Nioxin scalp treatment has helped my sore spots go away. My hairdresser suggested it. You might try it. My scalp would actually develop sores after awhile.

Yes - hair, eyebrows, lashes. So miserable it can't be ignored. It's not in our minds. Something must be causing this. AWFUL to have so much discomfort we disfigure ourselves to get relief - yet they call it a "psychological" disorder. I think something is wrong with our skin or nerves or hair follicles or something.

I know exactly what you mean! I get them too...and it's an invitation or a big red flag that screams "PICK HERE!" It's really hard to ignore too...because it'll itch and burn a little...and my automatic reaction is to touch/itch it...and then I start pulling at the spot.

This is what makes me start pulling - the feeling that I have an eyelash that is itchy, or too big, or too coarse, or out of place, and I have to get rid of it. Usually they are the ones with the big roots too! I'm not sure why that is. It's usually not the new ones growing in, but fully-grown lashes that itch. (I'm not sure if "itch" is the right word, but it's the best one I can come up with to describe the feeling of just needing it out of my eyelid.) So glad to hear I'm not alone on this! I know this isn't a lot of help, but it makes me feel not quite so "out there" on this topic!

OMG im so glad im not alone here! i do the same thing. i get the sore spots and have no idea what its all about. i guess you could say i enjoy the feeling when i pull the hair out of them. i like to make it bleed because its kind of a relief for me. plus if i make it bleed, the sore spot eventually goes away. its like a target. i HAVE to pull in that spot/s. so glad to hear it from someone else.

I actually started pulling from my scalp about 3 years ago due to what felt like ingrown hairs or "sore spots". it went from very little pulling, the very extensive and all over my head. I pull from sore spots only.
The only thing that ever helped was BOTOX. I had a doctor put a ton of Botox in all of my sore spots. It basically cured numerous spots that since then I have never touched again. It was like a miracle. I only had one very severe spot that still irritates me. The only problem with this solution is that my one very persistent spot needs A LOT of Botox to finally go away, which is EXTREMELY expensive. The first time I used the Botox we spent $3,000 and it worked everywhere but the one spot. I have gone in two more times but only used one tube, which I think it requires more to really knock it out.
I truly believe that none of us are "crazy" and that these spots do indeed exist. The reason I tried Botox is because it numbs your nerves. I do think that there must be a tie in the spots to our nervous system, nerves and muscles. There are tiny muscles and nerves attached to our hair follicles, which I think could become flared and cause us to pull from that spot. (which might also explain the "circles" which could be tied to the area of the nerve). I think that we are predisposed (family genetics, my mom pulled from her eyelashes) as well as the pain in the nerves caused by stress from something in life.
I really enjoy this topic and thank you for everyones comments!

Hi Y'all - I just joined and am kicking myself for not doing something like this years ago. I have been pulling my hair (from any spot on my body that I feel like that day) for about 4 years now. I started out with the dermatillomania for most of my life. I still do pick, but the pulling is now my focus. Was reading about that area that you all are talking about that just BEGS to pulled b/c it's sore and when I pull that hair and see the clear sheath at the bulb I feel like pressure has been released. My problem is dual - I am a picker and a puller and therefore have sores on my scalp that may never grow hair back. I finally tossed the tweezers. Now my nails are short, but I STILL find a way to pull. I am going to climb out and I expect it's going to happen by talking about this with people who understand. FINALLY! Thanks Y'all for this group!

THIS is exactly what I experience too! I made a couple posts elsewhere trying to explain it. It's like having a mosquito bite. Any normal person is going to find it an irritant and want to scratch it - and no doctor is going to tell them it is all in their head. It is an irritant, and this is what I feel on my eyebrows and eyelashes! What I started doing to pressing my fingernail to the sore spots in my eyebrows (kinda like an 'x' you make on a mosquito bite) to get some relief. Of course, it is short-lived, and it turns into a constant struggle. I notice that around 5-6 pm in the evening everyday is when it gets the worst - I seem to be fine all day. Finally, I want to add that I would NOT be pulling at these areas if they didn't hurt and irritate. This is not in my head!

I get these too. whenever I get that tingling sore and I get the hair right from the dead center, it always has a huge root, and is thick, curly and coarse, and it always feels good and starts a pull spree.

This post made me so happy to read because for years I have been going through this and I just thought I had some weird case of trich. I get these spots that are not necessarily itchy but, as aforementioned, I JUST KNOW that there are bigger roots there and I can pinpoint exactly which hair to pull. All other hairs are not satisfactory. ugghhh. I just want to understand.

I have been pulling (eyelashes/brows) for 35 of my 41 years with no relief. I know exactly what you are talking about. In fact today I was just wondering about this and why that even when the hair like this is gone, the lingering desire to pull from that spot can stick around for hours or days.

I had one of those eyebrows today and pulled it this morning. It was crazy the feeling I got from this. I could not get my mind off of that spot all day -no matter what I was doing my mind wanted another hair from that area to pull but there was nothing there.

I seriously cannot take one more day of this.

Great post Thanks.. When I get these on my head I get worried that I have an infection, so I put Lavender essential oil on the sore area and use aloe vera skin gel. Then I try to keep my hands off. By the next day or so the spot has healed over.

This is something I have struggled with for years! Day before yesterday, I felt this swollen spot just behind my ear, and it was sooo tender to touch that I just had to feel all over it. It had a bristle growing out of the middle of it, and what felt like a "head" on it around the bristle. Long story short.....I pulled out the bristle (yes, it was a hair) and the spot drained a large amount of gunk and some blood. This made me desperate to pull another hair from the same area....result was three hairs and the "bristle" in less than five minutes! It had been more than 100 days since I had pulled a hair, and I was devastated to have done this. To make matters even worse, I can't locate my thread on the Beating Trich site! I almost shed tears, but that makes my eyes itch and I figured that would make me mess with the lashes, so I just choked it all back and am trying to carry on with this disaster of an attempt to stop pulling.

i get those same sore hairs&just HAVE to pull them. once that root squeaks its way out its like 'ping' relief to have the culprit in my hand then, oh i have to go get his cohorts not even realizing im doing "it" again. some of my pubic hair doesnt grow back anymore. i never have eyelashes. im 35&have been doing this for about 30yrs. i havent had hair the same length on my head ever. its great to hear others know about the "sore hairs". i might add im on meds now&have been on anti deprs+anti psych for yrs, it hasnt stopped it at all

I am SO happy that I am not the only one who searches for the sore spots. I get painful red bumps on my scalp, and the hairs that grow out of these bumps must be pulled. If I pull a hair and it doesn't hurt, it doesn't count. I want to feel the pain. My psychiatrist thinks that Luvox should prevent this. The only medication that took away this urge was Naltrexone...but it made me so nauseated I had to quit taking it. I have been pulling hair/lashes/brows for over 30 years. I am tired of it and want to stop...but feeling this pain is so important to me for some reason.