The rate at which someone strokes your hair can cause feelings of pleasure or annoyance — too slow is repulsive, too fast is annoying, and just right soothes. There's a scientific explanation for this: People have special nerve endings (wrapped around the base of hair follicles) that detect the deflection of the hairs.
“We found that when we stimulated our hair follicle cells, they actually released mood-regulating neurotransmitters serotonin and histamine,” Dr. Higgins said.
By rubbing your head, you're triggering the nerves that weren't hit, causing a distraction from the pain. The same thing happens when you scratch a mosquito bite; It doesn't actually take away the itch, but the nerves around the itching area get triggered, so it seems like it helps.
The brain releases reward hormones, such as dopamine. This links hair pulling with the reward. It causes a hair-pulling habit to form. Each time the person pulls hair, the brain releases a small burst of reward hormone.
As the fingers move across the scalp, they stimulate the nerve endings, sending signals to the brain that result in a pleasurable response. This sensory stimulation adds to the relaxing and enjoyable experience of a scalp massage. The relaxation induced by a scalp massage extends beyond the immediate moment.
The treatment can be relaxing and soothing as it increases blood circulation to your scalp. A scalp massage may also provide benefits that include stress relief, headache treatment, and better hair growth. Scalp massage involves little health risk for most people.
Farrell explains. “Other people say that it fills a void in response to boredom or lack of sensory stimulation. In that case, picking is providing some sense of gratification or stimulation.” While picking your scalp can feel good in the moment, the long-term effects can be detrimental.
There are many reasons as to why you could be excessively touching your hair: Boredom. Your hands are free, so they end up in your hair. You're concentrating on something and you like to fiddle with your hair at the same time.
In most cases, hair that is pulled from the scalp will grow back. However, repeated pulling or excessive pulling can cause scarring and permanent hair loss.
Trichotillomania and skin picking are often misdiagnosed as OCD because they involve compulsive behaviors. However, trichotillomania and skin picking generally lack significant obsessional thoughts and do not appear to respond to traditional OCD treatments.
Touching Hair: Personal Boundaries and Consent
Hair touching is inherently intimate, and assuming permission without explicit consent exhibits a lack of respect for personal autonomy.
Your Brain Releases Feel-Good Chemicals and Pain Diminishes
As soon as your skin's nerve cells feel pressure, they signal the brain to release feel-good chemicals called endorphins, which boost your mood and give you a natural high.
Try to massage your scalp using your fingertips for at least 5 minutes at a time, several times a day. Massaging your scalp every day will enhance blood circulation and can even strengthen your follicles. However, make sure you do it gently and not rub vigorously. This can cause your hair to break.
Playing with your hair can indicate a range of emotions from attracting and flirtation, to (you guessed it) anxiety. You may touch your hair as a way to soothe anxiety. This is referred to as a pacifying behavior.
This tactile stimulation can trigger the release of hormones like dopamine and oxytocin, promoting relaxation and drowsiness. The scalp's sensitivity plays a significant role here, as gentle handling can lead to a state of calm, making it easier for clients to nod off.
At the base of the hair follicle are sensory nerve fibers that wrap around each hair bulb. Bending the hair stimulates the nerve endings allowing a person to feel that the hair has been moved. One of the main functions of hair is to act as a sensitive touch receptor.
If you pull out a strand of hair, you might notice a bulb or round ball (root) attached to the end of the hair strand. The root is surrounded by nerve fibers that let you feel when your hair moves or you touch your hair. Removing this root doesn't mean your hair won't grow back, because in most cases, it will.
What is the White Bulb at End of Hair? The white bulb at the end of your hair is essentially a bundle of protein, known as keratin. The role of the white bulb is to help the hair follicle root to the scalp, which then allows the hair to grow until it is shed.
What Causes Itching During Hair Regrowth? Itching during hair regrowth primarily stems from the way hair re-enters the skin. As the new hair grows, it can curl back into the skin, leading to irritation and itching. This is especially common if you have coarse or curly hair.
Try to keep yourself busy all day thus preventing the sexual urges to enter your mind. Work hard and make yourself enough tired that you don't feel like touching yourself at night. A healthy diet and exercise are good for reducing the urges or developing resistance to the act.
Many people exhibit self-stimulating behaviors, such as biting their nails, shaking their legs, or playing with their hair. These behaviors may overlap with ADHD stimming in some ways. That said, ADHD stimming is typically more severe than fidgeting in “neurotypical” people.
Have you ever scratched your scalp and noticed white, waxy buildup under your nails? That's sebum mixed with dead skin cells. It's hard for shampoo alone to wash away your oily scalp issues. And issues like stress and weather can increase the scalp's sebum production, making you even oilier.
“Just stop” has to be just about the most unhelpful thing you could say to someone with dermatillomania. It's not a simple case of just stopping. I imagine if it were that easy, there would be no dermatillomania. For me, a lot of the time I've picked without even noticing that I'm doing it in the moment.