TOP 100 OR MORE TIPS TO STOP BFRBS
We have compiled a long list of tips to stop hair pulling. This FREE list of tips to stop hair pulling has been made possible by users of this website: real people with trichotillomania who have provided these to us by completing our questionnaire. Trichotillomania advice from real people – you are the genuine trichotillomania experts!
| Cooking | Stick up for yourself in a calm manner | Deep breathing for 30 seconds |
| Cycling | Stop ‘n Grow on my nails | Practise mindfulness to be aware of my hands |
| Sewing, Rug making | Stress relief techniques | E-mailing my trich buddy |
| Eating | Being involved and active | Sorting my sewing box while watching TV |
| Having my hands occupied | Plasters on my fingertips | Taking a hot bath |
| Writing | Silly Putty, slime or goo | Colouring or drawing |
| Wet hair | Going out somewhere public | Exposure to Sunlight |
| Squeezing a stress ball | Playing my hypnotherapy CD | Leave in conditioner |
| Distraction | I find whenever I get the urge to pull, washing my eyes and eyebrows with cold water often reduces the urge. | Playing with Beanies |
| Working out | Keeping a diary of how I feel | Forgive past mistakes |
| Going outside | Free acceptance of my condition | Watching trich videos on YouTube |
| Rubicks cubes | Soft mascara that doesn’t clump | Asking for what I want. |
| Wearing a hat | Getting physical with my partner | Going for a walk (free) |
| Eating bananas | Shaving my head! (extreme I know) | Reading trich blogs <3 |
| Record keeping | My personal Trichnotherapy coach | Staying away from people who put me down |
| Stroking a pet | Pairing my socks while watching TV | Studying at the library rather than home |
| Wearing gloves | SkyTrichster’s Trichster Tool Bag | Talking to other trichsters on the forums |
| Not being alone | Having my brows professionally shaped | Think about people who love me for who I am |
| Plenty of Sleep | Spinner ring to fiddle with discretely | Eat sprouted seeds & stroke them on my lips |
| Playing good music and dancing or singing | Numbing cream on my eyebrows reduces my urges to pull them | Throwing away the tweezers or giving them to someone to hide |
| Crochet or knitting, tapestry or cross stitch | Stroking a soft paintbrush or makeup brush on my skin or lips | Covering mirrors in my house or putting positive statements on them |
| Thinking about an event I want to look good at | Writing down how many I pull and what happened just before I pulled | Cutting out sugar, glucose caffeine and popcorn helps me be pull free |
| Take a shower or run my head under the tap | Wearing clear lens glasses makes me realise when I go to touch my eyes | Covering my scalp with shampoo, lotion and hair conditioner (all mixed) |
| False fingernails makes gripping impossible | Getting a new hair cut, colour or style that I love and don’t want to ruin | I only allow myself 30 mins of TV at a time. I can manage to stay pull free for 30 mins |
| Reading only in public – i.e. on a bench in a park. | Making patterns with pins in a pin cushion, then pulling them out and starting over again. | Hand massage with oils: I don’t want to get grease in my hair and it makes my fingers slippy! |
| Removing mascara with remover AS SOON as I get home | My best tip is to play games on a computer or phone it keeps you occupied and your fingers going | If I start picking at my mascara, I have to remove it immediately with lotion to stop me losing lashes |
| Getting up and doing something to take my mind off it | Claw thumb rings which are brilliant as when you put them on there is no way in the world you can pull | Hair Dryer: When my hair is freshly dyed, it is sleek and silky. No coarse bits for my hands to be attracted to. |
| Social networking like Facebook & Twitter | Using my head massager before bed seems to be helping me to have more peaceful sleeps and prevent pulling | Eating a pomegranate. It takes AGES and you can watch a whole film while picking at the seeds. Sunflower seeds also occupy the hands. |
| Be around people who are not family so you cant ‘pull’ in their presence. | For a child a substitute item would be a good idea. I would suggest one of those rubbery animal toys that would seem like a toy, but she could play with the little “fingers” that stick out all over the place to satisfy her need to fidget. I tried playing with my putty egg in bed the other night and it ended up in my hair! Whoops! But, I think anything age appropriate to “play with” can help her keep her fingers away from her eyes. |
Put a few pics of people with nice hair up in places I look at often so I can have something to aspire to |
| Getting up and moving about as soon as my hands go there | I keep my correspondence in a box by the television so I can write cheques, pay bills and write envelopes while watching. | Put an empty bin in your room and throw a light ball into it and your highest shoot could be your pull free aim |
| Writing down why I hate trich and why my life will be better without it | Painting my nails: I don’t want to smudge it by pulling! I keep my nail polishes by the TV. Polishing my nails gives me time to refocus on something else and forget my urge | I usually play my guitar to relieve the urge to pull |
| Trim fingernails as short as possible so they can’t make a grip on hair. | When I’m anxious or tricy I focus on my breathing. For each in and out I count one number, so it sort of ends up being 1, 1, 2, 2 etc. I find that forces me to concentrate on the counting as well as my breathing, and it usually sends me to sleep I find it very relaxing. | One activity to help with the urge to pull is to have a pair of Yin Yang stress balls at hand. If I get in a fit, I pick them up and it occupies my pulling hand. |
| Use face masks whenever you feel the urge to pull your eyebrow hairs | Typing! You use both your hands to type so make up a story or something so your hands are occupied. It’s easier than writing because you have both hands on the keyboard! | Dancing |
| Always keep yourself busy! Or join some kinda sport 🙂 | A tiny piece of velcro |
Dermaroller to play with |
