Scalp choosing is just the act of, effectively, touching and pulling at your scalp. There are a couple of causes one would possibly discover themselves doing this.
If you choose on the scalp because of product buildup, tight hairstyles, or itchiness from a brand new hair or scalp product, it isn’t essentially one thing to fret about. If that is the case, simply be conscious of why it is taking place and work to regulate your hair care habits accordingly. For instance, work on clearing out that buildup—we advise a clarifying shampoo or a delicate scalp scrub that can assist you press reset. Or if yours is because of tight hairstyles, attempt to loosen it up a bit.
However, some folks choose on the scalp as a nervous tick, and this may manifest right into a extra critical skin-picking dysfunction often known as excoriation or dermatillomania. This can grow to be troublesome each due to the stress it may well trigger and the bodily harm and ache it might have in your scalp.
“Scalp choosing is just not thought-about a dysfunction until the frequency and/or harm prompted to the pores and skin or scalp is important sufficient to have an effect on one’s high quality of life,” board-certified psychiatrist Edward Pirok, M.D., Ph.D., tells mbg.
Further, “There’s really little or no distinction between choosing on the pores and skin and choosing on the scalp,” board-certified dermatologist Rachel Nazarian, M.D., FAAD, tells mbg. So after we’re speaking about scalp-picking causes and triggers, the identical applies to basic pores and skin choosing. Aftercare, nonetheless, can be totally different given the nuanced pores and skin that’s the scalp.