The Trich Prof

29/07/2025

Time for some BFRB neuroscience!

I have been eagerly anticipating this paper coming out since learning about the research last year...

The researchers 'listened in' on a particular nerve fibre, called a CT, that we know responds to pleasant touch (like hugs, a reassuring hand on shoulder, cuddles when we're young, and self-grooming).

They were able to tap into the signals that go to the brain when the skin is touched, brushed and the hair deflected. In each case, the CT 'fires' for a second or two to indicate a touch has happened.

Then they looked to see what would happen when a hair is pulled out...

The CT goes bananas! It fires a lot, and keeps going for around 12 seconds. So you hair-pullers out there... this might be 'that' feeling we get when a good hair is pulled, and to our brains, it's like a really good hug.

And for skin-pickers, the same might be true... after all, our hair is just a comonent of our skin, and the same 'hit' might happen when we pick skin that contains CT fibres. More research needed!

This is a great example of how neuroscience can help us understand urges to pick, pull and bite. My forthcoming book is full of them... announcement coming soon!

Full paper: https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP287706
Article about CTs: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627314003870?pes=vor&utm_source=wiley&getft_integrator=wiley

Videos on TheTrichProf YouTube channel (link in bio)

23/07/2025

Can you help BFRB UK & Ireland to grow?

This fantastic charitable organisation was set up a decade ago by Bridget Bradley and Pavitt Thatcher in recognition of the substantial unmet needs of people living with BFRBs, and their loved ones.

The wonderful BFRB UK & Ireland team is comprised entirely of volunteers, who give their time and love to ensure that everyone with a BFRB has someone to talk to.

To meet growing demand, the team is expanding, and have opened up several new committee roles.

Can you help? Email Hello@bfrbukireland.com to find out more, or visit their facebook group.

22/07/2025

In ‘s project we are looking to deepen our understanding of the experience of hair pulling disorder in teenagers. We’re particularly focusing on the role shame plays in the distress young people feel.

Laura has conducted structured interviews with 12 young people, and these photos were taken as we organised all the things that came up into themes.

It is emotional for me to be involved in this process. So many of the things these young people are struggling with are identical to my experience 40 years ago. Whilst this is validating, it is also heartbreaking that nothing has changed in all those years.

Stay tuned to hear what we learn!

19/07/2025

Body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs) are highly stigmatised conditions.

Awareness and understanding are low in the general population as well as in healthcare professions.

This leaves people suffering in silence, feeling misunderstood and feeling unable to ask for, or find help.

Thank you to all the people working hard to raise awareness and advocate in whatever way you can. All contributions - big and small - make a difference. You are all heros.

To those who don't feel able - that's OK! Stigma makes it REALLY hard to speak out. I wasn't able to for 40 years, so I know just how hard it is. Take your time and put your own safety first.

Please watch and share the video on the last slide: https://youtu.be/Rkc-vpXJ8Bw?feature=shared

And for more info about stigma in BFRBs check out this great talk from : https://youtu.be/Fe30ZQqJe0Y?feature=shared

08/07/2025

I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that one day I would use my face, my voice, and my story to raise awareness about BFRBs.

I know it's hard to imagine when you look at these screenshots , but the shame I felt was vast and crippling. I hated my face, because it contained my ugly naked eyelids and missing eyebrows, and the evidence that I was weak and stupid because I couldn't control my urges to pull out my hair.

I no longer feel week or stupid, and am even starting to believe that my face is perfectly acceptable, regardless of how many lashes or brows it has.

Please check out the video that these shots belong to here: https://youtu.be/Rkc-vpXJ8Bw?feature=shared, follow the link to my YouTube channel in my bio, or search for TheTrichProf on YouTube.

05/07/2025

Thank you +++ to for inviting me to talk at , and to for this lovely feedback.

Bringing into the professional environment can feel risky sometimes, but comments like this make it totally worth it.

01/07/2025

I made a video of my '6 things everyone should know about BFRBs'.

I hope you find it useful.

Please share!

Body focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs) are things like hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting, lip picking, cheek biting, etc. We all do these things a ...

27/06/2025

Click through to learn how I manage my BFRB urges. We're all different, but this is what I have found works best for me.

First a definition: Urges are the triggers that kick off the behaviours. An urge sends my fingers looking for something to pick, pull or bite.

Urges are uncontrollable

BUT - I have learned ways manage how I RESPOND to the urges

The most important thing I discovered, once I stopped being completely dominated by shame, was that my urges are not all the same. Different urges need different solutions:
1) Emotional urges signal a need for an outlet, such as writing, painting, or chatting to a friend.
2) Habitual urges are gentle, and can be channelled into something else (distraction)
3) Sensory urges are urgent and insistant, and I can only overcome these using physical barriers (e.g. putting tape on my fingers).

Do you identify with these types of urge? Do you have other types? Let me know in the comments!

09/06/2025

I'm delighted to have been invited by the British Society of Paediatric and Adolescent Dermatology to present at this year's about body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs).

I'll be talking about predisposition, urges, actions, and consequences of BFRBs, which I've spent the last 2 years researching, and the last 40 years living with! I hope to stimulate conversations about multi-disciplinary approaches to find the best ways to support people who live with overwhelming urges to pick, pull or bite at their hair, skin or nails.

Thanks to bspad.co.uk - see you in Glasgow!

15/04/2025

Body focused repetitive behaviours share features with, and often co-occur with, other disorders.

I am always delighted when I see BFRBs being highlighted in relation to, for example, OCD, or ADHD, but I also worry that part of the reason we have to fight so hard for BFRBs to be recognised, is that they get 'swept under the carpet' of another disorder.

The evidence suggests that around 80% of people with BFRBs who make it into a specialist clinic have a co-occuring disorder (e.g. Grant et al, Psych Res, 2020), and these are many/varied (everything from anxiety [55%], ADHD [29%], bipolar disorder [19%], addiction [18%], eating disorders [17%] etc). However, most of us never make it into one of these clinics/studies, and arguably, those who do are more likely to have additional needs/complications.

Notwithstanding the issues around over/under diagnosis, the way I interpret this evidence is that anything that increases distress makes BFRBs more likely, and that BFRBs are a consequence of distress for some people.

And importantly, not everyone with BFRBs has another diagnosis!

If we want to properly understand what makes us experience uncontrollable urges to pick, pull or bite at their hair, skin or nails, I think it is important that we recognise BFRBs as distinct.

01/04/2025

What has and hasn't helped you to manage your BFRBs?

This is a list of mine. This is not professional advice based on research (yet!), but my hypothesis is that focusing on acceptance and understanding will have more benefit than trying to eradicate the behaviour.

The best thing I ever did for my own BFRBs was to stop trying to stop.

22/03/2025

Phew - busy week!

Tues - Creativity and Compulsions with at the Oxford Centre for the Creative Brain ( ) - check Liz's posts for more pics!

Wed - Marta's gorgeous piece in The Psychologist: https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/why-couldnt-i-stop-picking-my-skin

Fri - Mallory's ( Mental ELf () blog on stigma and distress: https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/body-focused-repetitive-behaviours/inescapable-role-stigma-driving-depression-distress/

Data flowing in and events in the pipeline with .uk.ireland ... watch this space!