Help me stop picking my acne!

January 30, 2007 3:30 PM

Help me stop picking my acne!

Alright, so I've got acne along my chin area, and I've gone to the dermatologist, gotten various creams, but it won't go away because I have developed the horrendous habit of picking at it. When sitting in class, or just doing nothing, I'll, without thinking, just pick at it, and no matter what I do I cannot force myself to stop.

Help!

posted by deansfurniture5 to Health & Fitness (19 answers total)

You may have some sort of anxiety spectrum disorder. Or even OCD. Perhaps a visit to a mental health specialist might help?
posted by KokuRyu at 3:33 PM on January 30, 2007

It may be a mild form of Dermatillomania.
posted by fire&wings at 3:33 PM on January 30, 2007

Sorry, Excoriated Acne might be the correct term. IANAD.
posted by fire&wings at 3:35 PM on January 30, 2007

Try the rubberband method(it says for nails, but it works for any bad habit).
posted by hamhed at 3:41 PM on January 30, 2007

Keep your hands busy with something else, like a koosh ball.
posted by idiotfactory at 3:46 PM on January 30, 2007

Just like getting manicures kept me from biting my fingernails, getting facials kept me from scratching at my face. It was a serious nervous tick I used to have when I would get stressed out... I was taking care of my mother and was under so much pressure my skin was HORRIBLE. Once I started investing in a good facialist, my skin not only looked better but because I was hiring someone to care for it I didn't want to ruin the benefits. Made it easy to keep my hands off of it. Every time I start feeling the need to scratch or pick, I get a facial and let her work some magic. I'm aging much better than a lot of my friends because I've taken care of my skin, too.

And once again... just because you're a guy doesn't mean you can't get a facial. Great facialists have generally worked with dermatologists & treat both men and women's skin.
posted by miss lynnster at 4:09 PM on January 30, 2007

And if you don't have money? Take egg whites and beat them up to a froth. Take the froth and put it on your face & let it dry. If you have a particular pimple you need to care for, take the skin from inside of the egg and lay it on top of that spot & let it dry completely until it's hard.

Somehow, egg skin & egg whites pull out a lot of the impurities. It works wonders. I swear.

And then stop touching your face!
posted by miss lynnster at 4:12 PM on January 30, 2007

I've had this problem. The worst part is the catch 22 nature of it-- I get acne, I pick at it under the crazy delusion that I'm somehow making it better, and the picking makes me break out more. I finally mostly solved the problem by using the regimen prescribed at acne.org, which works wonders if you follow it religiously. I finally discovered that the joy of finally having clear skin was motivation enough to keep me from picking at it, but YMMV.

For a picker, the acne.org regimen might help above and beyond sheer "just quit picking, stupid" willpower because the it requires the use of a topical cream that bleaches everything in sight upon contact. If you're touching your face while using it, everything else you touch will bear the mark.

You've gotta raise your own awareness that you're doing it, though, and get your unconscious self out of the habit. It's hard, but possible.
posted by hollisimo at 4:16 PM on January 30, 2007

What idiotfactory said.

When I was a teenager I picked at my teeth a lot. I got over it with Silly Putty.
posted by roll truck roll at 4:17 PM on January 30, 2007

If you're a guy grow a beard. That helped me a great deal. It gave me something to fiddle with and made me unaware of any acne underneath (unless it was painful).
posted by chairface at 4:35 PM on January 30, 2007

I've overcome similar habits by forcing myself to be more self conscious about how gross it must look to others. YMMV.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 4:47 PM on January 30, 2007

Find the link posted on the blue a few weeks back to the site with pictures of Totally Extreme Skin Problems. Consider how picking at your minor blemishes might possibly lead to a more major infection. Feel the fear.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:35 PM on January 30, 2007

I don't know how extensive an area you're dealing with here, but my mom used to cut up bits of the adhesive of band-aids and cover up the pimples she would otherwise pick at.

I haven't seen her pickin' in years.
posted by dorothy humbird at 5:45 PM on January 30, 2007

As a generally compulsive person (overeating, cuticle picking, some skin and hair scratching) I offer the advice that you turn your critical energy in the direction of proper skin maintenance. Go spend money on your skin. I recommend a good face wash (I use this one and this one alternately for my very oily, acne prone skin) and rice blotting papers as well as a facial. (The papers are a good way to make your chin feel and look less oily without touching it or using something too abrasive, and can be carried in your wallet.) But remember that a facial can make you break out a little afterward.

Start revering your skin, pampering it and caring for it in lieu of raking, poking it and worrying it. This works pretty well for me. I bet that plus the rubber band would do wonders.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 6:21 PM on January 30, 2007

try using a strongly-scented hand cream- if you can smell your hands approaching your chin, you may become aware of the picking before it starts. you might need to have a few different creams and rotate, to make sure you don't become immune to the smell.
posted by twistofrhyme at 6:43 PM on January 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Success breeds success with this one. Here's the deal, you seem to already know that picking it makes it worse. Spreads the nastiness all around, leads to scars, makes you feel bad, costs you money. You say you can't stop, but I think you can. The next time you find yourself about to touch your face, stop and think for a minute. Why are you picking? As in, what do you gain? Is there a little bit of skin that you're just dying to get rid of? Do you think that maybe this one time, it will make it better/seem less obvious? Are you just bored/anxious? Then think about all the bad stuff I just mentioned that happens when you pick and how you feel about yourself after you've picked. And see if maybe this one time you can switch your mind to something else and NOT pick. And then, when you don't pick, you do a little happy dance and think about how good that felt, since you're going to need to remember it the next time it comes up. (Maybe treat yourself to something as a reward.) Seriously, once your skin starts clearing up and the scars start to fade and you can SEE the improvement it will become easier and easier every day until you won't even think about it anymore.

It was mentioned earlier for the founder's skincare regimen, but you should also check out the user forums on acne.org. They can also help you beat this. Good luck!
posted by ml98tu at 8:01 PM on January 30, 2007

Gloves, if you can find a pair for constant wear. Or chop your nails all the way off.

Also you might ask your dermatologist about oral antibiotics- I had chin-area acne that they termed perioral dermatitis and which cleared right up under a pretty mild antibiotic.
posted by nat at 10:46 PM on January 30, 2007

http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/55440
www.stoppickingonme.com
posted by RoseovSharon at 1:02 AM on January 31, 2007

When I was still in school I used to unconsciously rest my chin on my hands or somehow hold my face while I was in class. When I became aware of this I tried to be more conscious about what I was doing with my hands, to avoid any more acne. Try a few days of keeping your hands under your legs or always having something in them (like a pen). If you find yourself reaching up to touch your face, hold your hands together or put them under you again.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 7:00 AM on January 31, 2007