So a while ago I read on a resource (can't remember where anymore) for transgirls that instead of shaving facial hair, pulling them out with a tweezer will give you a smoother face, the hair will take longer to grow back, and when they grow back, they will be lighter than before as you damage the follicle, etc. Well, that didn't work. My skin is really damaged at the chin area, there are visible bumps, sometimes there are in-grown hair, and a host of other things about it that I don't like. But the problem is, I seem to have a habit around it already. I sometimes unconsciously touch my face for hair and pulling them out by hand even when i am not paying attention. And it feels horrible when I found one and not pulling out, and my dysphoria doesn't help. Sometimes I feel like I want to scrape my face off with a razor. But then pulling hair out is not doing me much good on the long run either. It is hard to stop, especially when there is this kind of relief feeling when I get rid of those hair. Still, I want to stop doing it and just go back to shaving, before I damage my skin too much.
try putting bandaids on the tips of your fingers so when ever you try to pull the hair from your chin, it would remind you to stop and put your hand down. hope this helps <3
It does help me a bit. In that I stop the act of pulling hair, but I can't stop the habit of touching my face. Also, I feel like clawing my face at the moment with all those hair growing. And I just shaved. Twice.
I actually have the same thing, and I'm currently trying to quit. It's called trichotillomania and is when one keeps on pulling hairs out. Mine was really bad on my head. since I always go to play with it when I'm nervous or feeling dysphoric. But then I started pulling it out and I had giant bald patches. Then I was yanking hair off my legs and arms and got those bumps. From my experience, the best is to cover up the area somehow, or wear gloves. I was told to wear a hat and pants. The band aid idea is a really good one. The face touching will just fade away once you stop the pulling. Since your hand will no longer be in the area. Maybe There would be a way to forget about the hairs? I know for mine, if I don't see them it helps on my arms/legs but I don't remember what I had done for my head besides the hat... I'll see if I can remember. It takes time, but you will be able to break the habit! Feel free to message me too.
Is there a time when you are more likely to unconsciously pick? Like watching tv? What if before you sit down to do whatever, you apply some sort of soothing mask? Aloe gel or vitamin A cream and just leave it on for a while so the feeling can pass. Something kind of thick so you don't want to touch it. Hopefully you can keep your hands off because of the mask and an added benefit might be that your skin gets a boost towards healing.
Hmm...that idea of a mask sounds like a good idea when I am at home. Though sometimes I even do it during lectures at university. It seems like whenever I am absentminded I automatically do it. What I did was a bandaid on my chin, and it is less conspicuous in social situation, though it stop sticking after a while as I keep removing it for shaving (which is something I do almost obsessively), and using a lot of them is kind of wasteful. The worst thing though, is the feeling that I get when I found a stubble and not doing anything to it. It is extremely dysphoric, and making me feel like clawing my face out to get it off. And when I pull a hair out, it feels so relieving that I think I might have conditioned myself to be addicted to it.
I get this problem with my eyelashes and eyebrows. it's really embarrassing. I've done it since i was 4 and tried to stop since i was 14. no joy I do it when i'm stressed or anxious or concentration.....I'm doing it now. damn it. It's a hard road breaking any kind of habit. Sorry I can't be more help, but you're not alone.
I am considering permanent means of hair removal like electrolysis or laser, since I will do that later anyway when I am transitioning. But right now, when I am still mostly in the closet, I have to figure out a way to justify going to permanently remove my facial hair as a guy some how.
