Tricks to stop picking your pimples

It’s a fight of willpower when I’m infront of a mirror but I need help with subconsciously picking and popping pimples. I’ll rub my fingers over my face until I feel something then try to pop it when I’m in the car, or on my phone, or just bored. A lot of times I don’t even realize I’m doing it until I’m already trying to pop something. Then I’ll stop myself and like 30 mins later I find myself doing it again and it just continues.

You might be experiencing dermatillomania which is a form of OCD. I got OCD-specialized therapy for mine and it’s helped me incredibly well!

At home, I’ve covered all my mirrors so I can’t see my acne and I always have a fidget tool in my hands so as not to pick on my face. In the bathroom I never turn the ceiling lights on, instead I only have a dim table light so I don’t see as much detail. I’ve also been working on replacing the behavior with something else; every time I noticed myself picking I would wash my face and put lotion on my hands. Doing some exposure training with someone to spot for you could also be helpful; you get in front of a mirror and only look at all the things you want to pick, no touching. You must have a spotter who can kind of keep you on a leash, so to speak, because doing it by yourself can be difficult in the beginning.

I’ve got dermatillomania, and live in a camper with ALL THE MIRRORS. Like bathroom doors, closet doors, and all mirrors. :laughing: it certainly doesn’t help​:melting_face:

Omg I didn’t know it was related to OCD… that makes so much sense

What works for me is chunky fake nails with a very blunt edge. You can pop pimples like that but not by accident.

THIS!!! Even just multiple layers of clear coat will help!!

It’s crazy cuz this is the only thing that works. I just haven’t been able to get my nails done

I found that having a layer of something on my face helps. For some reason, I don’t enjoy touching my face if I can feel sunscreen or moisturizer on it. Especially true if the sunscreen is tinted.

Omg same! Moisturiser or tinted sunscreen is legit what I use to stop this aha

SAME!! I don’t know, is it’s an OCD thing?? My sister even bought me a vanity mirror as a joke. Jokes on her because I LOVE IT!!

Thanks for helping me feel more normal!

it is an OCD thing. I’ve had chronic dermatillomania since I developed acne at 8 years old and surprise surprise, the compulsive feeling is very similar to my other themes, lol

Honestly make up. I do not have a full face or anything, just concealer dabbed very very lightly on my most prominent spots.

  1. I don’t like to touch my face when there’s something on it
  2. If I look in the mirror and don’t see it then I don’t pick it

Same here! Makeup is the only thing I’ve found that helps me not pick. I like a certain BB cream (Purito). My face looks much better when I wear it for a few days in a row! Patches do help me with the already visible blemishes, but for me the visible ones aren’t my biggest problem. My problem is picking at the small imperceptible blemishes and turning them into huge visible ones.

I have trouble with touching my face in general. I think the only thing that helps me is having an object to fidget with. Maybe wrapping something in tape so you have something to pick at?

You can try putting pimple patches on them. You can get them clear, but some brands make cute colourful ones like stars and hearts. I also have some cat-face ones, and outer-spaced themed ones that have UFOs and stuff.

Me on an SSRI still obsessively picking my acne :clown_face: only reason I don’t pick as bad anymore is I amped up my skincare routing and just don’t get as many pimples any more.

Moisturizing my hands works or when I’m home I’ll put body oil on my body… That way I rub it in instead of picking stuff off. Also, you can try getting your nails done and shaped in an unfamiliar shape. Ya, that’s it. Rather rubbing bumps out with a nourishing body oil is better than popping them or picking them

Putting Aquaphor on my face helped me because when I touch my face it feels gunky so it’s a reminder to stop

have you tried pimple patches? it would make another layer so it might stop you from doing that

My derm told me to get a stress ball and fidget with it anytime I think about it instead.

I think the cute pimple patches worked the best for me though. They have cheap pink ones on Amazon and I always felt cute with them on.

Another thing that helped was taking pics of my face when I was picking and then taking a break from picking and taking a photo of my face and seeing the difference