no idea other people had this same problem!!
First let me say as a child in the summer I always seemed to have mosquito bites that I scratched until they scabbed. Then every night or whenever I was sitting still I unconsciously scratched scabs.
My first memory of any scalp (skin) picking was in junior high. I was not sure what it was but I knew I sort of enjoyed picking at it. Seemed like a couple of places would show up on my scalp about once a year for a while so I thought it was some sort of allergy. As a teenager, I had pimples and here again I would pick at them!
During my late 20's early 30's I don't recall having any problems with my own skin picking although I still had an occasional pimple outbreak. But when my children were old enough to get scabs from little injuries or insect bites, I enjoyed picking their scabs??? Is this weird or what?
A few years later my scalp scabbing started back up and it was showing up at least twice a year. Finally these last I don't know, maybe 5 or 10 years it has been a problem year around.
At one time about 10 years ago, I had scabbing show up (with my help) on my forearms, thighs and buttocks. Sometime the places itched so I would scratch them but a lot of the time it would just show up as a bump of sorts that I would pick at. I went to a dermatologist and he gave me some powerful antibiotics that I thought was helping, but it didn't go away 100%. I guess this was like the 'Dumbo feather' effect. I again tried to deal with it myself with different soaps, medicated shampoos, etc.
About 5 years later I went to a different dermatologist and he was going to prescribe some 'nerve' pills saying this was a 'nerverosa dermatitis.' By this time, I was up in age and already on anti-depressants because of premenapause and I didn't want to take more 'drugs!'
I have continued to try and deal with this myself and finally here at the age of 54 all of my scabbing has cleared up except for a couple of spots in my hairline on the back of my neck.
Other than my husband, this is the first time I have talked about this because it seemed to be tooooo embarrassing. Thank you.

[katielax21]

So I wrote a post on this website over a year ago (on page 1) and completely forgot about this whole website until within the past month I received two replies through email and found the website again. Its crazy to see how many more people are going through the same thing I am.

I ended up trying the medicine last year. My doctor told me that since it might be stress related he would try to put me on anti-anxiety meds. He put me on Lexapro. Just a backdrop... I've never had any reason to feel "depressed" and I've never thought that I was, so trying this medicine kinda scared me since thats what "depressed people" use. I do stress myself out though, but sometimes thats good because I get things done and get good grades, etc. ANYWAYS... depressed people's chemical levels aren't balanced so that is why they take the medicine... I guess since I was already "chemically balanced" the medicine just made me overly hyper and I felt like I just wanted to run everywhere and scribble or do weird stuff like that. I didn't like the feeling and I didn't feel like the medicine was in anyway helping my picking so I decided to stop using it.

I can't remember what the red shampoo was called, but I stopped using that too because I know it's not my skin thats the problem... its the habit. Even if my skin is perfectly fine, i somehow find a way to make a scab.

I used to bite (but mainly pick) my nails when I was younger and somehow out of the blue stopped. When my nails began to grow longer I guess thats how the skin picking started. I'm always trying to cut my nails shorter so that its not so easy to pick, but then i find myself digging even harder to get the job done.

I knew it was starting to become a big problem when I'd look at pictures and see myself in the background with my hands in my hair or picking something. I almost feel like Goldmember from austin powers... where he picks his skin off and then asks for his "skin box" haha. Its disgusting, but I'll pick a scab off, put it on my desk and look at it, then brush it off.

I wish I could say that I found some miracle cure, but I definitely haven't. Over the past year its varied from my scalp to bumps on my lower back and especially to my ears. I've kinda come to live with it as long as they are hidden. I hate myself after I pick one right on my hairline where its visable that theres a scar there. Luckily my hair has grown pretty long and I've found myself twirling my hair frequently. I do it ALL the time, but thats a habit I'm perfectly fine with. Maybe if I'm lucky my bad habit will turn into hair twirling haha.

I'm sorry I dont have any good advice... For me, the only way that I'm going to stop is when I 100% want to. Right now I can't stop because I like to do it (I wish i knew why). I think that thats the first step to finding a cure. You can't stop until you COMPLETEY want to stop.

I'll definitely write back if I find that something is working for me.
If you'd like to email me, my email is [e-mail]

-katie

[Kate19]

[glow=red,2,300][/glow]I am quite surprised to find that there are other people out there like myself who have problems with scab picking. I used to bite my nail chronically when i was younger, until they bled. When i stopped that at the age of 10 i moved onto picking my scalp, ears, arms, anywhere a scab forms i will pick, even my face. I manage not to pick at my face as much as my scalp but whenever i get spots i pick pick pick. I told the doctor and she wanted to put me on antidepressants. Im not depressed its just a release for me. I do it all the time because for some weird reason i enjoy it. Yes it hurts and it looks horrible, its so embarrassing going to the hairdressers but its a part of me. Its like OCD or trichlomania, its never going to go, i just wear hats indoors when i get bad flare ups and that seems to help, so don't believe everything the doctors says because i am a perfectly normal functioning woman, i just have an unusual way of relieving my stress.

[meee]

i got lice when i was about in 3 or 4th grade and i had really thick hair so we had to treat it more than a couple times and this dried my scalp out outragously. after the lice was gone my scalp still itched, so i started itching and itching and scabs starting appearing and id pick em and i havent stopped for about 10 years. it seems crazy to think about that its already been that long. i really want to stop and the more i read on it the more questions i get... theres so many different possiblities there could be.. kerion celsi, OCD, ringworm you name it and its a possiblility... but now that i think about it i must have OCD and im going to try to cut my nails all the time and sit on my hands but the only problem is is my mind is NOT fabericating that my head itches because there is no doubt i do have dandruff

[nycgirl]

For me, it doesn't itch at all...i just get HUGE scabs. I've picked to the point where I WANT to stop, but i've created such big scabs that they stick out of my hair and make my hair part weirdly..so i just end up picking them again to even out my head.

Does ANYONE know of ANYTHING that heals these scabs quicker than just leaving them alone? Because, i feel if my scabs aren't so big, then I would leave them alone.

THANK YOU!!!

[Guest]

Hey there scalp picking friends. Yesterday it just hit me, something in my head told me "you have a problem with your scalp". So I finally decided to type "scalp picking" in the search box, and here I am. Glad I'm not alone, I felt like such a weirdo when I would sit around picking at my scalp making it bloody and cleaning the numerous flakes that had fallen on the floor/shoulders/couch/tables. Sometimes they get stuck under my nails and yes, you guessed it, I eat them. It is very disgusting.

I'm OCD so it has to do with that, but not everyone who pick at their scalps have OCD. But I know I am for sure, I obsess over so many things.

Also, the scabs that we've all created on our scalps are called "scalp psoriasis". It's a skin condition that I had since I was little. I had psoriasis below my belly button when I was about 5. My parents finally decided to take me to the doctor since it wasn't going away and he gave us this weird cream like thing and it WORKED!!! This was in Europe by the way. When I moved to the US 5 years ago, they would come and go but nothing big, they were really small. Then 2 years ago, the middle part of the back of my next right on the hair line, I felt itchy. So I started scratching it like crazy and asked my mom to see what it was, she said it was a little red spot and she said she thinks it's psoriasis. I applied the cream (I still had it and it wasn't expired) and it became even smaller after 2 days.

Then I sort of forgot about it. When I became a freshman in high school, there was this guy in my math class whom I caught picking at his scalp for like a second, and I noticed how much fun he was having brushing off the flakes from his shoulders. Then I remembered the little red spot I used to have on the back of my neck and started picking at it even when it wasn't there anymore and when I got home I couldn't stop. After a week I had created a huge scab and I'd visit it often picking at it. Then I'd start picking at other spots on my head, I'd do it everyday. Everyone in my house noticed and kept telling me to stop. Right now, I think there's about 3 or 4 big scabs on different spots on my head. There's not more cream though, and right now I'm typing with gloves on just so I won't pick. I have gone 27 hours without picking until now and the scabs are itching so badly. I believe I can stop picking at my scalp as fast as I stopped biting my nails. I used to bite my nails all the time and the grossest part is that I even bit my toe nails (eww, I'm sorry, but this is anonymous so I have to type it in somewhere). Now my nails are long and beautiful because one day I just said "no" out loud, slapped my hands, and never bit again. Though having longer nails gives me more pleaser at picking at my scalp. That's why I'm wearing gloves.

I have to stop and so far so good, but they are itching so badly, I want to take my gloves off and scratch the crap out of my scabs. I also used to pick at my lip a lot until it bled. I haven't stopped completely but I'm getting there. I'm trying so hard to get rid of all my bad habits.

Good luck everyone.

[Guest]

Hey there scalp picking friends. Yesterday it just hit me, something in my head told me "you have a problem with your scalp". So I finally decided to type "scalp picking" in the search box, and here I am. Glad I'm not alone, I felt like such a weirdo when I would sit around picking at my scalp making it bloody and cleaning the numerous flakes that had fallen on the floor/shoulders/couch/tables. Sometimes they get stuck under my nails and yes, you guessed it, I eat them. It is very disgusting.

I'm OCD so it has to do with that, but not everyone who pick at their scalps have OCD. But I know I am for sure, I obsess over so many things.

Also, the scabs that we've all created on our scalps are called "scalp psoriasis". It's a skin condition that I had since I was little. I had psoriasis below my belly button when I was about 5. My parents finally decided to take me to the doctor since it wasn't going away and he gave us this weird cream like thing and it WORKED!!! This was in Europe by the way. When I moved to the US 5 years ago, they would come and go but nothing big, they were really small. Then 2 years ago, the middle part of the back of my neck right on the hair line, I felt itchy. So I started scratching it like crazy and asked my mom to see what it was, she said it was a little red spot and she said she thinks it's psoriasis. I applied the cream (I still had it and it wasn't expired) and it became even smaller after 2 days.

Then I sort of forgot about it. When I became a freshman in high school, there was this guy in my math class whom I caught picking at his scalp for like a second, and I noticed how much fun he was having brushing off the flakes from his shoulders. Then I remembered the little red spot I used to have on the back of my neck and started picking at it even when it wasn't there anymore and when I got home I couldn't stop. After a week I had created a huge scab and I'd visit it often picking at it. Then I'd start picking at other spots on my head, I'd do it everyday. Everyone in my house noticed and kept telling me to stop. Right now, I think there's about 3 or 4 big scabs on different spots on my head. There's not more cream though, and right now I'm typing with gloves on just so I won't pick. I have gone 27 hours without picking until now and the scabs are itching so badly. I believe I can stop picking at my scalp as fast as I stopped biting my nails. I used to bite my nails all the time and the grossest part is that I even bit my toe nails (eww, I'm sorry, but this is anonymous so I have to type it in somewhere). Now my nails are long and beautiful because one day I just said "no" out loud, slapped my hands, and never bit again. Though having longer nails gives me more pleaser at picking at my scalp. That's why I'm wearing gloves.

I have to stop and so far so good, but they are itching so badly, I want to take my gloves off and scratch the crap out of my scabs. I also used to pick at my lip a lot until it bled. I haven't stopped completely but I'm getting there. I'm trying so hard to get rid of all my bad habits.

Good luck everyone.

[midas]

i have major issues with picking scalps, just like the other poster my hub gets big flakes on his scalp from psoriasis, he lets me pick but then gets annoyed can't tell you how many fights this has caused, why can't he just let me enjoy myself LOL....

my brother had a bad condition with his scalp, the dandruff flakes were coming off the size of quarters, i was in heaven and was sad when it cleared up LOL

i see a shrink for depression and anxiety but too ashamed to talk about this.

can someone please email me to talk about this please make sure you put scalp picking in the subject line so i don't delete it as junk mail.

my email is [e-mail] thanks

[Amey]

I last posted in this thread a little over a month ago, and reading what I wrote then, I'm proud of the progress I've since made.

I used to pick both my skin and my scalp but I've now managed to stop picking my skin. When I last posted I said I had 15 sores on my head and I'm now down to just 4. I still want to go to the hairdressers, but I'm still too embarassed. If I can stop scalp picking then the first thing I;m going to do is treat myself to a haircut.

I mentioned before that I think depression may be a contributing factor and that I was seeking counselling. I've only had one counselling appointment so far and I hadn't anticipated just how hard it would be to say aloud, "I'm a compulsive skin picker". I burst into tears when the counsellor asked me why I was there and it took me a few minutes to get the words out. After the session I did feel better though and I didn't pick at all for about a day (long time for me!).

I've also been doing a lot of self-analysis about what makes me unhappy or stressed and by improving other areas of my life I've improved my general happiness and state of mind, which I think was also a contributing factor to my progress.

I hope that the next time I post on this site I'll be able to say that I've stopped picking completely.

[Elle]

I've been picking at my scalp for the last decade, and it's always annoyed and frustrated me. So last month, I started wearing a bandana tied fairly tightly on my head whenever I was at home, since when I'm just sitting around is when I was the worst. It helped a lot, but I was still picking a little when I was at work. So 6 days ago, I made a "rule" that I'm just not allowed to touch my scalp at all. So far, so good. I have a little sticky note where I'm tallying the days I go without picking. It feels great to add a mark at the end of the day.

[Ruby]

Hi, I didn't realise I had a problem in common with others. I thought I was just doing my thing and nobody else did. I have picked my scalp for 6 years at least. It is not usually painful as I tend to wait until they are dry. That sounds so bad to have a worked out strategy for picking. I do it there because I think nobody can see them but I know people are just polite or weirded out because children will ask about the 'cut' on my head. I do have a compulsion to cut myself but have that firmly under control. The reason I write is to say that I have also been prescribed Prozac for a number of years and am now on new medication. I see that Prozac is prescribed for OCD, not the reason I was prescribed it, but throughout the whole time of being on anti-depressants/OCD drugs, I have still compulsively picked. Perhaps it would have helped had I consciously tried to stop though. I'll be interested to know how you get on, Katie ... perhaps I'll try to stop too - but I like it!

[HidingMyScalp]

Hello everyone. I think I first began picking at my scalp about ten or eleven years ago. I was going through some pretty stressful times with my ex-husband (we were still married then) and I was pretty sure it was related to stress. I also had been treated for depression back then, including being hospitalized for a week right around when I left my ex. I managed to stop at some point (don't know or remember how), and that was that.

I moved to another part of the country, restarted my life, and things have been mostly good. I have not been in treatment for depression in about eight or nine years now. I should probably state that I was on Paxil, an antidepressant, for a few years. But I wanted to come off that because I didn't like some of the side effects, and with my overall situation improving gradually, I felt I could manage without it. And manage I have.

However, in the past couple of years . . . again, not sure when it started . . . I have been picking my scalp on and off. My husband tells me to stop. I do it more in the bathroom or when I am alone, but he still sees me when I think he's not looking. Another thing that bothers me is that my son, who is three, has seen me doing it, so I want to stop so he doesn't start. I have mostly always had ONE spot, right at the crown, that has been my scab to pick at. Right now, though, I also have a small spot at the back lower right side too. I KNOW it is stress-related, especially since things at work have been pretty stressful this past year or two. The more stress, the more I pick. But I know it is also a habit too.

When I was a kid I used to bite my nails. I finally stopped in high school (I had a teacher who would actually smack the hand out of the mouth of anyone who was biting their nails), and I have not really felt the need to do it since. My nails grow until I trim them. This does not bode well for my scalp, though. It upsets me when I see blood on my fingernails from picking. Usually, my scalp does not hurt when I shampoo my hair, but I am always self-conscious when I get my hair cut because I KNOW my hairdresser can see the scab up there.

Since I more or less overcame depression on my own, and since I overcame the nail biting, I tend to think I could overcome this bad habit/compulsion on my own if I had to. And I am reading what people are saying here, realizing many people struggle with this on a much worse scale than I do, and I think I could probably do it.

I kind of figured there were other people out there who do this. I mean, I've heard of MUCH worse and more disturbing behaviors. And I work with children, so I know how many kids do obsessive or just habitual behaviors. Reading about what others are going through has encouraged me to make a very strong effort to tell myself "NO" when I get ready to pick.

Let's see how it goes.

[Lil]

Acrylic nails help! So does being in a relationship because it motivates you to keep your scalp clean 'n smelling good (when I pick, it gets a greasy smell).

I was the homecoming queen, cheerleading captain, and student body president with a scalp and skin picking disorder.

My friend's don't know, and if any of them have noticed, they don't say anything.

I've been doing this since I was 11, and I'm 23 now.

For those who like the appearance of acrylic nails, they greatly reduced my skin and scalp picking. I was working in retail, and they were the only way to keep my nails looking nice without too much maintenance. I don't wear them anymore because they interfere with my new line of work. Because the acrylic nails are thick and have smooth edges, they didn't damage my skin much when I did put forth the extra effort of picking with them.

Good luck to everyone (I need the luck, too!)

[Robin]

Never thought I'd find a forum like this. I'm even more amazed that others salivate like I do. I also liked to groom others. I love scabs. I love finding them, picking them, looking at them after I pull them off. "Trophy." God that feels sick, but there it is.

When I was real young, I had a head cold that dried out my nose, around my nostrils. I picked that until it bled. My parents wouldn't let me pick at it, but it got to a size that covered my right nostril. I took off that scab too. I think I'm part monkey, given how much I like grooming. I think of how cats salivate when they groom their kittens and I figure it's genetic.

I pick my scalp and my back, turning bumps and pimples into scabs, but I don't bite my nails or cuticals. I guess because it hurts more than it's satisfying. I don't do it every day and I certainly don't dig holes in my scalp, but I do have that urge.

I've never discussed it with a doctor, nor have I tried sort any kind of medical solution. Instead I do find great relief in grooming dogs. I housesit/petsit. I will pet dogs incessently. I've watched an evening of TV and realized I maybe paused a few times, but never stopped petting the dog, who happens to be lost in a sleepy paradise. Petting (for me that is) is actually grooming. People are amazed at how easily I can find knots, ticks and grit in their dog's fur. Naturally all furry pets love me. They will sit for hours, lay across me, roll over, and come back for more. Some don't mind it when I pick their scabs, but I don't do it unless I'm absolutely certain the scab is ready to come off. I love the feel of their fur as much as I love grooming them. I've come to refer to my petsitting gigs as my doggie fix. I do feel relaxed after I've groomed the dogs for hours. And I do salivate when I find something.

I always figured that I pick because I'm a very tactile person. Picking isn't satisfying if it's not done with my fingertips. When I'm not petsitting and I'm out on walks, I will slap my hand on a rough tree. Not hard, but I do it to notice how long (far) it takes for the "feeling" of the bark to leave my hand. I touch leaves, delicate flowers, cement. I won't look at my hand as I continue walking, but I focus on how long it takes for the sensation to leave my fingertips and palm. I can take 10-15 steps before the feeling completely vanishes. That may not work for anyone but me.

But I think having a dog/cat or several will eliminate any need for drugs. If you can't have a pet where you live, like I do, offer to petsit. Volunteer at an animal shelter. Those dogs will enjoy your grooming abilities.