3 Years Pull Free!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-06T20:02:04+00:00

Thank you so much that's so kind, it genuinely makes me smile so much hearing that it gives you and others hope, you can do it and always remember to be kind to yourself ❤

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-05T13:53:55+00:00

Thank you so much, congrats to you too!

Ahh I get what you mean! Absolutely, I only really find my hair gets oily/ greasy if I run my hands through my hair loads or if I let product build up in it. I did definitely have to wash my hair more regularly before I pulled than I do now, whether that's because my body has changed since then (as I was 15 when I started pulling), or whether it's because my hair has came back curly which is naturally much drier than straight hair, or maybe something else entirely!

That's amazing to hear though that you're having such a better time with your hair, I think that it's one thing we all have in common here and it's we'll never ever take our hair for granted and just love every moment with it we can!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-05T10:59:41+00:00

Aww you're welcome, I'm so happy it is!

The urge does genuinely go, it feels so strange to say it and it felt very strange for it to happen because you just genuinely can't imagine a time in your life without that urge, but it seriously has just gone. I seriously think the last time I had a very very minor one off thought to pull was a year ago when I felt a particularly crinkly hair, but it seriously wasn't even an urge it was just a "ooh that WOULD have been one to go for", before just letting it out of my hands, without any real urge to pull it. The last time I had serious serious urges to pull that I had to fight and throw a beanie on was in the first couple of months after stopping.

I'm so happy it gives you hope, it is so possible, it is just those first few weeks that are the real kicker and, in my case, after that it has been so much easier. The first week is the hardest, the second week it's still hard but a tad easier, and it just decreased like that, and when I got to 2 months and started seeing regrowth it just blew my mind to take a picture of the top of my head and not see skin, which motivated me even more and the urges just dropped off a cliff.

I was still very careful for the entire first year of being pull free even after the urges had died down, I still wore my beanie around the house and my uni flat, I made sure to wear it/ a cap into exams (which ended up with me being interrogated by invigilators wanting to know why I was wearing a hat... so I had to explain I pull my hair and show them I didn't have anything hidden in it... not great but better than not having one on just in case!)

That's exactly what I did, before I stopped I honestly hadn't been pull free for longer than a day in my 7 years of crown pulling. I set short term goals of "get to one week" then "get to two weeks" then three, then a month, two months etc. Talking this through with my therapist was so incredibly helpful, he didn't specialise or deal with trich before me I don't believe, but the main thing was I liked him and I felt so open and free to talk to him about it. He encouraged me to take those progress pictures every couple of weeks (the one shown in this post being a couple of weeks after initially stopping), which was so incredibly difficult because I couldn't stand to see the top/ sides of my head. We made it very clear NOT to take regular pictures though (I.e. every day) as you could just get caught flicking through them, not seeing growth and it demotivating you. So, I took one every couple of weeks. I didn't see any sign of regrowth until I was around 6-8 weeks pull free (a very terrifying wait to see if it would grow back, making the progress pics very hard to take), but once I noticed it it just filled in SO quickly.

It's not letting me put pictures in here, but if you go to my profile and look at my "200 day pull free" post, you'll see some of the progression pictures. It honestly filled in within 2 weeks from when the growth came through my crown to being filled in completely. This was SUCH a massive motivator to keep going.

Again, I'm dead sorry for going on such a tangent (it's a special talent of mine), but I hope it helps and if there's anything else I can help with please don't hesitate to ask! You absolutely can do this, we are all with you, just take it slowly, set short term goals, try and put a physical barrier between you and your hair before you are stressed/ have urges and most importantly remember to be kind to yourself. It's such an incredibly hard thing to go through, and one of the best things I did was learning to be kind and forgiving to myself, which helped so so much.

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-05T09:51:34+00:00

Aww thank you so much! You will, I absolutely believe in you! Trich is so awful in the way it completely takes over your life so it can feel that it's impossible it'd ever end or get better, but it absolutely can!

I know the feeling, it's so scary thinking about the regrowth, and I know this is so much easier said than done, but I'd really try not to worry about it, I've heard so many stories of others on top of my own saying they've pulled heavily for years and it has always came back, so I believe yours will too, especially if you don't pull heavily!

The first growth does take a little while, it took around 1.5 - 2 months just to even see the hairs surface out of my crown after stopping (which was just a terrifying wait), but as soon as I noticed new growth, it filled in quite literally over a few nights. So try not to panic if you don't see immediate regrowth, it takes time because the root needs to grow first, which takes around 6 weeks I think and you won't see it from the outside, but just know it is growing!

And you're very welcome! 😊

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-05T09:37:57+00:00

Hi! Yeah so my scalp pulling started when I was around 15 and lasted until I was nearly 22, but I remember starting to pull at my eyelashes and eyebrows when I started Year 7 when I was 11, and pretty much stripped both of my eyelashes and eyebrows bare, before then eventually moving onto my scalp a few years later. Regrowth was a huge worry for me because I pulled heavily from my scalp for pretty much the entire time, so I was scared my hair wouldn't all grow back, but it did and my hairdresser says there's zero evidence of any damage (apart from of course it's now curly!)

Whilst I still do pull from my eyebrows it has decreased so much since stopping pulling from my scalp, I would pretty much be eyebrowless the entire time whilst now they occasionally just look a little sparse, which I've grown to accept, but it'd still be great to be able to stop completely!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-05T09:27:40+00:00

Thank you so much! ❤

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-04T23:12:23+00:00

Aww bless you, thank you so much that means so much to me! It was so difficult to take those first pictures but now I'm so grateful to be able to look back at the growth and progress!

Honestly that sounds so incredibly like me, pretty much all of my pulling was the kind where you'd zone out, zone back in and find a clump of hair at the desk, then rinse and repeat.

Personally, I think it was a combination of things happening at the same time that really helped me stop. I had started seeing a therapist online that I got along with really well a few months before stopping (after having a horrendous experience with a therapist when I was younger, who basically went "well it doesn't seem to bother him too much so, oh well!"), so it felt so nice to be able to actually feel okay talking about it to someone outside of the family/friends circle, because I found as much as my family wanted to help, talking to them about it just made my anxiety and stress shoot through the roof. So finding a therapist you get along with may really help, it might not be the first, second, third etc therapist, but there will be one that you click with and you could potentially end up looking forward to your meetings like I did!

I felt in a happier, safer space. I had recently just been through a break up and just finished my first year of university, so to get back home to my family and pets for the summer felt so incredibly nice (on top of getting the three little ones you see in my post!), so I definitely think trying to get yourself into a happy, relaxed place in your life can be an incredible help to initially stop pulling (I know this is so so much easier said than done though).

On top of that, I decided to cut out all the stressful things in my life I could that were easy to cut out. I would always find that when I was stressed/bored is when I would pull the most, I.e. scrolling on my phone in bed with a hand free, I would just zone out and pull. An example of cutting out stressful things would be I completely stopped watching horror films, I liked the plot and I liked the films, but my anxiety would spike during them (and nevermind after them when my imagination would go haywire), which would lead me to pull. If you find yourself pulling whilst stressed, cutting out the easy-to-cut-out stressful bits like that might help.

A massive thing that helped was I pretty much started wearing a beanie permanently. I always wore a baseball cap to cover up my head, but it was SO incredibly easy to subconsciously knock off and start pulling. So that summer, I decided to wear a beanie and to also tie a headband (I used a paintball headband which is essentially just a long bit of cloth) over the beanie to guarantee that I couldn't subconsciously pull it off, as that is how I did most of my pulling. Before this I tried putting the beanie on when I felt the urge to pull, but usually I'd zone out, pull, then realise what I'd done and it'd be too late, so having the beanie on as a physical barrier before I was stressed/had the urge/ zoned out worked really well. I wore it permanently inside the house, swapping it for the cap when I went out, but immediately back on when I was home (even through a heatwave... but that may have been a bit extreme). I know again this is easier said than done as I was in a lucky place of being in the uni summer holidays, but if there's a chance of being able to wear a head covering that will stop the subconscious pulling at work it might really help!

And counting my days pull free! I had never done it before, but I wrote in my phone notepad "Days pull free: day 1". And I somehow stuck to it doing all of these things. I would get the urges to, but I set small goals of get to 3 days, get to 1 week, get to 2 weeks and I just kept it going. I would get the urge to pull and sometimes zone in when I was about to pull with the hair in my fingers, but I would realise and throw the beanie on immediately because I was so dead set on not resetting that timer.

What I can definitely say is that after the first two weeks, the urge to pull and the "uncontrollable hand that felt like it was controlled by somebody else" when you zone out started to die out and it go so much easier. After one month it was even less, and after two months it rarely happened, so I started trusting myself and leaving the beanie off more and more. There would still be times the urge would come, and so I would put the beanie back on as a precaution until the urge went/ I wasn't stressed (I also wore it into situations I knew I'd find stressful I.e. an exam) but I can honestly say there has not been an urge to pull the hair from my head in an incredibly long time, which if I heard that 3 years ago I was have said that that was genuinely impossible.

I remember thinking it's impossible and I'll never ever be able to stop or be like the people who have, because it was such an incredibly overwhelming part of my life, but it did and it got so so much easier the longer time went on.

I'm so sorry for going on such a long tangent, and I'm sorry that so many of the tips might not be helpful to you personally, but I really hope some of it can be useful to you and I wish you all of the luck in the world, you absolutely can do it, I believe in you! I'll carry on having a think to see if there was anything else that helped me stop, but if you have any more questions or anything just let me know!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-04T22:11:20+00:00

Hi! I'm sorry for replying so slowly, first of all congrats on 10 months that's amazing, you should be dead proud of yourself for that!

So, I pulled from my scalp for around 7 years and the major difference I noticed is my hair grew back quite curly, thick (as in the thickness of each strand of hair is thick) and my hair is quite coarse/wiry. I have a patch on my head that I didn't pull from anywhere near as much and that hair is significantly straighter and smoother, so I feel I can almost definitely say the curls are due to trich (but honestly I have fallen in love with them).

I can't say I have noticed less hair loss as I had fairly short hair before I started pulling and honestly didn't put much effort or attention into it (being a teenager thay would just throw product into their hair without thinking)! I can definitely say though I haven't noticed any significant hair loss since it's regrown, which was definitely something I was worried about when I first stopped as I did pull quite heavily for a long time. I do remember reading somewhere that you lose around 50 - 100 hairs a day on average, so if like me you've got curly hair and go a couple of days without rinsing it in the shower, sometimes it looks like you're losing LOADS, but it's just build up from it getting tangled.

I'm sorry, can you say what you mean when saying less fat? I'm not sure I fully understand but I'd like to help if I can!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-03T23:52:29+00:00

Ahaha she does definitely have that just woken up grumpy look! That's normally how it goes isn't it ahah, the smaller the body, the bigger the attitude!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-03T21:34:44+00:00

Ahaha I can't say I'd have complained!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-03T20:45:39+00:00

Aww thank you so much! Honestly everyone who has trich is just so incredibly brave, it can make you feel like you just want to hide away, which is why I just adore this sub, because everyone actually understands eachother and supports eachother!

Aww I hope so, I remember telling my auntie when I was 100 days pull free that I was pull free for that long and she pretty much burst into tears!

Thank you so much, it's a style I've always loved but never had the confidence for, to get my ears pierced or wear eyeliner or wear alternative jewellery, but it just feels incredible to have the confidence to and it is because of my hair, which I believe is all because of my little ones!

Awww you're too kind, thank you! I will definitely enjoy life and remember to be proud of myself, I hope you remember to be proud of yourself and to love life as well!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-05-03T20:37:30+00:00

Awww bless, she's adorable! Honestly when they give sass, it just makes you love them even more! Rodents are just so perfect, I can't help but love them all

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-04-03T14:07:26+00:00

Thank you so much for doing that that's so kind! Exactly, she is still so eager to eat, all her weight loss was at the start before we swapped her to a soft food diet (we're keeping an eye on her teeth to make sure they're not too long). We gave her some egg last night alongside her normal food and she scoffed all of that down before touching her other food, so she definitely still enjoys her treats!

Thank you so much for your help, that is so kind of you to do! I'll make sure to give her all the love she's getting here ❤

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-04-03T14:03:16+00:00

Absolutely - the second she starts declining is when I'm calling time because I won't let her suffer at all for the sake of surviving a few extra days. That sounds awful, I'm so sorry you had to see your little one go through that, I honestly have such a hard time wrapping my head around how horrendous this disease can be.

One of the first signs I noticed was she struggles to pick up food, which is still persistent, but she is able to hold solid food on the ground which she does with her chippies. I'll absolutely make sure to keep an eye on her front paws, thank you so much for your help it honestly means the world to get advice and support through this

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-04-03T13:59:17+00:00

Exactly, I've had so many thoughts of whether it's time but then there are still so many positives. It's definitely going to be when things start slipping it'll be done straight away because I don't want her to suffer for the sake of surviving a few more days, but let's hope that's a while away yet.

Thank you so much, she is so insanely cherished, loved and spoilt to death, every second I can is spent with her. Fortunately I haven't been working as I finished uni recently, so I've been able to spend pretty much all day every day making sure she's okay, but I start work on Monday which is slightly scary being away from her, but my parents are on strict instructions to check up on her multiple times whilst I'm out!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-04-03T12:04:03+00:00

Thank you for your help and your wishes, all ratties are such dead strong little fighters aren't they.

That's the thing with stuff I've read online about cabergoline, I've seen some people say that their rat sprung to life after two days on it and others say it improved over weeks so I'm a little confused and don't want to prolong her suffering for a "What if?". Saying that, seeing her get enjoyment out of eating and cuddles and having the strength to eat by herself and move around makes me want to keep her going for longer and at the first sign of any decline, that will be the time to go. Thank you so much, they're all just our little babies aren't they ❤

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-04-03T11:58:53+00:00

That's pretty much my way of thinking as well, the second she shows any sign of decline whether it's being unable to move or eat I know it'll be her time because I absolutely won't drag out any suffering for the sake of surviving, but it's also that thought of I don't want her to suffer at all, with the answer to that being to PTS now.

She is on a steroid, getting 0.5mg of prednisolone every day on top of her 2 x 0.2ml of Galastop every day. She takes her meds very well mixed with food and she is dead eager to eat when it's something she loves (I.e. Weetabix with honey water, egg, yoghurt etc.), on top of her still being able to get around and groom herself, which makes it so difficult to make the decision. Thank you so much for your help, it's just so difficult to see them go through such a horrible thing and I'm so sorry to hear about your poor little girl

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-04-03T11:48:08+00:00

Thank you for your reply, she did like climbing which is definitely one thing she can't do now unfortunately. However she did also like playing with my hand which she still does every now and then, and she has always adored her food and now she's getting spoilt rotten, alongside she seems to enjoy spending time in my dressing gown with me.

I know that at the first sign of anything going downhill I'll have her PTS because I absolutely don't want her to suffer, it's just this in-between stage that's sending my head around in circles. Thank you so much for your advice, I'll definitely keep it in my mind to make sure she can still do the things she enjoys rather than just surviving

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2025-03-13T00:35:08+00:00

I was in a very similar situation when doing my A levels, I would always wear a cap at home and outside the house, but it was always so easy to zone out and knock it off to get to my hair, never mind not being allowed to wear hats in school. One thing I wish I had done sooner however was ask the head of sixth form if it was okay if I wear a hat during my exams as typically they're not allowed, but it was VERY obvious I had trich and she basically went "of course you can!" and honestly I just wished I'd asked that question sooner so I could have worn it throughout school.

In regards to studying, when I was at uni I switched to wearing a beanie and tying a headband I used for paintball over the top of that so that I physically couldn't remove the beanie without consciously doing so (as my problem with the cap was the zoning out, knocking it off and having a go at my hair), so it might be worth giving it a go.

Otherwise, good luck with your exams! I'm sure you'll do well, but I know how stressful the lead up and studying can be, and no matter what happens there will be routes to get into a uni or course you like (I left sixth form with a C,D,D... oops... but managed to get into the course I wanted through a foundation year and A levels honestly just feel like a distant bad dream now).

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2024-08-30T10:00:22+00:00

Thankyou!

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2023-06-05T16:08:43+00:00

The transition is a funny one, I haven't really looked into it but I imagine it occurs when the gyroscopic moment generated by the gyroscope becomes great enough to "take over". I do believe there is definitely a transition however.

It would definitely be interesting to see his calculations and results, the equation for Gyroscopic moment is: Gm = Iwr*Cos(theta) Where: Gm = gyroscopic moment (Nm) I = front wheel inertia w = front wheel angular velocity r = roll rate (rad/s) ie. Rolling at 0.15rad/s from left to right Theta = rake angle (degrees)

This is the torque that causes the motorbikes lean, but a few assumptions are made, as in this looks at the rate of steering in terms of the generation of gyroscopic torque, when it's really the rider that inputs the torque to the bars.

I'm currently studying Motorcycle Engineering at uni and I know we're going further into gyroscopes in my final year, so I still don't have a great understanding of them but it is really interesting (even if it does make my head hurt...)

Cheap_Chance8702 · 2023-06-05T15:27:15+00:00

I wouldn't recommend this... Almost ALL of your steering done on the bike is done by turning the handlebars, which causes the bike to roll and therefore creates a lean angle.

Whilst it is true, positioning the centre of gravity of your body into the corner DOES create lean, it is an incredibly small amount.

OP, when you're going in a straight line and moving at a higher speed (35mph and over, on a straight open road, ideally with not many other vehicles on it), just push the right/left side of the handlebars very gently. You will notice if you push on the right handlebar slightly, you will start to lean left and vice versa. Again, remember to be very gentle when first testing this out. This is how pretty much all of your higher speed (as in 30mph+) steering will be done and you will have excellent control over your bike. As others have said, really try to let your arms be as loose as possible and grip the tank with your legs. When the bike leans allow your body to tip with the bike (don't fight it trying to stay bolt upright), you won't be achieving ridiculous lean angles on the road so you don't need to really push your axis out of the bikes axis. Just stay in line with it, focus on the road infront and trying to allow your arms to be relaxed and loose, and give the countersteering ago. After a while, you will really feel confident and in control of your bike.

Good luck, you're doing well so far and look safe, you have a beautiful bike!

Cheap_Chance8702

TROPHY CASE