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I just can't stop picking
Hi my names Samantha and I'm 16 years old. I think I've been picking all MetLife however it only became apparent when I began picking my face. Throughout my entire life I had never had a spot or blemish on my face to pick however scabs and mosquito bites on my body was where I would pick. The, after a very rough year having my mum go to full time hospital as she was very ill from anarexia and my school making me retake my gcses after accusing me of "cheating" I got belles palsy. I wasn't really bothered by this illness (I actually found it quite funny) until my medication gave me spots. I was in shock as at thus point I didn't even know what a spot was so the first thing I did was scratch my entire face until every blemish started to bleed. From that point onwards it just got worse... I ran to my mums makeup draw and caked myself in everything I cold find, only to give me more spots. Also i was in spain at the time where the weather was extremely hot so I would sweat which also irritated my face. I then started to use ridiculous substances like hand sanitizer and tee tree oil on my face, only to make it sting and get redder. I would always cover my face in sudocrem so that none of my family saw and I'd have to wake up 2 hours early for school to apply layers and layers of makeup. I try not to be so vain and tell myself that it's not all about the looks however when I look into the mirror and see these crusty brown scabs on my face I cant help but burst into tears. For a year this was my daily routine until one night, after a severe picking, I googled 'picking your face' and dermatollimania was the first thing that came up. I read about other people who had the same problem as I did and I was shocked as I thought I was the only one. I immediately ran to my mum and explained everything to her. Although she was sympathetic she repeatedly said that it was just a 'bad habit' which will soon go. One year later and I'm now writing this to say that ,although my picking has got better, I still do it and I have scars from previous picks which I'm scared will never go. I just want to be able to wake up in the morning and walk out my door without having to worry about the light revealing my skin and not having to constantly run to the toilet and reapply my makeup. If anyone can help or knows any good products that gets rid of spots please let me know xxxx
September 08, 2012
Hi there,
I also didn't really have any spots through my teens, until I was 18 and I'm still not really sure why it started. I'm 21 now and it's gotten better, I only get occasional spots now, but they usually are cystic but I've also mastered the control to leave them alone (hopefully).
Firstly I started picking up anything in the chemist that was for bad skin, I liked the superdrug own brand range, and also then clear & clear range which I'm currently using mostly- I have the Deep Cleanse one the Blackhead Clearing one and the Exfoliating Wash and I use them all together by putting small dollops of all three into my palm and the washing my face. But honestly I would buy anything that I thought might help. I also started to use Witch hazel which I think is very good, and is quite gentle as well and helps to tighten pores, tones skin, and helps to stop bleeding if you've just picked, as well as obviously cleansing. Another good thing is Olive Oil which I would put on my face in a thin layer at night, it moisturises your skin, as well as cleansing and the small molecules get deep into the skin so it treats even cystic spots. Olive oil is also really good for scars because it breaks up the scar tissue which forces it to reform, and that allows more time for the skin to heal, it's best to start applying olive oil to the scab straight away and apply every day as may times as you like. At the moment I'm using a home made face mask that is really really good. I make it out of Manuka Honey which is expensive but honey works really well on tough spots, and Olive oil, and some Milk, and a teaspoon on Tumeric (which is an Indian spice that is known for its healing qualities, and treatment of acne), I also add one or two ground up aspirin pills which bring down inflammation, and you could add a drop or two of Tea Tree oil to it as well.
Another thing I've done is order over some Panoxyl cream which you can get on amazon or ebay and it's a Benzoyl Peroxide cream which is for acne, but be careful it can make your skin dry and peel but it will help your spots. I also ordered some Nixoderm which has Salicylic Acid in it among other active ingredients, and it works well on a number of skin disorders including acne.
I would recommend not trying everything at once because it will confuse the skin, I generally when I have skin problems will try things periodically. But I would say I find that the natural face masks have never made the problem worse, where as the nixoderm and benzoyl peroxide cream as I say made my skin peel which made applying make up difficult.
Hope that I helped x