Can’t stop picking your skin? Here are few tips to control your habit

“I have been a hyper-focused skin picker my whole life, zits, flakes, ingrown hair, anything that seemed off about my skin,” a woman on Reddit—in hopes of finding positive suggestions—questions if anyone with a skin picking history has managed to stop it. 

Skin picking is a disorder in which a person repeatedly picks at their skin. It is an obsessive-compulsive condition that can cause cuts, bleeding, or bruises due to constant picking. 

What does skin picking disorder typically look like?

People can pick skin from one or more parts of their body, face, head, cuticles, back, arms, legs, hands, or feet. Where, when, and how people pick their skin differ for each person. Mostly, people pick their skin with fingers or fingernails, but can also use tools like tweezers or scissors. Many times, they may not even realise they are doing it. 

Skin picking can be an act of boredom, but in the majority of cases, it is an attempt to cope with stress, anger, or sadness. It provides temporary relief but is often followed by shame or guilt. 

Some people discard the removed skin in the trash or on the floor. Some people eat skin after they have picked it.

A 2022 study by Comprehensive Psychiatry, analysing characteristics of adults with skin picking disorder, says it is a common mental health disorder. Although it was first described in the 1800s, there is little information on clinical representation. 

The study analysing 262 individuals showed that most individuals with skin picking disorders had symptoms before the age of 20. Typically, people mainly pick their skin on their face, and the most common trigger is stress, followed by the “feel” of the skin. 

They were observed to be dealing with depression, generalised anxiety disorder, and impulse control disorder, especially attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It was also noted that 87 per cent of people had never received treatment. 

National Health Survey (NHS) recommends things you can try to control skin picking disorder

Do

• Keep your hands busy, try squeezing a soft ball or putting on gloves

• Identify when and where you most commonly pick your skin and try to avoid these triggers

• Try to resist for longer and longer each time you feel the urge to pick

• Care for your skin when you get the urge to pick it – for example, by applying moisturiser

• Tell other people. They can help you recognise when you are picking

• Keep your skin clean to avoid infection

Do not

• Do not let your nails grow long – keep them trimmed

• Do not keep things like tweezers and pins where you can easily get at them