So I have a skin picking problem. More like an addiction. If i see something in the mirror, no matter how big I need to get it out. If i ignore it ill go crazy and begin to feel anxious and almost sick. So I pick it and somehow I end up moving on to picking the rest of my face. And then i can do some serious damage. I leave my face sore, red, inflamed and even sometimes bleeding. I then feel sick about myself and horrified at how horrible i look. I have definitely made my acne worse and while my acne is beginning to clear from using acne.org regimen, i am being left with pot marks on my cheeks, enlarged pores, and almost like a red rashy looking thing on my cheeks that i am certain is scarring from picking. I have gotten much better with picking but still feel like it is a big problem... any opinions or advice? I open to anything...

I have the exact same problem! When even I feel a bump on my face I automatically obsess about it till I can pop that sucker. And yes, I know it is really bad but I swear to god it is just so hard to stop. Being on the regimen and having it clear my skin did stop it because there is nothing to pick at. I am just hoping that if I stay clear for a long enough time, whenever I get the occasional zit, I won't pick at it anymore. Also, don't look at mirrors, I avoid those when I get a zit because seeing it will just remind me of picking at it. And keep your hands busy.

I think people who have acne who don't pick are in the minority. It's true though, as you get clearer you pick less because there is nothing left to pick. Don't be hard on yourself, yours is a common reaction/action to having acne.

I pick as well and I'm not sure whether the increased picking has led to an increase in acne or vice-versa. It is a huge time suck in that I would actually set my alarm clock one hour early in order to get ready for work. Often the mornings started out with a full face scan in the regular mirror and then straight to a magnifying mirror and from there I would grab my tweezers and try to remove whatever I felt needed removing and quite often didn't stop until something started bleeding and when things took too ugly of a turn, I'd call in sick to work and hide under the covers................and pick.

I'm talking in the past because I haven't picked since this morning which is a big thing being that I have not been able to NOT pick for months. I found a new dermatologist, have started on another NEW regimen but I still have hope.

I hope we all find the right method to control acne which will help to put an end to the picking. This is a terrible thing to have to deal with.

Update: It's April 10th and at this time, my skin is CLEAR. Since the original date of this post, I have not had one pimple. I have not picked because I have no scabs. I also have given up MAC liquid foundation and have switched to Bare Minerals. This is the 1st time since my mid-20s that I have NOT had even one pimple. I'm thankful for my new derm and completely shocked at the results.

I pick too, if I'm not picking I'm just feeling my face, it's habit. When I'm sitting here at the computer, I just run my fingers over my face, I can't stop. But I have to admit that I tend to touch my face more, the more acne I have. My mind is probably thinking ok is it still there, did it get any smaller....lol. I literally sometimes put on gloves so I won't be able to touch my face. Definitely stay away from mirrors. If I stop by a mirror, even if I don't stand there and pick at my face I will examine my face, which is a no no because I will just get depressed about the way it looks.

I sincerely believe that people with acne who don't claim to pick have only lasted a few days at the most. Everyone picks and touches their face. I use to all the time, even on The Regime. Although bringing your nails to the white head and gently picking it off doesn't cause more acne, pushing your skin together with your fingers to get all that crud out DOES cause acne IF all the crud never came out and shifted to another location. There are multiple videos on this on youtube, I recommend watching them. As for the scars, I'm afraid they will fade with time. Scars can stay on your face from months to years. If you do nothing about them, however, they can stay longer. Use extra lotion, don't be afraid to get some Jojoba, grape seed, almond, etc... natural oils, and if all else fails you might want to try acid peels. They are cheaper off amazon. I have not used them myself however so I have no experience or recommendations.

I have always had this habit too. I really wanted to stop after reading the site www.stoppickingonme.com, that site really goes into detail about how much more acne and scarring picking can cause. For me it was like, even though I would do basically anything to get rid of my acne I just couldn't not pick at it!! So frustrating. But finally I found something that's been helping me keep my hands off my face - manuka honey. I was reading the blog thelovevitamin.com where she talks about how to naturally cure acne, and she was saying how good manuka honey is for your skin, being a powerful anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. I started washing my face with manuka honey once a day and quit using other cleansers to try to help protect the acid mantle, and that helped a lot but I knew I also had to stop picking. So, I started dabbing a teeny tiny bit of the honey on new acne and scabs and just anything i wanted to pick at, and leave the honey on all day. I rub it in a bit so it's not shiny, it's just a little sticky. Now anytime I go to pick, I can't really do it because It's sticky. If the honey starts to dry and I'm tempted to pick the honey off (this is like after 8 hours it gets a little dry) I just add a little bit more honey. Because manuka honey is so healing, it helps the scabs to heal up wayyy faster and pimples stop growing and go down because of the antibacterial properties. Anyway, I just thought it might help someone else My skin is starting to heal after a few weeks of doing this and I wonder how much of my own acne I was causing by picking at it.

I use to have this habit but you will find that as your skin continues to clear, you will pick less and less because you have nothing there to pick at... lol Try to have a hands off policy, as difficult as that may be. You only exascerbate your acne by picking and trust me, you don't want the scars and pick marks to show for your obsession. Good luck and keep us up to date on your progress!!