Pulling out eyelashes can seem strange, making you think you’re the only one that does it. However, this is probably more common than you might think. It’s simply a symptom of a condition known as trichotillomania – this is what causes you to pull out hair from any area of the body, including eyelashes.

Just about anyone can develop this hair pulling habit. It’s common to pull out hair from the scalp, but just about any area, including eyelashes, can be affected.

Symptoms of Eyelash Pulling

The results of this condition are often more emotional than they are physical. This means that you might start to see bald spots where you pull out too many hairs. This is true for any area of the body, whether this is the eyelashes or on the head.

If you’re finding that eyelash pulling is getting bad then there are ways in which you can try to cover up, including the use of makeup and false eyelashes. However, you can also try a number of treatment options.

Treatment for Eyelash Pulling

There are many different treatments for pulling out eyelashes, and for trichotillomania in general:

Making sure that your hands are always kept busy, putting something like Vaseline on your eyelashes to make them harder to pull out, using relaxation techniques, taking medication and getting psychotherapy.

If you visit your doctor about this problem don’t feel down if they haven’t heard of it. Unfortunately, though millions suffer with the condition, doctors are not always aware of it. They may misdiagnose the condition, which is why it’s important to take your own measures to understand it – and the internet is a great way of doing so.

Getting Support

Pulling out eyelashes might not be easy to stop, but people usually find that they can come up with their own ways of dealing with the problem. No one cure will work for absolutely everyone, so you may need to try a number of techniques.

A great place to start is to chat to people online who also have trichotillomania. It might be hard at first, but over time you will find it a great comfort to talk to people who really understand what you are going through.