This is a good point to bring up. I, obviously, can only speak for my self and say that I wouldn't leave the house without doing my eyebrows. It was so traumatic going to school without makeup on that there is no way I would choose to do it now. I look back and wonder why no one ever suggested eyebrow pencil or false eyelashes. I wasn't into doing make-up and all that so I wasn't going to come up with it on my own. Make-up has helped me tremendously. Does it stop me from pulling? No. If I was still pulling my eyelashes and used false eyelashes, knowing me, I would pull those off too. I think it depends on the person and their willpower. I also feel when it comes to Trich, it boils down to having the willpower to stop being that meds aren't typically known to work. I lack willpower. Someone stronger might be able to wear false eyelashes and not pull and eventually get used to not doing it and never do it again. There is no right answer. It's up to the individual.

DawnMY,

Insightful response. To this day I still feel the shame, embarassment, and guilt associated with plucking my eyelashes and eyebrows as I had when I went to school after my first plucking session. Back then I did not wear make-up, primarily because I had not been taught how but also because it was not encouraged in my family. My first day at school without eyelashes and eyebrows, which I honestly believed my bald spots were not noticable, my friends immediately asked me what happened. Being put on the spot as well as not understanding myself why I had pulled my eyelashes and eyebrows out I did the only thing that came to mind; lie. I believe my story was that my sibling cut off all of my facial hair. This story got me through until the regrowth began and my friends congratulated me on being pretty again. My anxieties were so strong during school I barely made it home to pluck again. From this point, my friends began to be too busy to hang out with me and started to quietly avoid me. This clear unacceptance furthered my downward spiral into the life of a trichotillomania sufferer.

Getting back on topic here after that slight tangent detour lol. Once I discovered eyebrow pencils and eyeliner, my "friends" resurfaced. Once again they treated me as a member of our click but this re-acceptance added a significant amount of pressure to my already overly anxious self while conditioning me to feel good about myself only when I have eyeliner and eyebrow pencil on to cover up the bald spots. To this day I have yet to feel fully confident when I am no wearing my "face", which is my reference to eyeliner and eyebrow pencils/powder. I have undergone extensive EMDR therapy which has helped uproot deep traumas and process them. This process has decreased my desire to pluck and also has made me more aware of my plucking triggers.

Although I feel I am doing so well, I still find myself sneaking a pluck three to four times per week. I even began wearing false eyelashes on a daily basis in order feel normal and hope to regain my confidence. For the first two months the eyelashes actually helped me to not pluck. I would leave my eyelashes on until right before bed, which left me without an opportunity to pluck. However, once the allergy season began my eyes became too watery to wear the lashes for such long increments and again my plucking resumed. I was feeling extremely low from all of my percieved failures but one day I felt emotionally untouchable and decided to just spend a day at home with my family without my "face" on. I felt more at ease than I had in over a decade. Since that day, I now visit my immediate family without so much of a thought to take time to assemble my "face". Someday I hope to take another step forward and show my true face to the public eye.

-TrichyMom