Pulling Out Hair

Go to Trichotillomania.com. There are hundreds of links to info about this problem. Also, Abby Leora Rohrer has a website that focuses on children and hair-pulling called pullfreeatlast. Good luck!

My son used to pull his hair out and then eat it when he was about 16 mos. My dr. Said he had pica (a disorder in which people crave weird thing like dirt,hair and rocks to eat.) anyway i decided to switch dr. When the first one refused to test his blood. His dr. Now did the test and found there was a severe lack of zinc in his diet which to even the dr's suprise was the reason for the pulling and eating of his hair. We had to cut his hair so he couldn't pull it anymore and we gave him vitamins. He is 3 yrs. Now and is doing great.

My friend's daughter as well as my sister's daughter did this. I don't remember what they call this condition, but it is a nervous/stress habit and they are usually unaware that they are doing it. My girlfriend's daughter would actually twist her hair for a while and then pull it out. My niece would just pull it out. Most grow out of it. My friend's daughter did it until recently (she is 3 1/2). Her Mom kept her hair short, as well as her own hair short. Her daughter would try to pull her mom's hair out if hers was too short to pull. Now that she has stopped, her hair is growing and she is very proud that she has long hair like her sister, which gives her more incentive not to pull. My niece has stopped as well. They had to shave her hair a couple of times so that she would not do it. She is 2 1/2. Both are aware of their pretty hair now and want to keep it pretty...if they pull, it gets cut. I hope this helps.

I also have a friend who's daughter has pulled out all of her hair. She is almost 20 months and she usually pulls it out when she's relaxing and sucking her thumb. It's like she doesn't even feel pain when she's doing it because she's concentrating so much on the task of pulling it out. Anyway, they asked the doctor about it and they said not to worry and that she would probably grow out of it. Hope this helps.

Ok I just spoke to my friend about her daughter's case and she has a protein deficiency. For some reason her liver isn't working properly and so she doesn't feel pain when she pulls her hair out. I would look into a vitamin deficiency before putting yourself through the stress of thinking that she has OCD or some other disorder like that.

i used to do this when i was a child the same age. my mom says it was rage! i grew out of it, (i'm 42, i'm sure i was spanked for it, LOL) but no worries, i have a head full of hair now. *grin*. she may be undergoing stress out of having a young sibling probably *getting her into her stuff*, i as well had a sister one year younger than me, so it could have been related to that.

I have a friend who is 30 years old who has lived with this nervous condition for years and years, mainly caused by stress. It was so bad that at one point she shaved her head and wore a wig. At her age, it was not something that she could just grow out of, she needed medication and to be conscious of her behavior. She even enlisted my help to swat her hand or get her attention whenever I noticed her doing it. At 2, I think it would be hard for a little one to just grow out of it. I think your friend may want to ask her pediatrician for a psych consult. I know that sounds extreme, but if there is something that she can start doing now to help her daughter break the habit, then it would be well worth it. Hope this helps.

Yes, my daughters 5 now and I'm very thin now in the front because of it, and need implants. I used to be raw at the end of the night. I think it's a way of the child expressing that they love you because it always comes at the time you least expect it, in place of a hug or random kiss. I honestly do not believe it's intentional. It's so frustrating because you asume by your reaction she would learn that mom doesn't like that. And yet, the pulling continues. Ive had old Italian mom's tell me to pull her hair back. That didn't work, time out didn't work. Taking away favorite things didn't work. My best advice to you is that you need to turn her hole world upside down and make sure every time she does it that you are NOT nice and punish her big time.(After you peel her fingers from your head.) Take it from me, I'm Bald now.

We had a friend whose daughter began pulling out her hair in clumps at about the same age. A consult to a doctor advised this might be the beginnings of an obsessive/compulsive disorder, and that they needed to take steps to try to keep things from progressing, that is keep the behavior from being "rewarded", either positively or negatively. As two years old is a bit too young for therapy, and no one could even be sure that this diagnosis was valid, they decided to cut her hair short enough that she could not pull it out at all. She was the cutest little girl with a crew cut that you ever saw! Now, several years later, she is able to have long hair without trouble. My advice: cut the hair very short, and if other OCD type behaviors crop up, see a pediatrician who can advise you further.

Can the mom spend some special one on one time with the two year old each day? Even just for 15-30 minutes, can dad take the little sister? The best way for the time to go would be for the mom to participate in whatever kind of play the child wants to do. Let the child direct the play and the mom follows. This is the time for the child to be "in control" and get her needs for power, connection, and fun met.

Another thing would be to try to redirect the frustration or aggression away from the child to another object. Is there a doll that she can pull the hair out of? Can the child be taken outside and mom can put younger sister in a carrier and play a game of chase with her? My guess is that the hair pulling is probably related to anger that the child feels for being "displaced" by the younger child. That anger is normal. If mom can help normalize it, that would also be good. She can even say to the child, I wonder if a part of you is angry that your younger sister gets so much of my attention?

For more resources, check out
http://www.handinhandparenting.org/articles.html

This is an actual disorder. Try going to WebMD.com and looking up "trichotillomania".

I had the same problem with my daughter at that age. She only did it at night. She would twist her hair so tight that she couldn't get her finger out and would end up yanking her hair out. She had a huge bald spot on the side of her head. We tried taping her fingers together, made her wear a swim cap, etc. Nothing worked. We ended up shaving her hair off. Sounds drastic, but by the time her hair grew back she was used to twisting the tail of a barbie horse and had no interest in twisting her own hair. Haven't had a problem since.

Hi, H.,
Allergy/sensitivity to sodium laurel & sodium laureth sulfates, which is the common detergent found in most shampoos and body washes, resembles the symptoms of thyroid imbalance, one of which is hair loss. The hair, as it is loosed from the folicles, tickles and feels like something is crawling on one's head -- pulling it out in clumps (which come out easily, by the way) relieves the 'itch'. Try natural personal care products that clearly state "no sodium laurel/laureth sulfates". JASON and Desert Essence both make such products.
T.

A friend of mine went through this with her 2 year old when she had another baby. They were so upset thinking something was wrong with her. After exhausting all medical possibilities, the doctors said it was stress. Eventually things calmed down, routine went back to normal and her hair grew back. It just took time for her to adjust.

Good Luck!

Pulling out hair is a result of anxiety that the child doesn't know how to deal with. It could have to do with her little sister getting most of the parents attention. Older siblings are frequently stressed by their younger siblings. Emotional Freedom Techniques(EFT), tapping on acupuncture points when stressed, my very well reduce the hair pulling. Look at www.emofree.com and www.mindbodytherapy.com. EFT is very simple to learn and use. I have taught kids who went home and taught their parents.
M. E. Stafford, M.Ed., LPC, EFt Master

Ask this girl do you not like your hair She is two your right she needs her hair that can be really bad for her roots they can start bleeding so if she keeps doing it go to a doctor

my sister-in-law dealt with this same thing with my neice. When she was almost 2 she decided to shave her daughter's head. I know this sounds extreme but she had literally tried EVERYTHING!!! And it worked, by the time the hair grew back in the habit was broken.

I had done the same thing when I was that age, it was due to stress. She probable needs more one on one time. Might want to concider redirecting her when she starts pulling her hair to take her attention to something else. I also have more than adequate amount of hair on my head, and when I pulled my hair I almost made myself bald. Good Luck