Pulling facial hair

[its_a_rick]

Does anyone else do this too?
If I neglect to shave I get the urge to just pull the hairs out instead.
Can be very annoying on one of those days where it's not really necessary to shave just yet but if I feel a slightly longer hair I wanna pull it out.
Once I set my mind to pulling out a particular hair I can't really give up till I get it.
It's not really a problem but it is kinda weird I guess

[QuakerOats167]

I can't speak to facial hair since I've never done that... but I do have the tendancy (and have had it for a while now) to pull individual hairs out of my head, or to at least like scratch my head and bundle a few hairs up in my fingers and pull them out. It's hard to describe because I'm not pulling them out I just kind of roll them out if they're loose I guess? And no idea why I do it... I do it when I'm bored basically, like biting my nails. It doesn't really happen specifically when I'm nervous/anxious, I just do it in lectures and other boring situations.

[Alys]

you might have a mild form of a disorder called trichotillomania...

[lookingforpeace]

I thought I was the only one who did this. Somehow, I feel compelled to find the little spots I missed while shaving and pull the hairs out. I feel like I'm on a mission sometimes. It doesn't really bother me, and it is sort of entertaining at times. When I am anxious, I do it a lot more. Sometimes when I'm not paying attention, I'll start doing it while I talk to someone.

Now that I just typed all this, I realize how ridiculous it is. I think it's a habit I should break.

[its_a_rick]

Originally Posted by lookingforpeace

Somehow, I feel compelled to find the little spots I missed while shaving and pull the hairs out. I feel like I'm on a mission sometimes.

Yeah... once I know there's a stray hair I have to 'get' it

Originally Posted by lookingforpeace

Now that I just typed all this, I realize how ridiculous it is. I think it's a habit I should break.

Agreed.

[Duke of Prunes]

I do this too when there's one that's way longer than the others. Never considered it to be a problem.

[millenniumman75]

From the face? OUCH! That's painful. If I miss a spot, I just hope nobody notices.

[KyleThomas]

Originally Posted by its_a_rick

Does anyone else do this too?
If I neglect to shave I get the urge to just pull the hairs out instead.

Um, wouldn't that take a looooong time?

[its_a_rick]

Originally Posted by millenniumman75

From the face? OUCH! That's painful. If I miss a spot, I just hope nobody notices.

It's actually not that painful at all, or maybe I've gotten used to it heh.

Originally Posted by KyleThomas

Um, wouldn't that take a looooong time?

Well I don't go pull em ALL out just bits here and there =p

[Duke of Prunes]

Originally Posted by millenniumman75

From the face? OUCH! That's painful. If I miss a spot, I just hope nobody notices.

It's not painful at all. Get some tweezers, get a tight grip at the base of it and yank it out as quickly as possible. Comes straight out with no pain or fuss!

[friend_Z]

I also pull at my facial hair, specifically my beard and mustache. I do it when I'm feeling especially anxious, just start pulling out one hair after another. Once I get started, it's really hard to stop and the hairs seem to pull out easier and easier. It's somewhat painful and embarrassing. After an especially bad bout, I find it hard to make eye contact (even with people I know) because it looks so bad and I feel ashamed.

I've had to shave for several months (even though I hate shaving) while waiting for the hair follicles to re-grow. Recently, I relapsed and pulled a bunch of hair out on one side of my mustache. It looks a little weird right now. But I'm still not going to shave, in the hopes that it fills back in soon. It also serves as a constant reminder to myself. If I keep pulling, I'll be forced to shave all over again. And I don't want that. For now, instead of pulling at the hair, I rub it with my finger.

[art ardvark]

This sounds a lot like trichotillomania and it's usually symptomatic of some form of anxiety. I used to have something similar called dermatillomania which is a reacuuring urge to get rid of any spots or elevated areas of skin by picking at it, even though it just makes thing's worse. The advice I was given (it never worked mind you) was to substitute the anxiety relieving effects of the pain with something else like plucking at an elastic band on your wrist.

[No Surprises]

I do it, except not with facial hair (since I don't really allow it to grow beyond stubble length anyway). My prime locations aren't the most savory of places, so I'll spare you guys the details, but let it be known that just thinking about it makes me want to start yanking...

Must... control... urge...

[N3XT2NON3]

I just use tweezers to get out my longer hairs

[neurotic1]

I guess its like an obsessive compulsive behavior, which i do too.

[Miss Meggie]

Originally Posted by art ardvark

I used to have something similar called dermatillomania which is a reacuuring urge to get rid of any spots or elevated areas of skin by picking at it, even though it just makes thing's worse.

I have this too.
I pick at and bite the skin around my fingernails. It often gets so bad that the area will bleed and hurt even when I'm just sitting with my hands folded in my lap.
I also pull my eyelashes and eyebrows (eyelashes more than eyebrows).

[its_a_rick]

Originally Posted by art ardvark

I used to have something similar called dermatillomania which is a reacuuring urge to get rid of any spots or elevated areas of skin by picking at it, even though it just makes thing's worse.

Hmmm, I do ^ that too.

Since I posted this thread I've been trying to not pull any hairs, so far I've been largely succesful but the urge is still there. I guess it's just related to anxiety.

[contranigma]

I have a really thick beard, so I agree, it would take a looong time.

[spaceygirl]

yep i do that all the time with body hair. I will actually squeeze out the roots of hairs on my leg one by one, pull out eyebrow/eyelash hairs, cut off moles etc..Any sort of picking/plucking/squeezing/scratching is extremely addicting and cathartic for me. I would probably be diagnosed with that dermatillomania thing or mild OCD.

[solitarian]

I compulsively pull out my eyelashes and eyebrows. This problem was once so bad that I had no eyelashes on either of my eyes for a while. My focus as of late has been eyebrows. I can stop myself for a while, but then it starts creeping back. Sometimes I will experience a wave of anxiety or depression and within a few minutes I'll be missing a chunk of an eyebrow before I even know what happened. This problem makes me shy away from people even more because I am afraid they will notice. It's a really embarrassing problem. Interestingly, I have a beard, and I have no compulsion to pull out my beard hairs.