Hi guys.
Ever since starting the regimen two months ago, I have been trying and mostly succeeding with my horrible skin picking which has caused a lot of hyper pigmentation on one side of my face. Last night I picked badly for the first time in awhile. So badly there were and are indents in my skin where i ripped scabs off, one tear the size of a dime. They bled a lot. It happened within probably 2 minutes and the whole time my brain was telling me to "stop!!!! immediately!" but I just kept thinking "just one more pick and then I'll be done". I sobbed for an hour straight afterward because I am so furious at myself, I know I would have clear skin by now if I didn't ruin everything and surly cause even more hyper pigmentation which will last for ages. I could have possibly reached my goal to have clear skin for Christmas and I hate myself more than words can describe for ruining everything. I don't know where to go from here. I would love tips to help the tears scab over and health as quickly as possible, but also advice for what I should do myself. I don't know how to treat my condition(?) I don't feel as though I can stop picking my face when it has absolutely any rough texture. I'm so devastated and hopeless. Thanks.
I definitely get this. things that have helped me the most. use moisturizer and hands off! also leave moisturizer on the picked spots as long as often as possible it'll help healing, good ones are lily of the desert aloe vera and serve pm moisturizer. do your best avoid mirrors, hang scarves over them, write notes to remind yourself, make 4 foot rule. Patience - its the hardest part i know, but you will heal!! you've ripped apart your face before just like me I'm sure and it ALWAYS heals. it helps me knowing that in a week things will be better and and if not better - different.
A scab isn't the best way to heal your skin. Cover up the worst spots with a moist bandaid like a hydrocolloid dressing. a moist environment will help heal the skin much faster. Use a good cream on the areas to keep everything nice and moist. I like la Roche posay, epidermal recovery accelerator. Then slap on the hydrocolloids- try to do this constantly over the weekend. Days you don't have to go out and people won't ask questions. It'll cut healing time in half.hope this helped.
Don't hate yourself, it's going to be okay. I have OCD and I understand how difficult it is to fight off compulsions. You slipped up, you're human. Next time, I suggest just pinching your inner arm [the thin skin there] and walking out of the bathroom, away from the mirror, even out of the house if you need to and taking 25 deep breaths to see if you can fight the compulsion. You can try gently exfoliating when you don't have any scabs. Or going for a peel. There are options.
On 12/6/2016 at 10:18 AM, belloo said:It happened within probably 2 minutes and the whole time my brain was telling me to "stop!!!! immediately!" but I just kept thinking "just one more pick and then I'll be done". I sobbed for an hour straight afterward because I am so furious at myself, I know I would have clear skin by now if I didn't ruin everything......I hate myself more than words can describe for ruining everything.......I don't know how to treat my condition(?) I don't feel as though I can stop picking my face when it has absolutely any rough texture. I'm so devastated and hopeless. Thanks.
I totally understand this feeling. It's such a deep pit of guilt that just settles in my stomach after picking! And, that whole mental process of my brain telling me to "quit it!" and then I continue..I do that all the time.
I think we can break this bondage though -- I'm going to try to go 30 days without picking my face. They say it takes a month to form a habit, and I would love to have a new habit of NOT picking my face.
Do you want to join?