severe lip picking

I have been picking my lips for over 25 years and now, after I let it heal for a while I noticed a very tiny white spot on my lower lip. I'm wondering if anybody else had the same problem and if you went to the doctor, what were you told. I have an appointment for dermatology in 2 weeks and I'm freaking out.

I am so glad to have found this, I am a fifteen year old girl and I have been picking at my lips and cuticles since I was a kid. I always thought there was something wrong with me and it is comforting to know I am not alone in this. Most of last year I rarely picked, but now that I have started 10th grade I am extremely stressed out trying to maintain a high GPA so I have begun picking even worse than I used to. Now I pick my lips every chance I get, so much that my lips are constantly bleeding. I wish I knew how to stop but its just something I do, in fact I am doing it as I type this because once I finish commenting I need to finish studying for my trigonometry exam. Nonetheless I am glad to have found others who struggle with this.

I'm a 17 year old male and i've been picking at my lips since I was 12. Something triggered this behaviour off, which I am not sure of what it is. And yes I scour and rub my bottom lip and try to find any uneven or dry skin which I can pick at and ultimately peel off. I feel bad after I see all the blood on my finger and I think to myself when will I ever stop. Past couple of months I found out it takes 2 weeks of untouched lips for it to go back to its soft tender state and couple of months depending on the degree of damage and how long you may of been doing it for. For me I find telling my close friends helps to counter attack this problem as they don't look at me in a weird way but tell me to not do it in a caring way. I hope I stop this really bad habit soon as it hinders my ability to act the social norm in certain situations.

Thanks for reading.

Please contact if you want to talk to me about anything : abzflexx@live.co.uk

I've read all the stories and it was like reading the stories of my life. I've never laughed so hard because I can relate. I'm probably one of the worst lip picker in the word. I would pick my lips while it's bleeding and my nails are stained with blood. I loose all focus when picking my lips, I drove with one hand on the wheel and the other picking my lips. I sit in public picking my lips while knowledgeable of others watching. I postpone much of my duties until I get a good rip on my lip and feeling smooth. Its not only my lips, I pick my feet until it bleeds, the same passion I get picking my lips I also have with picking my feet. I've tried to stop, but I find myself doing it without even thinking about it. I wish there was a solution, I'm sick of my lips looking like a brillow pad and my feet looking like damaged stones.

I seriously never knew that this is a common disorder until I came here.
For some reason it gives me hope, though, knowing I'm not the only one with this problem...

I'm only 15, but since I can remember I have been picking at my lips all my life. It must of started from as young as the age of four. I just remember thinking "my lips are always so dry!" All the time, and that the only solution was to pick the dead skin off.
I noticed that I did it mostly at times I was stressed or even bored. Sometimes I wouldn't even realise I was doing it. I remember that the classroom has always been a primary place for the lippickung to start- sitting doing nothing triggered my fingers to wander to the imperfections of my lips, determined to get rid of them.
The thing is that no matter how much I peeled and picked, the next day the skin on my lips would yet again wrinkle and grow dry, maybe even start to peel by themselves. Gradually my lips have settled with the same never ending cycle of growing dry and being peeled off, mostly even daily.

But I don't want it to be like that.
I have had enough of shaming for my lips, avoiding any kind of lipstick that could emphasise the dryness. Even the thought of kissing someone seems a nightmare. For that reason I decided to stop, which now must have been nearly 6 months ago.

It was hard at the beginning. But I was determined.

I decided to put the safest Vaseline with a minimum amount of chemicals on my lips, and swore to myself not to touch them. Of course it didn't work in a flash, habits have never been easy to overcome. But after an amount of weeks I was no longer peeling my lips every day. Of course I still had the need to touch them sometimes, but I had a reason to...

The thing is, I have been picking my lips for nearly 10 years. As I said, my lips got into this cycle of going dry and peeling off. So without me peeling the dead skin off anymore, it just became SO DRY, and would build up into big dead flaps of skin. Not very attractive.

I remember going home after school one day, genuinely proud of not picking my lips once. Only when I looked in the mirror I was shocked with the horrific look of my mouth, on which white, ugly skin covered my bottom lip.

Still determined to beat the cycle I carried on trying to leave my lips alone. Tinted lip balm became my best friend, my only hope of hiding the scabs in my mouth, if the flaps became dry enough they would sometimes peel off by themselves, leaving smooth, baby scin underneath. This would only last a day though, leaving the next to shrivel and dry out again, making me really self-conscious.

Somehow, I carried in this routine. After reading online the wonders of glycerin, I decided to have some ordered online in hope for some help. By now my lips still peeled, but the dead skin no longer built up so thick and dry. Still it was noticeable, and even I noticed friends unconsciously licking their lips while talking to me.

glycerin is a sweet, liquid which is not yet as runny as water, but not as thick as the average honey. After being put on my lips it takes a few minutes to dry, leaving no tint or shine, as if the skin was bare. I noticed that after applying the substance, any flaps in my lips are stuck down in a way, making the seek smooth for a while. It certainly has helped me.

If it was the glycerin, or the many months time, I can confidently say that my lips have definatly healed. After so long I no longer have the need to pick them, though I must say it's tempting when they have a peeling faze again. Yes, they still peel. Sometimes they survive a day or two. When my lips do begin to peel though, it's nowhere near as bad or thick as before. It normally happens in the middle of the day, and all I have to do is briefly rub the dead skin off when the time comes, and they are normal again.

The best part is that my lips are no longer dry. Even when they peel they feel very soft, maybe because I never leave the house before applying lip balm or my handy bottle of glycerin.

But I have hope that the peeling will soon stop altogether.
It just takes a matter of time.

I have written this long text on here because, well, I want others like me to know there is a way. Yes, lip picking may be a disorder, but it can be overcome. I'm saying this now because this time last year, I was probably sat in my room, peeling my lips until they bled, not giving a second thought about it. Now when I think about the actual pain I went through, not caring about the stinging and the blood, just wanting to feel the sensation of the skin tearing of my lips... It just wasn't right. It is in no way healthy and is just hurting your own body. And it also forces your skin on your lips to adapt to unnatural cycle of healing and dying in an abnormal amount of time. This is the reason why most of your lips are so dry and irritated all the time, tempting you to pick. A never ending circle.

I hope this might enlighten someone out there. I really am sorry for the long text. But maybe some of you might give stopping this habit a chance.
It's worth it.

Im only age 10 and I pick my lips. Ive been doing it for about 1 year and i really want to stop. My family tells me to stop but that just gives me a bigger urge to pick them. One thing that kind of helped was honey and sugar mixed together, rub it on your lips, and the sugar will take away some of the dead skin. I hope this helped you.

I actually though I was the only one, who actually picks there lips.. I could sit there hours ands hours picking at it until they bleed.. and I end up making them so sore.. but there worst is that sometimes I would get a pin or eye ring to rip the dry hard skin of my lip.. and I can't stop.. and some times I could just got in space and just pick pick! It's so annoying because I don't want my lips looking horrible. I've done this since I was so small.. and I can't stop..

Same here! I literally thought I was the only one who did this!. My mom yells at me all the time for it and tell me to put lip gloss on and its so hard to stop even then. I cant help it! sometimes I dont even know that i'm doing it until I pull off a painful piece of skin and it bleeds and stings and burns... I cant even remember why or what stared this but I really wish I could stop... atleast theres other people like me though! :) I always try to get to a stopping point where I tell myself I'll stop and then I'll always feel just a little piece and then it turns into more and more and more and MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....UGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've had this problem for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it gets so bad that I bleed and even after the fact I still cant stop. Its embarrassing being out In public and the only thing you can think about is picking at your skin or when people look at you weird because of your bleeding. I've tried many things to try to stop the impulse including lip-gloss, Chap stick, etc and nothing works. I even tried cutting my nails down. I find the only thing that helps me is getting my nails done. It actually helps a lot. The nails actually prevents me from grabbing skin and since then my lip has been healing. I think if any lady is having severe lip picking symptoms please try it. It wont get rid if the desire, but it will prevent it and make it hard for you to latch on to anything and cause bleeding or severe damage. I found this website and even though this impulse is a horrible thing to live with I feel much better knowing I am not alone. Hopefully this helps some of you.

And all this time, I thought I was the only one that did this!

I've read through a bunch of these post and it makes me feel like i'm really part of a large community trying to get better.

I want to believe that the core reason why I pick is from nervousness and anxiety and the fact that I love how my lips feel after it is smooth.

Thanks everyone for sharing your story. I will begin today to stop the picking.

#stopthepicking

hi i'm new has anyone taken the test for dermatillomania yet? i took it and got moderate (40 percent) what did you get?

by the way i pick my lips not my skin. just letting you know.

I am 20 years old, Female. I can’t remember not picking at my lips. I have Anxiety and I feel like I pick my lips in a way to hide my face with my hand, almost to feel invisible when I’m out in public. I do pick at home but I have recently noticed that I only really do it at home if I have been picking while out and about because there are bits of my lips hanging off. I really want to stop picking at my lips so much but if I don’t pick my lips I either grind my teeth or bite down hard on the inside of my cheek or just bite my lips and I would rather pick my lips than do any of those things. I have got traits of OCD and when I asked a family member what they thought they said that it could be because of the OCD, like trying to make my lips perfect by ripping bits off them because I am a perfectionist with a lot of things due to my OCD. I don’t know how true this could be but it really got me thinking about other people that pick. Do many other people who pick have traits of OCD too? This page has helped me to understand more about my picking tendencies and I hope that when I read further that I may find some tips to make me stop because although my mind may be thinking that it’s trying to ‘perfect’ my lips, it really isn’t! The bleeding and scabbing and slight scars on my lips from picking and pulling really deep skin off my lips, make me feel more conscious and in turn make me more anxious that people are looking at me. My boyfriend puts it down to my anxiety but I feel like it’s a whole lot more than that.

Another question that I have thought about since posting my comment. Do many others also have Eczema or other skin conditions? A thought is that they could be linked?

Wow! I had no idea so many people did this! I’ve been picking my lips since I was a little kid but it’s especially got worse the past few years. I’ll pick and pull at them until they bleed and I have blood all over my fingers. I unfortunately pick my nails a lot too. Not the skin around it just the nails. But now I try to keep my thumb, pointer , and middle nails longer to make sure I can get ahold of the skin and it just makes my hands look so ugly! And y’all already know how ugly the lips get! I miss wearing bright pink lipstick so much! But I can’t stop! Idk if it’s from anxiety or what. I’ve never been diagnosed but pretty sure I do have an anxiety disorder. The funny thing is when I’ve picked all the skin off my lips and there’s just one itty bitty spot left my anxiety gets worse until I get it off lol

Hi everyone, I'm so relieved to have found this forum because I thought I was the only one with this disgusting habit! I am 22 and have been chewing and picking the skin off of my lips since I was about 5. I notice that I do it whenever I'm stressed or dealing with an issue, or even just thinking. When I go through periods of intense happiness, like if I'm on vacation, I notice that I won't do it. But it's such an awful habit and i'm so sick of looking in the mirror and seeing my lips gnawed and bleeding. I can get them to heal completely in about 3 days using Carmex and buying myself a nice lip gloss or something to constantly keep on them, or by cutting my nails so that I can't pick, but I've unfortunately mastered the art of ripping my own skin on my lips off with my teeth. I agree it definitely has something to do with stress or anxiety. I find myself backing out of romantic plans or avoiding making eye contact because of it. And I really love my lips, they are actually quite pretty when they're healed but they almost always look nasty. My mom will swat my hand away and yell at me if she sees me doing it. Please if you have a good solution besides what's on this site, let me know!

I stopped only 60 hours ago and my lips have completely healed!!!! Wtf?! All I can say is that my lips have been very forgiving. I took pics of the healing process, and journaled a line or two every time I had any feeling. I also quit on a weekend.
Even though I had been picking my lips for probably 5-10 years non-stop, 60 hours (2.5 days) was all that was needed to completely heal my lips. First 24 hours just felt weird, second 24 hours I got scabs on my lips and by 12 hours after that all the scabs (which were pretty grotesque at this point) had fallen off, revealing *completely* soft (and waaaaay less triggering) lips. I don't know what's next but I know that I really expected the healing process to take way longer. Usually I quit on day 1 or 2 (or rather minute 1). Never realized 2.5 days is exactly what it takes to physically start new.

Hi,
I have just come across this forum and felt I had to give my input on the subject of lip picking.
I too have picked and chewed my lips since being a child, I am now 36!!!!
I would not even have thought I had OCD, however, reading these posts have made me wonder.
I have thought about seeing my doctor about my ‘problem’ but somehow I find myself embarrassed...... I have also thought about hypnotherapy to see if this will prevent the urge?
I pick my lips everyday, I make them sore and overall not very pleasant.
I have put off dental appointments as my lips have been too sore and also I’ve felt embarrassed.
I’d like to know if anyone has tried the hypnotherapy and all f it has worked?
I’ve had enough of my habit now and would love to have smooth looking lips.

I tend to pick my lips when I’m drunk bing more than any other time.

Sorry when driving that should say.... not drunk. Stupid predictive text