Take the no-picking, no popping, no-touching challenge! You will be amazed how much better your face looks after only 24 hours of not touching your face. Are you in? Are you ready to prove it to yourself just how much you want a clear face? This, for some of us, will be almost impossible, but it CAN BE DONE!!!!! It really does work.
Pledge now to start the challenge. You CAN stop this destructive habit. Let us know if you are in and be sure to us and tell us how you did!
Good luck!
hahaha I woke up this morning and went to the mirror...Saw a nice whitehead to pop...then I was like wait I have to do the 48 hour challenge thing...So I didn't pop it!!! But now I get to go to school with this, ha...Oh well i'm sure my face won't be any more nasty then it already is...
bad news guys...I have to go out to dinner with some family members because it's my uncles bday! I can't go out with this monster on my bottom right cheek... I have to leave in approximately 3 minutes and I put some aspirin on the white head which will hopefully kill it... I put it on like 5 min ago... But if it's not gone it might have to be popped...but it's one of those ones that is purging...If I barely rub it I think it will explode, ha...nasty, sorry
I'm in. I think I am just starting to realize how bad a problem my picking has been all these years.
I have a link to share with you all ... maybe you've seen this already?
stop self injurious skin picking
Gotta warn you, there's a lot of information there, and no way can you take it all in at once. Just bookmark the site and stop by when you can to help you keep on track. Also, I have to say, there was some questionable skin science. But overall, there's a lot of good stuff on there. For me, the stories from chronic pickers REALLY hit home ... as in, Oh. My. God. I have a real problem here.
In the interests of recovery (I think this is Step 4?) I am going to share my (least) favorite little skin picking story.
This was my senior year in college. I came back to the row house around 2 AM, fairly drunk and incredibly frustrated. See, I'd gone to a party at the Deke house that night to hook up with my very, very favorite hookup (whom I hoped might be more than a hookup someday). But at the very end of the party, he said he was TOO TIRED and had to get up early, and he was going to bed. Alone.
So then I knew ... he just wasn't that into me (so to speak). So I came home, alone, and went straight into the bathroom to pick my face. It was nice having the whole bathroom all to myself, no one barging in on my little pickfest. But I got tired standing in front of the sink, leaning in toward the mirror, so I sat on the sink. And picked. And sat. And picked. And sat. For about an hour.
And then CRASH, the sink fell off the wall and shattered into about ten million pieces.
And icy cold water sprayed all over the whole fucking room.
And the RA and about 10 other people came racing in half-dressed, and there I was soaked and half-drunk with my oozing face giving the whole damn story away.
"I was just leaning on it and it gave way ... " yeah, right ...
I am red with shame just remembering. And that was 20 years ago.
Q
I don't really have a problem with picking, but if anyone does and you really wanna stop, I suggest you do a google search for 'scarring' or whatever, print out a picture and blu-tack it up by your mirror. Then, every time you're tempted to faff around with your face, it'll serve as a reminder of the fact that you risk permanent scarring. Should serve as an effective deterrent! Or you could just not pick 
BTW, very funny story Queen!
No Touching? I think I can not pick if I really try but I started accutane a week ago and my face just started getting itchy. Like I feel little itchy tingles all the time so I have to gently scratch the itch. Also I have homework and I always rest my face on my hand. But I will try...I'll do anything to make myself better ASAP. Plus, I can not resist a challenge!
Let the games begin...
Andrea<3
Is it too late to count me in too? I am going to start now. I usually pop all o fmy ready-to-pop zits at night before my shower and wash off all the nasty stuff. It's a HORRIBLE habit. I am aout to workout and shower afterwards, i promise I wont pick at my face! it's someting I've been trying to do for a while now. I give in every night though, and I seriously thing it's the root of my problem. I think that when I pop one zit, the skin around it breaks out in multiple nodules and pustules. Thank you so much for starting this thread!!! I know i can abstain from picking If I have somewhere to share my thoughts.
so I wont pick tonight, and I'll let y'all know what happens.
-jay
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO JOIN THIS PLEDGE!!!
I am so happy to see so many people respond! If you want to see proof that this works, look at Tennesseegrl's gallery...you will be blown away!
Queen, I almost fell on the floor laughing my ass off reading your post. I swear we could all totally relate to that in someway. The website you suggested is WONDERFUL...it is the reason I started this topic. I was shocked at just how familiar those stories on there were. That's why I started our own little "no picking" challenge. I meant to mention the site as well but I forgot the actual web address...thank you so much for posting it for us!
What FINALLY hit me after all these years (almost 20 for me...frightening) is that it is not a rational action to rip a scab off your face when it's healing. Popping a whitehead makes a little more sense because eiither it hurts, or is ugly, or you feel like getting the "bad stuff" out. But "looking" for things to squeeze and ripping off scabs is truely self-injuring yourself. It is an illness.
I'm trying to think of some kind example that will make sense to us. Okay, here's a good one. Let's say you are building a house. A brand new house that you want to be beautiful...your dream home. You want everyone to think it's pretty and you want to feel good about it. You have hired a constuction crew to build this house and they are hard at work, hammering and building. Everyday, you drive to the site to check on progress, and it bugs you that the glass in the windows still have the stickers on them from the manufacturer, so you shatter the glass with a rock. The mortar between the bricks is still drying from the day before and you really wanted it to be totally dry, so you take a hammer and a screwdriver and shatter some of the bricks and stab at the damp motar. The Landscaping crew has planted some nice trees and bushes, but because they are still small and not yet established, you decide to rip all the branches off and pluck off the leaves.
Okay...am I making a good point here? YOU WOULD NEVER DO THIS TO YOUR HOUSE!! Why are we ruining our faces on a normal daily basis? WHY?
I think it a real illness that is not rational and not productive in anyway. I have a terrible habit when I am driving my kids to school I feel all over my skin for scabs or dry flakes or bumps. I litterally tear them off and try to make my face smooth again. For a very small amount of time, it does feel smoother, because all the healing has been stripped away to reveal red, oozing wounds. But they ALWAYS come back. Always. So why do we do it?
Okay, I am done spouting off. I hope my above comparison made sense to everyone. I really hope I can draw attention to the rediculous nature of our problem so we can truly train ourselves to let our dream house be BUILT! Accutane will hopefully help make the acne stop appearing, so let's use this time to learn how to allow our faces to heal. This is a habit that is so much a part of our lives...it will be tough. I can't even believe how much better my face has been since I consiously paid attention to allowing my face to heal. I haven't been perfect, but the effort is there and the results are AMAZING. I will take a picture tonight and show you.
Good luck everyone and remember, scratching an itch is totally okay. And don't give up on it if you break down for a few minutes. Like Tennessee girl said, it's a wonderful cycle and SO gratifying to see the change...you will gain motivation quickly when you start feeling good about yourself again.
WELCOME and I am so proud of all of you guys!!
Oh, this is a great idea. I'm in! Perfect timing, too, 'cause I can feel a pimple coming on -- the kind that will just fade away without being noticeable if I don't pick at it, but that will develop into a face-eating monster if I touch it. Thanks for the added motivation!
Well, I've made it through nearly 36 hours without picking, but tonight could be tough ... there's some tempting material to work on. So I'm reading through this thread before I start my nightly routine, just to keep me on track.
Glad you liked my little tale of shame ... that's the first time I've ever told it in its entirety. Normally I edit out the facepicking part. (So there I was, perched on the sink, brushing my teeth ... uh-huh.)
Q