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sho1234 , 03 Apr 2011

Normal skin- but blackheads and clogged pores are the only thing i cant stand even if there small but there!

I know every inch of my skin so well and all the pores, I know which ones have been clogged, might get clogged again. I do not want the feeling that it has gotten out of my control- to the point where if I have left it and come back to mirror after a few weeks-to see clogged pores/blackheads dotted all around- because this is when im likely to not be able to stop because I have to search for them to make sure they are all out. I will likely result in a wounded face then which i dont want to happen. If i were to keep up to date with my skin-I dont need to search as much as I can clearly see where "new" ones are and which pores I can leave as I know theres nothing in them. I can get rid of them as they come. I just cant stand a clogged pore/blackhead on my skin--even if its a very faint blackness to it which only i can see-the thought of it just sitting there on my skin-getting worse even or deeper. I just cant forget about it. I have to get it out of my mind/remove it. Makes me feel very uncomfortable-even more so as I know another one could come. I also think-if one has come back under the scab where I previously removed it-I would think that its because the picking session I had wasnt done it a "clean" enough way because when I pick I go from one to the next-occasionally rinsing the area with water and once I have finished I put dilluted tea tree oil on the whole area in the hope of killing any bacteria.
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sharmaine73
April 05, 2011
Try a glycolic peel. You can do that at the salon or at home (find them here: www.muac.com or even on amazon). Start low. I think 30% is the norm. I haven't done mine yet but everyone I have heard talk about having one raves about how it makes their skin look totally amazing. Basically like a chemical burn. Takes a week to heal. Starts to peel after a couple of days and by the end of the week you've got pretty skin again. Makes pores smaller to almost non-existent, corrects hyper-pigmentation, diminishes or eliminates acne scars, and makes fine lines and wrinkles almost disappear. It's good stuff. You can do it at a salon for about $60 bucks or at home for half that but if you mess up you have no one to blame except you. Still a lot of people go that route. It's pretty easy. You probably won't want to pick after that.
40daysfromnow
April 07, 2011
Try focusing on how bad it is after you squeeze it. A blackhead is only black because it is exposed to oxygen, which is better than if it wasn't exposed to the air. So look at the blackness as a "thank goodness it got some air instead of being completely clogged". Also, when you squeeze a pore, you force the bacteria further into the pore as well as introducing new bacteria. So you're turning a perfectly normal pore into one with MORE bacteria and deeper in your skin AND now it's red and obvious. Every normal face has blackheads and they go away on their own. Don't make your skin abnormal by replacing healthy blackheads with more bacteria and red dots. Try putting something in front of your dressing mirror so you can't get close enough to see individual pores. Try only applying your makeup/ removing makeup in the company of someone else like your mother/ sister, and leaving the bathroom door open. Hope that helps a bit? Good luck. I know what it's like.
adecadeisenough
April 07, 2011
I'm just like you. I want to get over my face- I'm so obsessed I occassionally dream about spots on my face. BUT if I do leave my face alone for awhile, I get an incredible urge to 'just look'- I have to make sure everything is ok. Put me in front of a mirror, examining my face, though, and I'm bound to find something. Even if I can leave it alone at first, I'll likely come back to it at a later time when my defenses are down. I'm least stressed about my face when I've just moderately attacked it. A few scabs, some reddness but nothing active: it doesn't make me proud or confident but when my skin is like this I can leave it alone. When I go overboard, I feel so much self-loathing and my face (my inability to hide the hideous marks) really interferes with life. But again, if I leave my face alone I feel like I'm teetering on the edge of disaster. When I feel good about how I look I also get this feeling in my gut- I'm already mourning because I know I'm going to have to pick at some point. I hate that I'm most comfortable when my face is partially destroyed. I've been trying for years to just feel content having an imperfect, left alone, face. What sorts of things have you tried?
thepurplemohawk
April 08, 2011
this probably sounds weird or gross but it is something that has actually helped me to not begin picking when i've had an urge to. i've looked up videos like on youtube or just google of people picking or whatever is along those lines and although kinda gross and sometimes hard to stomach it has prevented a few picking sessions. also i think someone had mentioned it on here, but writing things to put on your mirror has helped me before too temporarily-in my case it helped when i wrote out a list of everything i miss out on when i am dealing with the "aftermath" of a picking session-particularly a bad one... like not seeing friends or family or ANYBODY or going outside/in public or taking photographs outdoors, etc... stuff i love that i lose just like that.
sho1234
April 08, 2011
Thanks all. Rele annoyed today as I squeezed over a pink mark that has been there for ages. Im convinced stuff came out-although it could of been just skin. I always squeeze on an itchy area as I think its itchy becuz theres stuff to come out-Im even more convinced if the area has a slight bump. I know what u mean wen u say ur happier wen skin is damaged. Even though I hate the damage Ive done- It makes me feel like my skin is done and will heal smooth even though I wori whether there wil be more to come out. I went to my doctor-he referred me to mental health doctor-shes referred me to the mental health team. The doc mentioned Ocd to me but I wil be having a proper assesment to see. Gota wait for letter now with date of appointment. My god, everything takes so long!

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