Trichotillomania is a body-focused repetitive behaviour in which a person pulls hair from the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes or other areas. The resulting patches can be irregular, with hairs of different lengths and broken shafts. It should not be framed as “just a bad habit”; it can be linked to anxiety, tension relief, compulsive urges or automatic behaviour. Dermatology assessment helps distinguish it from alopecia areata or infection. Treatment usually combines education, behavioural therapy approaches and support for underlying psychological drivers. Topical treatments alone are not usually enough.
Parikh AK et al. Advances in Topical Therapies for Alopecia, Life, 2024 — https://doi.org/10.3390/life14121577; DermNet: Trichoscopy of generalised noncicatricial hair loss — https://dermnetnz.org/topics/trichoscopy-of-generalised-noncicatricial-hair-loss; Anastassakis K. Androgenetic Alopecia From A to Z, Vol. 1, Springer, 2022 — https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76111-0
