Touching your face can cause a lot of problems.Constantly touching your face is one of the worst things you can do when you're dealing with a skin condition.Break the habit of touching or picking your face by using mental tools or creating physical barriers that make it harder to do so.It is important to minimize any damage if you end up picking.
Step 1: When you are most likely to touch your face, keep your hands busy.
If you want to keep your hands busy while waiting for the bus or in class, give yourself a small toy.A rubber band, stress ball, or beaded bracelet are great for making fidgets.Give yourself a hand massage if you touch your face while watching tv.Knitting is a great way to keep your hands busy.To anticipate temptation and plan distraction, identify your triggers.Are you touching your face while you watch television, sit in class, or read?Do you pick up after brushing your teeth in the bathroom?When you are stressed, excited, angry, bored, or sad, do you touch your face?If you're using this habit as a way to cope, you don't want to completely remove it.Try to replace the habit with something else.
Step 2: If you are tempted to touch or pick, sit on your hands.
Try to sit on your hands when you are not using them to eat or take notes.If you touch or pick your face without thinking, having a place for your hands to be will help you break the habit.Instead of leaning your face in your hands, lace your fingers together and place them on your lap or table.It's a great strategy to remove your ability to do the bad habit.
Step 3: You should not touch your face or pick.
If you are likely to see it, place sticky notes on your bathroom mirror, the visor mirror in your car, or the TV remote.Reminders can be posted in places where you might touch or pick at your face.You can set hourly alarms on your phone to remind you not to do it at certain times of the day.
Step 4: If you tend to pick when you are at home, wear gloves around the house.
It will be hard to pick your face while wearing gloves.If you sleep with your face on your hands, you can wear them overnight.It is important to wash the gloves so they don't collectbacteria.Use gloves made of cotton.nylon might get a runner if you try to touch it.If wearing gloves isn't an option, place bandages or narrow strips of tape over your fingertips.This will make it hard to pick your skin.
Step 5: When you touch your face, ask a friend or family member to call you out.
When it comes to breaking the habit of touching or picking your face, a close friend, parent, or roommate can be an important ally.If they see you touching your face, ask them to scold you.If necessary, you can create a collection jar to give you an incentive to not touch or pick.You have to put a dollar in the jar every time.
Step 6: It's a good idea to remind yourself of why you shouldn't be touching or picking your face.
Don't be discouraged and remind yourself of the good reasons to break the habit.You can remind yourself of the damage done by touching and picking your face.If you continue to pick your face, you should do an image search for scars from the past.If you don't pick, scratch, or irritate the skin, it's more likely that you'll cause scarring.
Step 7: It's a good idea to do meditation to manage your emotions.
If you feel stressed, anxious, bored, or sad, take some time to clear your mind.It has been shown that meditation can help people manage their emotions and resist body focused repetitive behaviors.Sign up for meditation classes at a local yoga studio.A guided meditation phone app like Headspace or MindShift can help you chill out while you're on the go.
Step 8: Keep your fingernails clean by shortening them.
If you decide to pick your face, make sure your fingernails are always clipped.It's important to keep the areas under your nails free of dirt and germs.The human body is one of the dirtiest, so remind yourself of that as a deterrent.
Step 9: You should wash your hands and fingers with soap and water.
You can wash your hands with soap and warm water.Rub your hands together for at least 30 seconds and then rinse them with warm or hot water.If you do end up touching your face, keep your hands and fingers clean.If you have to touch your face, wash your hands with soap and water.
Step 10: If it's necessary, follow a skincare routine.
If you're having a problem with your skin, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor about getting a prescription.There are over-the-counter products that have been shown to improve acne.If you want a natural option, consider using witch hazel and tea tree oil.Don't scrub too hard when you wash your face because it could cause irritation and make you touch or pick the pain away.The more you touch your face, the more likely you are to have problems.
Step 11: If you suspect you have skin picking disorder, see your doctor.
It is related to obsessive-compulsive disorder and may call for cognitive behavioral therapy to help you recover.You can't stop picking your skin.Pick the area of your skin that causes the most damage.Pick bumps, spots, or scars on your skin to fix them.Don't think you're picking your skin.Pick your skin while you sleep.Pick your skin when you're stressed out.Tweezers, pins, and scissors can be used to pick at your skin.