总是忍不住想挤痘痘？小心得了抓痕障碍！

Skin picking disorder

Chloé is obsessed with her skin. The 19-year-old’s worst nightmare is a hormonal acne outbreak or waking up to a huge, red spot.

When it happens, she heads straight to the bathroom. Standing in front of a magnifying mirror, eyes fixed on the offending pimple, she tugs, scratches and fiddles with her face. After half an hour or so, the spot has been replaced big a seeping wound. Dates and parties go out of the window. The only place Chloé visits is the pharmacist.

She has skin picking disorder. As the name suggests, those with the condition obsessively pick at their skin. It can stem from stress, anxiety, and even acute boredom, or be triggered by other skin conditions.

The more that people pick at their skin in the hope of attaining some kind of “perfection”, the more likely they are to find themselves covered in scars and wounds. It’s a hallucinogenic ally bad trip that plays out in front of the bathroom mirror and it can lead to strong feelings of shame, guilt, and isolation.

“My skin is more important to me than seeing my friends or studying,” Chloé says. She’s been obsessed with her skin throughout her teens. “I can’t keep myself from touching it. I have this fantasy that after I finish fiddling with my skin, it’ll be perfect. Instead, my skin gets ruined — I bleed, I get big scabs, and I can’t bear to go out.”

keep your hands busy – try squeezing a soft ball or putting on gloves

identify when and where you most commonly pick your skin and try to avoid these triggers

try to resist for longer and longer each time you feel the urge to pick

care for your skin when you get the urge to pick it – for example, by applying moisturizer

tell other people – they can help you recognize when you're picking

keep your skin clean to avoid infection

do not let your nails grow long – keep them trimmed

do not keep things like tweezers and pins where you can easily get at them

How exactly does someone recover from the condition? For dermatologist Perret-Court the first step is understanding and accepting the fact there really is no such thing as “perfect” skin. Then, obviously, you need to treat the source problem — which might be something like acne. And one more bit of advice from the doctor: throw away your magnifying mirror.

Those who are not satisfied with their skin conditions often turn to skincare products for help. However, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when skincare—a term that’s come to signify far more than merely caring for one’s skin—became the pervasive cultural trend it is today. Korean cosmetic brand K-Beauty was popular for a 10-step skincare routine, which involves, in this precise order: an oil cleanser, a foam or cream cleanser, a toner, an essence, an emulsion, a serum, a sheet mask, eye cream, moisturizer, and, finally, sunscreen.

The global skin care products market size was valued at USD 130.50 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% from 2022 to 2030.

The skincare industry is still thriving and projected to scale. But there are signs of growing discontents: some women who once bought into the mainstream mythologies surrounding skincare wholesale, have begun to question the merits of such elaborate routines, and wonder whether they’re doing more harm than good to their skin—or if the products have any effect at all.

Fatigued by multi-step regimens and lackluster results, some people are dramatically scaling back how many skincare products they use. And the Minimalist Skincare Routine has risen.

Former skincare enthusiast Hinz says now the definitive advice she gives people still entrenched in complicated and costly skincare regimens is: If you can, go see a doctor. “It turns out I didn’t have many of the issues I thought I had with my skin,” Hinz said. “I strongly believe that the best thing you can do for your skin is to skip all the craziness and save yourself the trouble by seeing a dermatologist. Anyway, don’t feel too anxious about it.”