Trichotillomania

Trichotilomania (disorder pulling hair out)

What can you do about it?

Giving yourself a reason that is more exciting than pulling your hair out can be the answer long term. What we found is that the compulsiveness plus the additional consistency of pulling at the same spot on the scalp will cause long term damage to the follicle becomes irreparable. See solutions https://www.indulgesalon.com/natural-hair-extensions

Is it a personality disorder?

No its not a personality disorder. Everyday women and men just have this compulsion to pull or tug on the hair that can start at a young age leading into adulthood.  I find that individuals don’t like it but they have to deal with the embarrassment of not having hair, some are have actually lost the hair in areas that are obvious.

Signs and symptoms of trichotillomania often include:

• Repeatedly pulling your hair out, typically from your scalp, eyebrows or eyelashes, but can be from other body areas, and sites may vary over time
• An increasing sense of tension before pulling, or when you try to resist pulling
• A sense of pleasure or relief after the hair is pulled
• Shortened hair or thinned or bald areas on the scalp or other areas of your body, including sparse or missing eyelashes or eyebrows
• Preference for specific types of hair, rituals that accompany hair pulling or patterns of hair pulling
• Biting, chewing or eating pulled-out hair
• Playing with pulled-out hair or rubbing it across your lips or face

Most people who have trichotillomania also will pick their skin, bite their nails or chew their lips. Sometimes pulling hairs from pets or dolls or from materials, such as clothes or blankets, may be a sign. Most people with trichotillomania pull hair in private and generally try to hide the disorder from others.

For people with trichotillomania, hair pulling can be:

trichotillomania back view

• Focused. Some people pull their hair intentionally to relieve tension or distress — for example, pulling hair out to get relief from the overwhelming urge to pull hair. Some people may develop elaborate rituals for pulling hair, such as finding just the right hair or biting pulled hairs.
• Automatic. Some people pull their hair without even realizing they’re doing it, such as when they’re bored, reading or watching TV.

The same person may do both focused and automatic hair pulling, depending on the situation and mood. Certain positions or rituals may trigger hair pulling, such as resting your head on your hand or brushing your hair. Trichotillomania is a long-term (chronic) disorder. Without treatment, symptoms can vary in severity over time. For example, the hormonal changes of menstruation can worsen symptoms in women. For some people, if not treated, symptoms can come and go for weeks, months or years at a time. Rarely, hair pulling ends within a few years of starting.

Solutions for Trichotillomania (pulling your hair out)

• Think about your triggers that increase the pulling out and change up your routine to “replace” the habit such as getting busy with something else as soon as you realize what you are doing.
• Make an appointment with Kimberly, the owner, at Indulge Salon, York, Pa to discuss your options of hair coloring which increases the thickness of your existing hair.
• discuss various types of hair extension options such as tape-in extensions, Dream catchers clamp extensions that attach to your natural hair, fusion type that adhere with a hot resin that will give you more hair per strand making your hair feel thickner and lastly glue-in’s that are temporary but can be reused till your hair starts to grow out.
• Lastly, developing a new look in makeup, hair design to compliment your faceshape and lifestyle.

At Indulge Salon, we will help you find a solution to create a look for you with hair extensions of some sort. We will consult with you to find the most economical long term care solution. We will give you options on hair products to help you grow your hair out and goal set to help you achieve your goals with our help.

Here is the result of our client. I want to thank her for her bravery and courage to show these amazing photos before and after. I admire her and view this blog as my honoring her and other women like her in this situation. She is a confident woman, mother and wife that was able to attend a wedding that gave her the normal look that anyone at the wedding would not be able to tell. Here is what we did:

1. evaluated her color to make her hair look fuller and thicker.
2. recommended that she use Nioxin treatment.
3. highlighted her hair wefts and did a glued in hair extension on the top of her head.  I didn’t keep the wefts open, we closed the gap to make it look like she had a part. Looked natural.
4. attached some fusion pieces to see how they would hold up to give her thickness (not an inexpensive process but great for chemotherapy type of grow outs or Trichotillomania)
5. discussed maintenance.

Results:

placing glued in weft hair extensions amongst new hair growth. Discussing placement

client AFTER with highlighted and lowlighted glued in hair weft hair extensions

AFTER highlighted glued in hair extensions