Hair-pulling disorder, also sometimes referred to as trichotillomania, involves recurrent pulling out of one’s hair. The resulting hair loss from this behavior can be mild (a small area of thin or no hair on the scalp) to severe (no eye lashes or eyebrows, no hair remaining on the scalp). Hair is often pulled from the scalp or face, but can be pulled from anywhere on the body.
Most individuals with hair pulling have made repeated unsuccessful attempts to stop this behavior and are often quite frustrated about trying to manage this behavior. Significant hair loss resulting from hair pulling can lead individuals to avoid certain types of behaviors that would make the hair loss more noticeable (i.e., swimming) and this can often have a very limiting impact on people’s lives.
