Should I Get Eyelash Extensions with Trichotillomania?

It’s a question I get asked, a lot.

My thought process to get extensions went something like this:

I’ll make an appointment as incentive not to pull.

I’ll spend a lot of money on gorgeous lashes as incentive not to pull.

I’ll be happy.

I’ll be beautiful.

Or at least that’s what I thought. And I proved myself wrong. Twice.

I loved my new lashes, don’t get me wrong. No need for constant eyeliner cover ups and I looked awake, bright eyed. I was convinced it would keep my fingers away from my eyes. And it did. But not for long. The new length bothered me. I even took nail scissors and cut some of them down. Not a good look, and I knew my OCD was starting to unveil itself.

I attended a wedding out of state. Dress, big hoop earrings to match my new J.Lo lashes, but after too many drinks, I came home tired and uninhibited and the itch of the extensions bothered me. I pulled one out. It felt good. But with one extension came about 3 natural eyelashes. Sh*t! One more won’t hurt.

Until I became obsessed and pulled ALL the extensions off, ruining ALL my natural lashes. Even the natural lashes that didn’t come out, broke, leaving me with short, stubby lashes. I thought to myself, never again.

Fast forward about 8 months and I wanted to give it another go. I needed shorter extensions and it would be different. I wasn’t going out of town this time and could easily stop into the salon and get them professionally removed if the urge returned. I was going to out smart my trichotillomania. But as the days went on, it wasn’t the length, but the texture of the synthetic lash and the glue that was triggering me. Luckily, she removed the extensions the correct way. But, there was residual glue, which triggered more pulling when I got home. The feeling of something left on my lashes lasted about a week, and again, I pulled and damaged all of my eyelashes. (continued below)

So, as beautiful as they may look, if you have trichotillomania, I highly advise AGAINST eyelash extensions. I thought the cost would stop me no matter how bad the urge, but “it’s a disorder, not a decision.” If you decide to try them, make sure your lash tech knows about your trich and can be available if you need them professionally removed. DO NOT try removing them yourself, you will pluck many of your real eyelashes along with one extension.

A better alternative is to take care of your natural lashes with a serum like VegaLash. Mimic extensions by using a good lash primer (I use MAC) then apply mascara.  Or use FALSE individual lashes (yes, even on bald lids!) My favorite false individual lashes for trichotillomania are on Amazon for only $7 below.

I’d love to know what your experience with extensions and how it affected your urges to pull. Let me know in the comments!