While I now no longer pull out my eyelashes and eyebrows, I do still sometimes get those ever familiar urges. Since I have been using the methods that are explained in the Trich Stop Hair Pulling Treatment System I have been able to control my impulses to pull. However I am regularly reminded of my condition and continually try to live my life in a healthy way that sets me up for continued success with my hair pulling condition. I focus on sleep, exercise, diet and vitamins for eyelash pulling. That is just part of being an ‘ex-hair puller’. And this leads me to reflect on:
How we treat our body affects our hair and eyelash pulling
Summer is drawing to a close and I have noticed, as I do every year, that after spending many hours in the sun and absorbing lots of vitamin D, I have less impulses to pull. I also notice that my eyelashes are stronger and fuller than normal. This shows me that it really is true that out environment and diet have a lot to do with our hair pulling urges and how to treat eyelash pulling. So, what things can I learn to help me understand diet and vitamins for eyelash pulling?
Confidence in a healthy body gives you needed confidence for treating hair pulling
Having a healthy body is key to laying the foundations to successfully beat Trich and grow your hair back. There are many studies that show that nutrition can contribute to exacerbating urges to pull. In addition, having a healthy body and feeling good about yourself will create the positive, confident feeing that you need to underscore a successful treatment.
This does not mean you need to be a perfect size 6, or be a super model look alike. On the contrary. It’s more about living in a healthy body, that is strong and feels good to live in.
Food and vitamins that help reduce eyelash pulling urges
Your food choices and what you choose to put into your body will determine the health and strength of your body. You are what you eat after all. Let’s have a look at specific vitamins for eyelash pulling.
Vitamins for eyelash pulling and foods as a support for your hair pulling treatment
Eat the foods that your body needs to beat Trich, keep hair follicles healthy and grow strong hair back quickly:
- Vitamin A is essential for hair growth. Eat: mango, orange, carrot, sweet potato, and squash, but pass on the supplements as too much can actually cause hair loss.
- Vitamin B boosts your blood so that follicles get oxygen which keeps them healthy and promotes hair growth. Eat: potatoes, garbanzo beans, chicken breast, oatmeal.
- Potassium balance out nutritional deficiencies that can contribute to eyelash pulling. Eat: bananas
- Folic acid contributes to natural hair growth. Eat: collard greens, lentils, garbanzo beans, papaya, peas, and asparagus
- Vitamin E helps with blood circulation and improves hair growth. Eat: cereals, almonds, safflower oil, corn oil, and soybean oil
- Vitamin C is develops the collagen in strong hair. Eat: kiwi fruit, guava, red peppers, and oranges
Herbal supplements as additional treatments
While staying away from anything chemical, consider taking herbal supplements such as Valerian root, Passionflower or St John’s Wort. These are natural tranquilizers and have a calming effect. Green tea also has an amino-acid which reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, helps brain functions and has many other positive effects on health.
Be sure to get enough potassium, calcium, zinc and magnesium. Deficiencies of these minerals have been linked to obsessive-compulsive disorders, including studies where cows that have abnormally low levels of these minerals chew on their skin and pull out their hair.
NAC amino acids for hair pulling
Recently there has been much research into using the amino acid N-acetylcysteine (otherwise known as NAC) in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive conditions such as hair pulling, skin picking and nail biting. The results are heartening and NAC has been shown to greatly help in reducing urges, including those of hair pullers.
Lifestyle choices
Lifestyle choices that respect your body as your ‘temple’ and feed and treat it with love are essential in your eyelash and hair pulling treatment. Cut out processed foods, eat a balanced healthy diet and exercise when you can.
Exercise had positive effects on those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorders such as Trichotillomania.
Exercise boosts levels of serotonin, a chemical in the brain that is often a culprit in obsessive-compulsive disorders. While not completely understood, working to rebalance the brain has been known to reduce impulsive actions such as hair pulling. The age-old philosophy teaches us that the way to a fulfilling and happy life is having a healthy brain in a healthy body. Much like a ‘runner’s high’, exercise routines are known to stimulate the brain, produce endorphins and make the individual ‘feel good’. Often this stimulus can replace the stimulus that pulling gives, as well as relieving the tension that often comes before a pulling session. As you continue to exercise both the results you see, and the positive feelings produced when exercising, will increase your self confidence and self discipline. This will start you on an upward spiral of positive reinforcement.
As an added bonus, exercise improves circulation throughout your body, which can result in faster healing and hair growth and soothed follicles.
You can also use it as a distraction when you are feeling an urge coming on or when you need to find a replacement activity for trigger times. While it may be difficult to get motivated, don’t stress by thinking that you have to join a gym, be a member of a team or practice in public. Start with small steps such as taking a walk when you are susceptible to pull, and use it as an important part of your habit reversal training. Once you start feeling more confident you can choose any number of other sports that can be carried out either in a team or as an individual, such as swimming, BMX, skiing, horseback riding, or skating. Who knows, once you start seeing some progress you can even join a local league to help you feel less isolated.
Sleep, yoga and meditation
Make sure to get enough sleep in addition to creating some ‘space’ for yourself. When you feel drained, over-solicited or just unbalanced it is difficult to stay self-aware and focused on your treatment. Over tired-ness and stress are strong triggers for pulling.
Yoga and meditation are not only natural ways to deal with stress, but they are the perfect mix of spiritual and bodily health.
Meditate regularly, once a day. The calming benefits of mediation spill over into the rest of your day. Aim to meditate at the same time everyday, whether in the morning, afternoon or evening. You can also use meditation in your habit reversal training, meditating to clear your mind whenever you get an urge, or find yourself in the process of pulling.
A healthy life
The most successful eyelash pulling treatments are those that use many different methods and take your entire lifestyle into account. However a basic and fundamental thing you can change is how you ‘treat the machine’. Much like the ancient Greek philosophy of Sophrosyne of reaching the ideal of being “Healthy in mind, healthy in body” and, the two must go together for a successful life. Take care of your body and you’ll set the foundations to stop pulling out your eyelashes and hair.
