Picking at scalp, any tips?

[Smellslikemiddleagedspirits]

I pick my scalp compulsively, worse when stressed (which I am at the moment). I don't pick until it bleeds, but I've got little dents on my head and I know this can't be good for me. Does anyone have any tips to help me stop? I love the release it gives me and not sure what else to be doing. Thanks.

Try fidget rings or a similar type of thing

It's called dermatillomania, I'm terrible for it too. You can get (or make if you're crafty) something called a picky pad, which is a pad of silicone full of tiny beads that you can pick out. It satisfies the cravings a bit for me and stops me clawing away at my poor head.

Here can I get this wondrous thing?

OP, same here, not my scalp but feet and fingers.

I keep my nails short. Distract, play with fidget toys.

I think I'll always pick. 😢

I can't give you any tips sorry, and I'm not a scalp picker. I did once get an infection called folliculitis on my head and it was horrendous! It was lumpy, itchy, sore and it really took all my energy - it was miserable. I had to take antibiotics.

Doc said I'd probably scratched my head and introduced bacteria.

My tip, I suppose, is try not to get that.

Get nail extensions put on. They’re so thick you can’t get a decent pick at anything. All my scabs are dealing well because I can’t pick the damn things

Thank you, I hadn't heard of the picky pads. I will give it a go. I think the main reason I've never got on with external picky things is that I simultaneously like the picking, and the feel of it on my skin, if that makes sense. It does sometimes feel like it's moving onto the realms of mild self harm, which I'm not feeling very OK about.

Funnily enough, the bacteria thing is the one thing that brings me pause (momentarily!!), but I think because I've been lucky to not have issues so far it's not stopped me. Not good.

I get mine on Etsy, there are all sorts of different varieties of things to "pick" on there and many of them are reusable so you can melt them down and start again once you've picked out all the beads. I'm sure they'd be very easy to make to be honest but my crafting ability is zero so I let the clever Etsy people do it for me!

No idea how I managed to post this in AIBU, thought I'd put it in health!

I totally get it, and unfortunately it is a form of self harm. The picky pads aren't perfect because they don't simulate the full feeling, but they do help with redirecting the compulsion to pick.

Getting help with my anxiety is the ongoing process to a permanent fix for something I've done since early teenagerhood, and I'm slowly getting there. Dermatillomania can be a symptom of all sorts of things (anxiety, ADHD etc) so don't feel ashamed bringing it up with your GP too to explore options.

I was literally soaking my head in coconut oil, and all other researched home made methods, and wearing a hat to bed to try and get some relief. It was horrendous. Try and let the bacteria give you a bigger pause if you can. Hope I don't sound patronising or dismissive, and I hope you manage to sort it out. Maybe a doctor might be able to help regardless of an infection.

Oooooh. I've been doing this & definitely enjoy it when it bleeds although I have no dents of anything

Let me know how you get on

Ditto .

mine has just got worse and worse over time. my scalp is an absolute mess and i just cannot sit without compulsively picking 😢

Yes this. Their brilliant

I have no advice because I do the same thing. I have psoriasis so I have plenty of places to pick at and do draw blood. Picking at external things doesn't work for me because like you it's not just about the feeling in my fingers, it's also about the feeling in the skin that is being picked at. For a brief time in my teens, I was pulling strands of hair out one at a time which gave the same kind of feeling, but thankfully I "just" pick now. I hope you do find a solution, and if you do please share it. 🙏

I completely understand this compulsion. I do this all the time. Ughhhhh. But it’s so so satisfying.

Glad it's not just me, but sorry that others are addicted to it too. My daughter has started picking her lips and I find it so hard to see her doing it 😭 (not helped because I think she's likely picked it up from me 😓).

I wonder if hypnotherapy might work

I’m a picker as well, you can wear hats and hair pieces to cover your scalp but it might just make you start on another area. I was always picking my acne but after I got medication which cleared it up I started picking my arms instead and also my hair pulling (Trich) has got worse.

I'm a scalp picker too, and have been since I was a girl. I go through phases where I'm terrible for it and phases where I barely do it. Stress/anxiety makes it worse. I suppose it's like nail biting.

The thing is my DS1 has started to do it as well. He's constantly picking. I don't want him to end up like me and still be doing it as an adult.

I've wondered about hypnotherapy.

Yes hypnotherapy does work! I need to get back into it as goes through a bad patch. There are free YouTube hypnosis for skin picking and hair pulling. You can put them on to fall asleep to each night, they really do work.

Also there are Facebook support groups you can join

Thanks for the YouTube recommendations, I wouldn't have thought to look for free videos

I do this too, it's terrible! I have OCD so I think for me it's the compulsive nature of it.

But I don't tend to do it due to stress etc- for me it becomes a cyclical thing as when I've picked I get little bumps/scabs and then I have this really overpowering urge and a feeling that I HAVE to pick the scabs off/ make it 'smooth' again. It's like I can't tolerate the sensation of bumps on my scalp and knowing they're there - I want it to be smooth - but it never is because even if I pick all the scabs off they then scab over again and I can never leave them long enough to heal! 🤢Argh!

I empathise OP it's really frustrating especially when you make it sore and feel ashamed at your inability to stop. Not sure what the solution is - as others have said, picking at something external doesn't satisfy the compulsion for me sadly.