Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Trichotillomania: or Why I Have Eyebrows Like a Rapper



Trichotillomania - noun, a compulsion to pull out one's hair

Okay, so it's not like I have an official diagnosis or anything, but I definitately pull out my hair. A lot. And I can't seem to stop myself.

One of the reasons that I keep my hair pulled back in a ponytail or bun most of the time is that if it's down and reachable, I start combing my fingers through it and pulling out any hairs that are loose. Or have a split end. Or just feel different than the other hairs. {Oh, that one has a weird texture. It's got to go.} I do it without even thinking about it. I just find myself doing it.

In the last few months, this strange quirk has me obsessing over my eyebrows, too. Not to have a perfectly plucked and groomed arch like a cover model - no, that would be too normal. Instead, I find myself stroking my eyebrows, feeling for that one hair that's a little too long. Or curls funny. Or sticks out. And I have to pull it.

But then I find another one that's bothering me, too. And I have to pull it.

I didn't think much about it until I looked a little closer in the mirror one day and realized I had a lovely bald patch in one eyebrow. And the other had a couple of spots that were a bit - shall we say - thinned out. Seriously, it looked like I'd been shaving lines through my eyebrows like Vanilla Ice {does that reference date me or what?} or or Soulja Boy. I've never before been grateful for my light blonde, barely visible eyebrows. But once I saw the bald patches, I was pretty happy that my eyebrows are not all that noticeable! LOL

So since then, I've been trying to stop myself from plucking obsessively at my eyebrows. And the bald patches are mostly filling in again. But if you see me, don't stare at the eyebrows. :D

So surely I'm not the only one with a strange habit... what's yours?

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