The wearables market is booming and this wave reached the mental health fields too. What is significant to our readers is that some of those companies are focused specifically on BFRB disorders such as excoriation disorder and trichotillomania. We decided to reach out to all vendors who are creating devices for the BFRB market, and put their products to the test. This is going to be the first post in a series of reviews dedicated to such devices. This following is a thorough review by a member of our team:

 
Hello – Slightly Robot

SlightlyRobot is a young and small venture run by two brothers from Seattle (we interviewed them last fall).  As their website states:

“The Slightly Robot Bracelet tracks your hands and vibrates when you forget what they're doing, whether it's pulling your hair, biting your nails, or something else.”

The world is full of stimuli that affect your five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. Every person is unique in the way their brain processes that stimuli and sensory overload can occur for anyone.

What is sensory overload?

Some people feel increased stress when stimuli gets to be too much. Think of that fingers-on-the-chalkboard sound and the sensation you feel when that happens. Now imagine that feeling happening when there are too many people around or when someone touches you or when there is too much noise. When someone has a sensitivity to outside stimuli, the body’s stress response can activate in such a way that the nervous system becomes overwhelmed. Some people experience panic attacks when the nervous system overloads and some people experience physical pain. When that happens, the natural response is to search for a way soothe ourselves or to make it stop.

For many people with Trichotillomania, wearing a wig can provide the confidence to go out, it can even sometimes reduce pulling. However good wigs are costly, and with daily wearing they can become worn out so requires special care. Proper care of wigs is important for them to look their best and maintain longevity. First, take care of your own hair. Even if you wear a wig to hide damage from hair pulling, it is important to keep your hair and scalp clean and moisturized. This helps keep you healthy and keeps the underside of the wig clean. Some people choose to wear a wig cap over their hair before putting on a wig, and that should be kept clean as well. The procedure for maintaining your wig will depend upon whether it is synthetic or natural hair. In some ways, synthetic hair is easier to care for than natural hair, but the point is not to treat a wig like your own hair.

Allie is a sixteen year old girl living in Chicago, who makes videos about beauty, fitness, and mental health. Allie also struggles with trichotillomania. In this video she shares some of her tips to stop pulling your hair out. Although there is currently no cure for trichotillomania and no guaranteed way to stop pulling your hair, below is a list of tips and strategies that may be helpful in reducing and/ or stopping your hair pulling. Not all of them may work for you. The idea behind this is to try as many as you possibly can in order to create your very own “stop picking tool kit” that is unique to you.