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firstly acknowledge that picking your skin = damage and will make things worse. no one ever cured their acne through picking.

cut your finger nails short.

wear plasters on your finger tips as a reminder not to pick.

if you pick in front of the mirror, you might benefit from wearing a small amount of makeup around the house to dull down any redness/spots.. you will probably find you wont pick your skin if it looks "normal".

9 hours ago, acne babe said:

picking !
I CANT STOP PICKING
GUYS
IM EATING MY FUCKIN SKIN
I FEEL LIKE MY FACE IS EXHAUSTED
ITS LIKE COMPULSIVE TO ME

You'll definitely live to regret it for sure, possibly for the rest of your life. Why? Because now you'll be left with permanent acne scars, eg. pits, pockmarks, indentation, depression (pick one). If you don't know what that feels like, check out the Scar treatments section of this forum. You'll notice that no one is laughing there, at least not at their scars. Frankly, it's too damn painful because those scars are always there to remind them how ugly they truly are. I know, truth hurts. So if you don't give a crap about all the the stigmas and the stares you'll eventually get from others, go on picking.Otherwise, stop and take responsibility for once.

Girl, I just saw your pics. First and foremost, you need to absolutely control the inflammation. Those are cystic acnes and they are super-inflamed. If you don't bring the inflammation down ASAP, you will risk getting scarred. Moreover, acne will last longer with inflammation, so it's critical to remove inflammation first.

As a remedy, start taking 2 tablets of aspirin or advil twice a day until inflammation is gone. These are analgesics, which means anti-inflammatory. You need to start immediately. Also go out and buy VapoRub and apply a small amount (eg. pea-size) to each cysts. Remember: small amount. It's best to apply VapoRub at night and wash off in the morning.

Lastly, wash your face only twice a day, morning and night, with just water. Don't use any soap, toner, or moisturizer--especially if your skin is oily. If your skin is dry, then apply pea-size amount of olive oil and spread it around the face as much as possible.

On 17/11/2017 at 8:19 AM, Sirius Lee said:

You'll definitely live to regret it for sure, possibly for the rest of your life. Why? Because now you'll be left with permanent acne scars, eg. pits, pockmarks, indentation, depression (pick one). If you don't know what that feels like, check out the Scar treatments section of this forum. You'll notice that no one is laughing there, at least not at their scars. Frankly, it's too damn painful because those scars are always there to remind them how ugly they truly are. I know, truth hurts. So if you don't give a crap about all the the stigmas and the stares you'll eventually get from others, go on picking.Otherwise, stop and take responsibility for once.

Girl, I just saw your pics. First and foremost, you need to absolutely control the inflammation. Those are cystic acnes and they are super-inflamed. If you don't bring the inflammation down ASAP, you will risk getting scarred. Moreover, acne will last longer with inflammation, so it's critical to remove inflammation first.

As a remedy, start taking 2 tablets of aspirin or advil twice a day until inflammation is gone. These are analgesics, which means anti-inflammatory. You need to start immediately. Also go out and buy VapoRub and apply a small amount (eg. pea-size) to each cysts. Remember: small amount. It's best to apply VapoRub at night and wash off in the morning.

Lastly, wash your face only twice a day, morning and night, with just water. Don't use any soap, toner, or moisturizer--especially if your skin is oily. If your skin is dry, then apply pea-size amount of olive oil and spread it around the face as much as possible.

hey !
thank you for your reply
and you r right i'm gonna end up with one of those eventually ( already am )
and that's clearly what i dont want
but i litteraly tried everything
from cuttin my nails short
puttin tape on em
puttin make up at home
avoidin make upp
taking miriors outside of my room
the BP treatement (my skin turned too sensitive so when i picked the damaggee was worst )
i tried the 30 days challenges
callenders
not checkin on my face at all mornings or nights
get my hands bussy
meditation and yogaa
alll the internet shhitttt
i can't control my hands tho i'm very conscious of the damage and everything
im dealin with hyperpigmentation some scars and most of the time my face is damn inflamed
and i'm totally understand its because of my picking
but i can not stop it
i pass my hand on my face llikeee everytimeee i'm likeee doin nothin or like stressed i dunno
and i keeeeep digging at my skiinn
so bad
and i dont stopp till it justt get slippery bc of the blood ( i k disgustin)
and its just sick
i'm dealin with depression and anxiety just bc of this
it might sound stupid for so many ppl
but it changed my lifeeee totalllyyy
its compulsiiveeee
its like smokin for some ppl
even way worst
it s effecting my lifeee
i slowing mee
its just dragging me down
and to be honest
i just don't know what to do next
no one can actually believe me
even my own doctor
this is ruinnin my life i cant go outtt i cant stay out that much i'm walking arround with fuckin tissue upon my face 27/7 cuz its fuckin bleedin
i dont k
i really dont know

@acne babe

I bet you didn't even take 2 pills of aspirin as I instructed to bring down the inflammation? And yet here you are whining and complaining. So before you moan and groan again, take those damn pills and rub some Vaporub on your face.

You know why acnes have ravaged your face? Because you don't give proper respect, not to yourself and certainly not to your face. Give what it rightfully deserves: LOVE AND RESPECT.

Signing out.

If this is as severe as you are describing, you may have Excoriation Disorder (Skin Picking Disorder). For this I would actually recommend talking to your doctor or therapist, as this is more of a mental health problem. It's similar to Trichotillomania, & some research suggests that it is a type of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I have been diagnosed with OCD (not for skin picking, other things) but the way you describe these compulsions sounds exactly like I would describe my own. Please talk to your doctor/therapist/psychologist or other mental health professional about this so you can get the proper treatment.

On 20/11/2017 at 2:16 AM, AliDenise said:

If this is as severe as you are describing, you may have Excoriation Disorder (Skin Picking Disorder). For this I would actually recommend talking to your doctor or therapist, as this is more of a mental health problem. It's similar to Trichotillomania, & some research suggests that it is a type of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I have been diagnosed with OCD (not for skin picking, other things) but the way you describe these compulsions sounds exactly like I would describe my own. Please talk to your doctor/therapist/psychologist or other mental health professional about this so you can get the proper treatment.

i litterally spent hours reading about dermatillomania this issss exaclly what am dealing with
like i can totally relate to everything
i did some ocd/derma tests
and i got fuckin 87%
so many articles i cnt be more gratefullllllllll for just tellin me that
i m gonna let my doc know like next week
just thank you !

On 11/21/2017 at 2:47 PM, acne babe said:

i litterally spent hours reading about dermatillomania this issss exaclly what am dealing with
like i can totally relate to everything
i did some ocd/derma tests
and i got fuckin 87%
so many articles i cnt be more gratefullllllllll for just tellin me that
i m gonna let my doc know like next week
just thank you !

Let me know how your appointment goes! People can tell you to get a bunch of different treatments for your skin, but as long as you're still compulsively picking, then your skin will never get better. Address the problem at the source to figure out what's causing the picking in the first place. It can be scary to talk to people about these mental health issues but it's actually very common & you'll be so thankful that you did (I know I was)!

this is an update for compulsivee picking
i thinkk im doing preety good
i didnt excpect that i'll make it this far
the longest i've stayed for 5 years now is like 5/4 Days
so kinda feeeling proud
i setted my calenderrr
and i crossed a cross everyday
kinda determined to end upp with my dream skin by summer
hope so ( my skin is tooo damagedd)
IM Just cleansing
and moistrising
sometimes i gently exfoiliate like once a weeek maximum
and i had some activveee pimplessss going on thooo
likeee the urrrge to pick thoseee is out of this universeee
but yeah i try to cover emm with benzol proxyyde the moment i feel like im starting to stareee too much at them
im gonna plasteeer
but my faceee is mostly nowww CLOSEDDD COMODONESSS
likeeee for no reason they r not inflammed they just under the skin
a bumpppyy textureee arround my mouth mostly
and im dealing with an activee pimp here and there
and ofc my baby nosee blackheads never goneee always here
but my faceee loook incrediblyyy bettterrrrrr
likeee lesss rednesssss
lesss activee spotsss
less comodones
lesssss flakinesss
no more crazyyy cyssttsss
so im planning to makee it till 60 daysss
and i'lll GO PARTYYYY HHH
JUST BC OF THAT
THIS IS A LILL UPTADE FOR ME TO READ LATER ( U never k maybe i'll make it )
and to every pickerrrrr thereee !!!
YOU CAN DO IT
WE CAN DO IT

Hey girl, I made an account to reply to this thread because same. I've picked my skin compulsively my entire life, and I think the way some people have responded to your post is really out of order. My mum has been trying the tough 'love' thing with me since I was little. It doesn't work, it lacks empathy and a proper understanding of why we pick. For myself and many others (it sounds like you fall into this category as well), it's hugely stress related and people being condescending/trying scare tactics just makes the problem worse.

The biggest, most effective thing I've ever done for my picking is to budget for acrylic nails. These are significantly cheaper in the UK (where I am) than the US, unfortunately (initial set cost me 25 and I pay 20 every 2-3 weeks for infills), but it's money well spent if you've truly tried everything else. Compared to your natural nails, the acrylic extensions are blunt and don't feel as good when you do manage to pick or squeeze a spot, so you physically CAN'T pick to the same extent with your hands. Within four days of having my extensions on, my skin had already healed massively because I physically couldn't keep scraping away at the same old scabby cysts.

Other really good things to do:
- Get rid of any backlit or magnifying mirrors in your home. I love my make up and they're useful for getting foundation ~perfect~ but NO ONE sees your skin this close up, so you're best off getting rid so you can't see those tiny little visual triggers we all hone in one.
- Throw out any picking tools like tweezers or extractors, no point spending money on nice nails if you're just gunna go in with these!
- If you've picked to the point your skin's leaking (as oppose to scabbing over straight away) and you want to hide it with make up, tear off a tiny piece of tissue and stick it to the cyst or spot that's leaking after cleansing, moisturising etc. Once it's dried up, you can start your make up. Be very gentle with your leaky spot; you won't be able to cover it completely but if you gently dust over an opaque powder or powder foundation (Mac Studio Fix Powder Foundation is my favourite for this) it should camouflage it

Good luck, be kind to yourself, and beconsistent. We can do this!!