heitea

I need to do this!

The last few days have been terrible skin-wise for me! My skin is the worst it's been in a few months... and whenever my skin gets worse/more breakouts I find it's a lot harder for me to just leave it alone and to not pick! It's like my thinking reverts to not knowing anything about acne and the idea that picking at it will physically remove it but it really does just make things worse. And it can become like a compulsion for me too. So I've been picking and messing with my skin a lot lately

 

Earlier this year (i think - might have been late last year) I managed to stop picking for a few months and it helped my skin quite a bit! I used to get a few large spots in the exact same spot on my cheek and I always used to pick at them which was stupid as they never got to heal completely on their own so they would flare up again and again - until I managed to stop picking and let them heal on their own. Now I haven't had acne in that specific spot since then. (I still have acne everywhere else... but why not celebrate little victories ) 

 

I like your idea of using a timer to limit bathroom / mirror time. I'll have to try that. And I'll have to make sure to keep my distance from the mirror too. 

Another thing that helped me was keeping my nails short or taking time (when I can) to paint them - it occupies your hands for a while and then I found I didn't want to mess up or chip my nails, once they were done, by picking (sounds silly but it helped me a little).

 

So I guess starting tomorrow I'll try and be kinder and gentler to my skin by not picking.

 

You're right, it is difficult - but stick at it - you can do it! Just think how much more lovely your skin will be once you can stop picking

Good luck heitea!

It definitely becomes a compulsion for me. For example, today I was thinking so much that I would NOT pick at a spot on my face....and of course...because I was thinking about it so much, I ended up picking at it.

I need to actually DO my challenge....it's so difficult to just leave a zit there and not pick at it! I don't know why I can't stop myself!

I never could control myself when it came to picking my face.

 

I even wanted to cut my finger nails off so I would not even think about putting them on my face.

My sister actually gave me the idea of putting bandages on my fingers. To my surprise it worked!

 

Normally you would put bandages to stop biting your nails but the way my fingers (with the bandages) felt on my face just did not feel "good" and after doing this for a month I found that I lost my habit and my face cleared up pretty good.  

Might sound a bit odd but just giving you an idea in case your picking habit becomes harder to control

 

Good Luck!

 

I actually really like this idea. Except..it would waste a lot of band-aids. haha Maybe I'll keep a tape dispenser in my bathroom? I only pick when I'm in the bathroom so if I tape my fingers after I wash my face, maybe it'll work the same way. At this point, I'm fairly desperate.

One more week of school

As an educator of today's youth, I am also excited about this

WELP....ehhhh

Looks like I did a little picking this morning. DAMNIT.

Good news is that I didn't pick until I ruined my face completely. I picked two little bitty whiteheads. For some reason...in my head it's "okay" to pick at visible whiteheads and "okay" to pick at dried up, hanging off skin. I don't think I should be okay with the whiteheads. I should just leave them alone. But it's so hard. I honestly don't know how to just leave them alone. Especially when it's in the morning and I know that I'll have to see people.

So the first whitehead was because I also picked last night I picked at an under-the-skin type of bump that was pretty much nothing until I touched it. It appeared in the first place because I had been picking! And turned into a whitehead after I messed with it. Ah, the never-ending cycle. The other little whitehead between my nose and mouth (WORST PLACE EVER) was because I used a cloth that was in my car after my run to wipe off my sweat. I'm not sure how clean the cloth was. That's gross, I'm sorry. I was desperate and disgustingly sweaty (running in Tennessee in the super hot sun is going to make you sweat, dangit!) and I had to go into the grocery store to buy some lemons.

This is difficult. But I'm already better. The right side of my face is actually VERY smooth and pretty already.

Today's goal: Tonight, remove makeup. Apply nightly routine. Go to sleep. Don't look in the mirror. Keep the lights dim (but not off because dark bathrooms are terrifying!)

Hey, good luck with this...I'm trying to stop picking too but lord knows it's so tempting and I'm so good at covering it afterwards that I feel like I've hidden the damage! I know the feeling when your skin clears somewhat but you still manage to find stuff to pick. Made me laugh about sitting on your sink though - if I did that my sink would definitely break! Also try looking at thatwillnotfly's blog, she is having a lot of success stopping picking which is giving me some inspiration that it's actually possible!

One thing that is slightly helping me is my netball season has just started up again and knowing that once a week I'm out in public without makeup (would just sweat it off) is making me think twice because I know I won't be able to cover it...although I really wanted to pull out of a match this week because I've gone to town on my forehead! Keep up the log...will be good to share tips and help each other along - especially with all the negative/ insulting posting going on at the minute!

I'm too good at covering it, too! People literally do not believe me when I say that I have acne.

I'll have to take a look at that blog you mentioned-- I'll do anything for motivation!

Is netball like basketball? Don't cancel! You might regret it, or your team might lose because their star player isn't there! But yeah, it used to freak me out to exercise because I was afraid of my makeup falling off. But for some reason, my makeup has been staying in place really well lately. Must be the new makeup I'm using. Yay!

I have no choice but to keep up with this log. If I don't...I'll just keep ruining my skin and I really can't bear to do that anymore to myself. Expect daily (almost) posts! And keep up with me if you'd like! Post your progress here, as well!

Day 2: Red marks persist. However, I ONLY picked at some things on my forehead. I know...lame...but better than usual.

Picture time!