General TTM Rituals

Rituals done by people with trichotillomania

Seek for the correct/bad hair - the coarse, kinky ones (everyone seems to need to pull those)

Look for the correct/bad hair - grey ones, or any hair that is ‘different’

Pull hair from other people, pets, dolls etc.

Twist and twirl the hair

Pull out the hair

Discard the hair

Keep the hair in an envelope

Burn the hair

I put my hand on my cheek like you would put your elbow on a table then rest your hand on your cheek. I take my forth finger and brush upwards the eyelashes I do have. If I can control it not to go any further than I won't pull, but most likely I will wind up pulling.

Eat the hair

Feel the hair to feel the texture, thickness etc.

Pull the hair between the fingernails to get rid of the ‘coarseness/curliness’

Let the eyelashes ‘stand’ on your finger and feel how hard and straight it is.

Make a wish when an eyelash falls out /was pulled out. Then blow it away - if  it falls in a certain place, you may pull another one.

Shaking hair to get rid of the 'lice' that make you head itch. Letting the ‘flakes’ fall on a page - picking out the ones that stand out.

Using tweezers, needles etc - to get to the ingrown hair, and work it out.

Pull out a hair - then press the ‘hole’ to get hold of the little black spot that sometimes stays behind.

Look for split ends and pull it apart or cut it off

Cracking knuckles

Gather up all the pulled hair and look it over

After the hair has been pulled, break it

Tickle face with hair

Curl and uncurl hair with teeth. I love to curl it and then make it straight again until it weakens to the point that I have to start with another.

I start by finding that one perfect hair then I pull it out, usually from the top or crown of my head. Then I proceed to eat it, wrapping it around my tongue, then swallowing it. I don't always get just one hair, sometimes if I am feeling anxious or nervous I will pull out several and eat them.

Lately I have been in search of the perfectly acceptable way of satisfying my trich So, breaking off the ends, usually split ends of the hairs from the top (crown) of my head in a subtle stroking motion then, with a hidden hand rubbing the short hair between my thumb and forefinger. This satisfies the weird "itchy" sensation my scalp gets and id tactilely pleasing. It is less obvious than an out and out pull.

Tweeze facial hair

Tickle inner ear with hair that was pulled

I was always amazed at how much hair ended up next to me after a "pull spree"... my vacuum is silently thanking me I think... I also notice I am not having to do the weekly "clean up" of hair from my car (the space between the door & seat)... I was running my hands down there and catching the hair in a ball then letting it go out the window!!!!

Something I do when I pull my eyelashes out is rub the area with the tip of one of my fingers. I especially enjoy this when a lash is growing back in-I like to "predict" how long it is without looking in the mirror. I also pull out any hairs that seem to be crooked, weird colored, or just in the wrong spot.

I always go for what feels 'uneven' to even it out: if it's eyelashes I pull out the longer ones (which are the ones I feel more proud of) to make them the same length as the other ones. 

I don't eat eyebrows/lashes but I like the feel of them on my lips, looking at them against a light and rolling them between my fingers.

I don't feel pain in coarse hair, the rest is agony.

In my teens I pulled eyelashes out and stuck them on a page in my diary with sticky tape so that when they grew back I could compare lengths to see if they still grew to the same length which of course always meant pulling the longest ones out!)

Something I still do: pull eyelashes out the lay them on a piece of paper and, with a pen or pencil, I draw a side view of an eye to which I imagine they belong. It's a drawn version of having a doll with real human hair.

I pull out a kinky hair (they curl better), curl it up into a corkscrew by running it between my two fingernails, and curl and curl until the hair splits...then pull the hair apart. Occasionally, I will run the curly hair between my lips to straighten it, then curl it some more....on and on and on.

Only using tweezers. When I was a Child, the first times I pulled out scalp hairs I would curl the plucked hairs by running my thumb nail and middle finger up the length of the hair.

When I was about 18 I cut small areas of hair near my bald patch short to pull them out with tweezers. Short hairs are much more satisfying to pull than longer ones.

I run the entire length of the strand between my finger and thumb until it
becomes such a frenzy that I end up pulling it all out. I rool the hair into
wad and see how big I can make the wad. sometimes I burn it. I love to rub
the spot where regrowth is taking place.

I enjoy soaking in the bathtub, and along the  sides of the bathtub, I take the pulled-out hairs and decorate the  sides. Sometimes, I'll try to connect one hair with another hair to form  a really long line.

I wonder if others enjoy having their siblings (if they are close) or husband/wife pull hairs from themselves. I have my husband pluck my pubic hairs and he uses needles to get the ingrowns. I really like it. I have an identical twin sister who has trich also.  Occasionally, my sister and I will help each other hunt for the perfect scalp hair to pull or ingrown hair.

I chew the pulled hairs into extremely small pieces between my front teeth or those directly to the side and i run the hair through like a thousand butcher knives till they are about 1cm or less long.

The sound the hair makes coming out. Hard to describe, kinda a little "eegh" sound. I definately apply to the first 5 rituals on the list, but if the sound's not right, I'll pull again 'til it also sounds good too.

Slowly drag finger tip through scalp as if it were a flea(remember the old cartoons where they would zoom in on a dog's coat, and inside would be whole flea communities?)and at just the "right" spot, pluck the hair. i feel as though the flea gets caught on the root on the way out and i am pleased. (sick)

Find a zit on the scalp and try to pull the out the hair that grows directly in the center of it.(i imagine an eruption following)

Grabbing a handful of hair about 3-4" from the base and slowly rotating it. i wear alot of caps and scarves, so my scalp--my HAIR, gets sore. rotating it massages it in a way. the feeling is similar to
the feel of a pull.

I usually start from the inner corner of my eyelashes(i pull out only my lashes) start pulling gently untill i reach the outside edge. If i pull at least one lash out then i must start again untill i have no more "loose"
lashes, this can last for quite a while because the pulling gets tougher and tougher.

Even though I hate what it does to me emotionally (because of the huge bald spots) I don't
want to give up the pleasure tickling my face gives to me. Haven't seen anyone else mention that aspect so don't know if others have extra sensitivity in their faces too.

I gather some hair from my head between my middle and index finger. I start as close to the head as I can, and run my fingers down until I am about a half inch from the end of hair. Then I obsessively rub back and forth with my thumb, to feel all of the tips of my hair together, until the rubbing makes
the lengths uneven, then I do it again. I don't pull from my head so all of the hair is there at the same length where my thumb rubs. It works best with shorter hair and regular, professional cuts.

I also like to  hunt through my husband´s beard. It is very thick and coarse. Once or  twice a year, I hit the gold mine. From one follicle, I can pluck a hair so  thick it has split into six or seven or more separate hairs growing from one   incredibly thick root. I go through the usual smearing ritual with this
hair and then put it away until the root has dried up. Sometimes I play  with the hair for several days, but eventually I always peel of the  individual hairs one at a time.

I take the pulled hairs and line the ends up evenly in my fingers. Then I double the hairs over to make a loop. I stick my index finger in the loop and twirl, twirl, twirl until it becomes a little circular "ring" of hair. Then I pinch the "ring" part very tightly and bite it so it springs off. Then I take the hair that is left, wet it in my mouth, and double it over again, this time tying an overhand knot that is exactly in the middle. Then I bite this knot so I am left with two pieces, which I then put together, wet, and tie a knot in and bite and so on. When it gets to be too small to tie a knot in, I throw the hair away (or sometimes it's still wet so it will stick to the wall!)

I will pull out a certain area that must be perfectly symmetrical, perfectly smooth and will work the scalp so it is soft in the center. Then I will rub my index fingertip in the spot for a "fix" over the course of a
couple days. When the regrowth appears, I take tweezers to the area to"clean it up".

I constantly dream at night about finding that perfect hair that once I pull it out, it will cause me to stop searching/needing/wanting another hair.

I stare at my fiance's hair, even strangers and plot how I can get hold of a certain hair. My fiance teases me about playing with my hair but isn't aware of the trich or the 3" in diameter bald spot that is on the
crown of my head. I was blessed with an enormous amount of hair. Very long, very think, very curly so I have a very easy time hiding the evidence.

I look for "loose" hairs on my arms and pull them out. If they're not ready, I don't force them. I take too much pleasure in the feeling I get when I releases naturally

My ritual consists of pulling the hair from my scalp, root and all. I need to hear the tearing of the hair out of the scalp, its a relief. I also suck my thumb. These two go ahnd in hand. My family and kids know about this and are so used to it, they probable don't notice. When I pull out the hairs, at least 5-10 at a time, I knot them in a tight ball and keep adding to the ball. Then I sometimes unknot it by pushing it back through the loops. Sometimes I wind it around my indes finger real tight, so tight that it tears. I can even knot with one hand, if only there were a job where we could utilize this "talent." I throw the hairs in back of my headboard, and when I move my room around I gather a tennis ball size of hair. I sometimes run it through my teeth and pull out the root, although I don't eat it. At one point, if I pulled in the car, I had an obsession about not throwing it out the window. Like I'd be leaving a part of me thrown in the streets.

I love to stand in my living room in front of this huge mirror with great lighting and pull out hair after hair. I love the little dark, course ones with a passion. I can stand there for hours. It is like I go into another world. then afterwards, I look down at the floor and see this big mound of what used to be my beautiful hair. I have a moment of regret, then I reach down and pick them up...I have decided to compare the already pulled ones. This means looking at them for very long periods of time. I will take them and place the darkest ones against my hand or a piece of paper...saving them until I find one that is darker or more
course. Then there is my car. I will have all kinds of clips in my hair to get to that perfect spot with the darkest hairs. I look in the rear view mirror and try to find the darkest, and almost wreck seventeen times in a five minute drive. Then, I will get out of the car and look down at the pile and begin comparing just like i do at home. This is getting really old, as people have started noticing these bald spots. it is very
embarassing sometimes. alot of the time, really. I cannot go to church unless I can sit on the last row where no one can see the back of my head. Then I have to walk around with my hand covering the back of my head so that no one sees it. In my office at work, I have to have the very last desk, so that no on sits behind me.

Something I did not read about on this site is that when I pull out an eyebrow hair or eyelash, I touch it to the tip of my tongue. I never eat them. I discard them after having examined them with the tip of my
tongue.

The real ultimate in my ritual is taking the hair, tapping my face with the hair end to feel the pick of it. Plus I have a place on my upper lip that I have almost tatooed by poking the hair on the same spot for years. (This was also a part of thumb sucking for me. I managed to conquor that behavior when I was
about 30 yr old. I am now 53) Sometimes I even manage to get that spot on my lip infected by "boring" the tip of the hair into the "spot". It is so satisfying. Sometimes the hair tip is so strong that I can bring tears to my eyes by poking the spot on my upper lip. I, too, enjoy biting the root, espicially if it is still wet. When I finally get done with the hair I will "snap" it on my face hoping for the felling of a sting. Right now I have about 8 wonderful hairs saved for the above rituals, because they are of such great texture and each of them does a great job at "poking" my upper lip. I can't bring myself to snap them yet. I am constantly searching for the ultimate hair. (this sounds like the drug addict searching for drugs)

My tweezers are my best friend, that, and my mirror. I look in the mirror, brush or fluff up my (short and sparse) hair and break off the imperfect, split, broken ends. Or, oops, pull out the whole hair because it's too strong to break. Then I got to trim off or even out the area with scissors, which injure the end of the hair and I must start all over again to remove the "bad" or damaged hair. I color my hair very blonde so my scalp is not so noticeable, thereby damaging my hair and making it very brittle. Then I treat the hair with moisturizers and thickeners, etc., and it's never ending cycle. My hair looked pretty good 8-9 years ago, but, poor health, death of spouse and father, and attachment to a drug-addict, that is, STRESS, all
contributed to my once lovely, wavey, hair seemingly half-yanked out. It makes me sad. I also pick my face relentlessly making my eczema and acne much worse by not letting it heal.

I LOVE pulling my hair out through something else. When I used to pull pubic, I liked to press my panties tight, so the hair would poke through, and then pull it out. Also pulling leg hairs through nylons is a special treat. Recently, I got a tattoo on my ankle, the hairs that grow out of my tattoo are my favorite ones to pull. Hairs coming out of a zit, sore, bruise, wart, etc... are also sought after more than regular hairs, and add an extra sense of satisfaction.

One of my earliest memories is pulling hairs off the fingers of my grandfather while he bounced me on his knee and playfully said, "Ouch!" I couldn't have been more than 3.

I like to test pull certain areas on my lashes till I find an areea that is "tender" or "sore" Usually, there are 1 or 2 lashes in this area that are especially painful and the pain, which is extremely gratifying somehow, can only be released when the the lash is twisted, tugged and eventually pulled. Finding
these particular lashes is very exciting and usually leads to more tenderness and then more sore lashes.

I start by finding that one perfect hair then I pull it out, usually from the top or crown of my head. Then I proceed to eat it, wrapping it around my tongue, then swallowing it. I don't always get just one hair, sometimes if I am feeling anxious or nervous I will pull out several and eat them.

Another description with some details

My rituals are similar yet in some ways different from those I read and I am sharing in the hope that they may be helpful to someone. I must also add that it feels good to write about it.

I have suffered since puberty, approximately 21 years! In fact, I had symptoms earlier, at six or seven I intermittently enjoyed pulling the short hairs of our pet Boxer. I have also tried to pull my husband's eye lashes and eye brows, and can occasionally convince him that he has one loose and that he needs my help before it falls into his eye. I would love to pull more of them.

My favorite sites are inner eyebrows, outer and lower eyebrows, eyelashes and public hair. Unlike most of the postings, I do not pull my scalp hair, although I have tried it. It was not the same sensation/satisfaction. But my head does itch, a lot. I will scratch my head, scratch off scalp scabs... My ears also itch, inside the canals. I must have Q-tips in the house to itch them!

I will pull a few eyebrow/eye lash hairs a day, generally. I enjoy it. The pain from pulling has been gone for years. I do remember some pain in the beginning. I like the sound, the feel, rubbing the hair briefly between my fingers. It also satisfies both an internal and an external itch. I do not pull in public. I do not feel ashamed. When the urge is mild, as it generally is, I have no desire to find a "cure." I enjoy it. Once in a while I will find myself pulling while feeling frustrated and with a large section of eyebrow gone, or with them looking rather thin. Then I will try to cut back. I no longer run the roots along my lip, lick them, smear them or eat them. I have done all of these too but am no longer interested. I believe that wearing contacts rather than glasses helps. Wearing mascara definitely spares eyelashes for me.

But sometimes, the ocular hair is too thin and the urge comes. Or, the urge is associated with frustration. I began pulling public hair as an attempt to find a less publicly visible site. Interestingly, it does sometimes hurt, at least at first. I will begin by running my fingers through the hair looking
for loose hairs. Then I will start pulling the hairs gently all over. If during either of these initial steps I find a hair with a long, fat, dark root, I get very excited and begin pulling in earnest. If not, I may stop.
Next, I work my way down pulling all hair from the top corners down. Why? I do so so as not to miss a good one and to try to keep some symmetry. I will easily pull several square inches of hair. I am not concerned with the texture of these hairs generally, but do inspect the roots. As I remove the hair I collect them by sticking them to my thighs above the knees or on my belly. I like the sensation of them sticking. After I am done, drained, I form them into a big pile and discard them. If during this process I find one that is especially sticky I will play with it by sticking it repeatedly.

I like to feel for regrowth and play with one single strand until it is sooo curly, then a little tug at the scalp(taking some of the scalp with it), out comes a cute little curly hair.

When me and my boyfriend are lying down on the bed, I will slide my hand under his shirt and stroke his belly hairs. His stomach is covered with kinky little hairs. I have to remind myself NOT to pull on them.

After I pull out and eyelash or eyebrow I take the root and tap it against the middle of my top lip. verrry strange I know but I love the feeling soo much... I can feel my lip burning for it right now!

And when I pull out my pubic hair I like to sort of twirl them between my fiungers and feel the thickness of it. And I love thick straight ones because they stay in your fingers the longest so you can twirl longer.

After i have pulled out a hair in class, i will take a pencil and break the hair into smaller pieces on the table or desk.

In class, i will pull out hair and align on my white paper so i can examine them.

I always scan my arm for the darkest and thickest hair to pull.

I am always curious to see how long my root is or how deep the hair goes into my skin.

If it has a knot anywhere, I break it off before discarding the hair.

I am only a lash puller. I pull only from the center of my lashes, and only the top lashes...never the bottom. Never once had the urge to yank out the bottoms. I pull out the lashes and put them on the mirror (they adhere quite well if the root is wet or sticky). I also find myself during regrowth really satisfied if i can get out one of the small hairs barely starting to emerge

The ones I like best are the ones that haven't grown through the skin, and are actually growing under the skin (because they were probably plucked before), but they're not "ingrown" or inflamed yet. I use tweezers or my fingernail to scrape the skin on top of the hair until I can get at the hair, and often these are much longer than they look and sort of "unfoil" once you get them started. Because of this, my pubic area has a few scabs along the top and sides, which I also like to pick at once I know the hair
underneath is probably growing back in.

I also sometimes pull the hair from my upper lip, if I think it's too dark for my skin, and there are hairs that grow occasionally on my neck and nipples that I pluck.

First, out of all my hairs, I feel one. One on my entire head that would need to be pulled. I would separate it from all the others and pull it out. If the root doesn't come with it, I need to pull antoher one. Actually, no matter what, I need to pull out another one. Either I will pull another one in the same area, or I will feel another bad hair on my head. After pulling one with a root, I separate the root from the hair, and either try to pull the dark end off of the rest of the root, or I will roll the root between my fingers. If I had just pulled one hair at a time, I sometimes curl the hair, then break it, or I just break it. When I pull hair in clumps of 3-8 (I have never pulled more at a time) I separate the hairs from the roots by pushing my thumb nail against my pointer and sliding the hairs through.

I suck on/bite the tip of my thumb and I also suck on/bite the skin where my knuckles are 

I search my head for split ends. When I find one I like to use my nails to make the hair split as far as possible, then rub it on my upper lip and the tip of my tongue, bite it off, and eat it.

I pull or bite my cats whiskers, the thickest ones are the best. I look at the root part, that's the most interesting part for me not the thin end, I could care less bout that end. I've poked the root end into the back of my hand to see how thick and sturdy it is. I've wondered what a tigers' whisker would be like to pull out. My dogs whiskers are better - thicker.

My favorite thing would be to pluck my husbands face hairs with tweezers. He had black hair. If there are some ingrown I like that more. I like digging it out and clearing the area. I like looking at the root of the facial hair. I like to pull his eyebrows the thick ones that are out of line or longer than the others. I pull out his nose hairs if they stick out. The poor guy. I'm really sick! I want to stop because it hurts my cats and husband and they naturally get annoyed with me.

my friend has smooth, straight hair, but it is rife with kinky little   black hairs. sometimes i'll just sit down behind her and pull hairs from her head, wrapping them up into a little spongy ball and running my fingers over the grooves. i also fantasize about finding the perfect head of hair, someone giving it to me as a present: complete with blackheads, zits, coarse hairs, and moles with hair growing from them.

my boyfriend had this mole on his back with about ten tiny little black hairs growing from it, and one of my favorite things to do was to pull them out with my teeth... i loved the "pop" feeling. he let me do this because he thought it excited me... sometimes it even excited me more than sex, which is a bit scary. i loved it when i had "cleaned" out all the hairs, especially if there was an ingrown one and i had to dig down until it was bloody and exposed. i have been known to go at a hair until i have ruptured my skin. i
had an ingrown hair on my mons veneris and picked at it until there was literally a bloody hole with the hair growing underneath, like a plumbing pipe under the earth. i had to excavate it, to turn my sharp tweezers sideways to unearth it, blood everywhere, stuck under my skin, pull pull pull.