Picking at my skin is by far one of my worst habits. I pick when I get really stressed out — after work, before a big day, when a friend and I get into a fight — and have left the evidence all over my face and body. It's become a huge insecurity of mine.
After a particularly bad bout of picking, I decided to do some serious recon work. Last March, I decided to stop picking for good and, for the most part, have been pretty successful. While my hands do get a little idle sometimes, I've found ways of keeping them away from a random blemish or ingrown hair, and I'm sharing what worked for me with you, fellow skin picker!
Getting tattoos
One of the first things you're told when you get a tattoo is to never pick at it; otherwise it won't heal properly and the color will fade. Picking at a tattoo — even when you had one for a long time — just seems counter-productive. You want to be able to show off your ink, right? Why pick at the skin around it?
Seriously, a couple of well-placed tattoos will serve as a reminder to keep your hands away from the skin your art calls home.
Waxing instead of shaving
Outside of blemishes, my favorite thing to pick at were ingrown hairs. They always grew like weeds along my bikini line virtually every time I shaved it, so I just switched to waxing full-time instead of hoping my razor wouldn't maim me.
While waxing can also cause ingrown hairs, it can be easily be remedied by serious exfoliation. Here's the best part: I found that my scratch-and-pick-ready fingers were way more into scrubbing my skin nearly-raw than they were at poking and prodding.
Keeping my nails really short
Despite seemingly EVERYONE rocking talon-like nails, I always keep my nails short because picking with stubby little nails is just way less fun than picking with long ones.
The one thing that helped with picking skin around my cuticles is having a fresh manicure. Knowing that I had a weekly appointment at my local salon has helped me see my hands as something that can be beautiful, not something I should constantly peel and scratch.
Using stress balls to calm my hands
Stress balls help keep my hands busy and allow for some sweet, simulated popping relief. Another great hand occupier? Bubble wrap.
Enlisting a friend to yell at you every time you're in the bathroom too long
I live alone, so it's really easy for me to get carried away with picking at a stray zit or blemish. Whenever I stay at my mother's house or have friends over, however, they know that if I spend more than five minutes in the bathroom by myself, they should shoot me a text or knock on my door and try to make conversation.
Ditching the tools
I would spend hours with my magnifying mirror, picking and scratching away at spots that seemed like they were 10 times bigger than they really were. The moment I removed my mirror from my bathroom was the moment I felt like I could look at my skin and not just see pores and hours of work.
Locating my triggers
One of the first things I did when I realized my skin picking was getting out of control was unfollow accounts like Dr. Pimple Popper from Instagram. Watching Dr. Sandra Lee squeeze out blackheads and remove cysts pushed me over the edge and encouraged me to attack my body, so I had to stop. Now, whenever a grotesque pimple-popping meme or gif ends up on my feed, I quickly swipe away.
Of course, if you feel like you can't do it alone, seek professional help! There is no shame in asking for outside help when you need it and it reminds you that your journey isn't one you have to make alone.
