Trichotillomania is the repeated pulling, plucking and breaking of your hair with your fingers.  It is an obsessive-compulsive disorder and it is normally caused by trigger factors such as emotional or physical stress especially after the stress of the festive period. Emotional stress plays the biggest part in this.

Here are a few ways to try and help avoid you pulling your hair out:

1. Wearing your hair up and using dressing aids so that you cannot get your fingers into the area to break hair off.

2.   Change the seat that you sit in whilst watching television or relaxing as it appears that it is always your left hand that goes up to the left and rear of your scalp.

3.     To agree a trigger word for when somebody sees you touching the area but not to make a big issue of this.

4.     If you break hair off, then you could put it into a bag at the end of each instance. Over time, you can look back at this and see how much you have broken off, as a way of hopefully monitoring and reinforcing a reduction.  However, do not count the individual hairs as this  in itself can be another compulsive behaviour which you do not want to set off.

5.    An alternative to keeping broken hairs is taking photographs of your hair to monitor any deterioration or improvement. In either case, you could agree a treat for yourself if you  have not  broken any hairs off in  set period.

6.     Relaxation is the best treatment, such as walking, swimming, cycling, dancing or such like -  all these take your mind off what you’re worrying about.  The golden rule to follow is that whatever that you are doing , if you start thinking about your hair,  then that is a good time to stop and try something different. For example, when you are watching the TV and find that your hand is going up into your hair this means that you are not focusing on the TV and your thoughts are drifting off  Get up and do something different  e.g.  make a cup of tea.

7.  Scalp massage is good but should only be done infrequently.

If you wish to seek more advice please call our friendly sales team on 01543 670717 to speak to our Consultant Trichologist 

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