1 week of almost picking free... hope it'll last.. My tips :)

Hi Everyone! ABOUT ME AND PICKING I'm so happy I found this site that I thought I'd share my story and new found tips. Picking my skin has been my major irritating flaw since I was 15 (i'm 25 now). No products have ever felt like they helped more than others... I was on medicine against acne when I was a teenager and used the strong gels which helped some, but never made it go away. Now it has improved enough for me to just use cleansers, but I still have picking problems. Every time I have a few days break from picking (which is hard), I realize how huge my pores are, full of blackheads etc, and I get back at it and won't be able to go back on the break. I've tried telling myself: only pick on tuesdays with a clean metal pimple/blackhead extractor tool (purchased through the internet), but every time I allow myself this, my mind slowly thinks its ok to pick and I'll start my picking spree right back up again using my fingernails all day long. Especially when I do homework/work at the computer where my mind is elsewhere, and my hands easily go from keyboard to face. A NEW PLAN Well, a week ago my mom gave me some "pocket money" and instead of spending on clothes I decided to spend it on: 1) A cleansing/exfoliating facial brush from Shiseido for 40 dollars 2) Clinique's anti-blemish concealer for 30 dollars, and 3) Anti-bacterial gel for 6 dollars. Let me explain what I did with these products and another "fun" mirror-game I made, in order to avoid adding bacteria to my face and stop picking: SOAP, BRUSH, MAKEUP Every morning and night (sometimes just once a day) I use the brush with my facial-bar-soap, and run it in circles over my face. It's so comfortable and relaxing actually. And it keeps my fingers off my face, so I don't feel the bumps. Afterwards I cool off with cold water, a splash of my regular skin tonic and face lotion. If I'm going out, I cover up with the concealer on red spots and add a bit of powder (I washed my powder brush with soap - it also collects bacteria). Instead of powder sometimes I use Clean and Clear oil absorbing sheets to take away shine during the day. They're good and fun too.. Hopefully this decreased use of makeup will also help unclog the pores... MY MIRROR PROMISE I put two sheets of paper on my mirror in face height. One with a collage of a fun cartoon of a guy running away and on top of that I wrote: If you feel like picking, then RUN AWAY!! The other paper has a schedule saying with the headline: "I promise to not pick my face in the mirror or when I sit at the computer". Every morning I write today's date, my signature, and in the evening I write how well I've done (80% a bit picking, 100% no picking at all etc.). I only take the paper off of the mirror if I have to put on make up. PROGRESS So far I have not had a day of 100% but it's been around 85-95% which I'm really proud of. I've had a few minor whiteheads but I've sort of been able to keep my hands off of them, and my cleansing brush from Shiseido would sometimes pop them for me when I gently brush over them. Today, one week later, I can see all the black heads annoying me, when I go to a public well-lit mirror. But I keep not picking, 'cause I know that I'd rather prefer this than red dots all over my face and a bad self-esteem. But I don't know how long it'll last....I don't use much of the concealer, because there aren't many red spots... only on the up-coming whiteheads get covered up... When I look myself in the mirror one foot away, I can't see the blackheads, so I'm trying to tell myself, that they're not a problem. DAILY ANTIBACTERIA KEYBOARD ROUTINE Oh, and the last thing I mentioned that I bought was the anti-bacterial gel! I've always known that the computer keyboard, computer mouse, etc. are huge bacterial-spreaders. So every night I wipe a cotton pad with a bit of the gel over the keyboard and mouse and table... And also my iPhone. This way, if my fingers do touch my face, they won't be covered so much in bacteria... PICKING OTHER PLACES INSTEAD - NOT GOOD It's hard for me to stop touching my face completely, and I sometimes go to my shoulders instead. But I've realized that this kind of "cheeting" (picking somewhere else) doesn't help. It lets my brain know that picking is fine, and i'll later transfer it to my face... stupid me... So I'm really trying to not pick anywhere - even if it is a tiny bump on my chest or something minor... But it's hard... IT'S HARD - TIPS ON BLACKHEAD REMOVAL? It's hard to do keep your hands off completely, especially when it itches somewhere... but hopefully this routine will stick. Cross your fingers for me! By the way - does anyone know how you can get rid of the blackheads without picking? I'd love to go to a clinique and have someone do it for me, but can't afford it on a regular basis... And as I said, I keep failing at restricting myself to a 1-time-of-the-week thing. Then I just start up the whole thing again. So it's either I pick all the time, or I don't pick at all... And I kinda wish I could get the blackheads to go away... The Shiseido brush doesn't get them... but probably diminishes them.. I hope this was of some help!! I'm a very motivated and hard working girl who still has this problem at 25 - so it's nice to know others out there are having the same problem, so I don't feel like i'm just completely stupid and have lack of self control. I can control my money, clothes, food etc. but this... it's like it has it's own life... a little devil on my shoulder that slowly has to be pushed away but easily comes right back! Hugs, Julie