LESS Picking (Another Exercise in Awareness)

I have a bad habit of picking at imperfections in my skin and hair. After several bad breakouts on my face, I wondered if touching my skin less would help. Admittedly, it was a vain motivation.

I considered buying some type of acne treatment for my skin, but then thought better of it. If my goal is less, buying more products is not the answer. I tried to touch my skin less, but then gave up. Seeing and feeling blemishes made me want to pick at them to reduce them. I kept thinking that if I stopped looking in the mirror, I would mess with my face less. But blemishes sometimes hurt, too, so I feel them.

Same with my hands. My cuticles are always a mess. The only way to not feel hangnails, etc. is to constantly trim them, and even then, my hands are still rough and dry. I kept telling myself I should use the exfoliant I have by the kitchen sink, but did I? No. I did bother with my hands less when I had my nails painted for my marathon, as I didn't want to disrupt my polish. So there's that.

So again this month, I didn't really get to a place where I broke a habit or even did something less. (And spoiler alert, my skin still broke out off and on.) I just became more aware of the factors contributing to my habit (looking in the mirror and sensory discomfort) in this case. I would like to grow out of this habit and take better care of my skin and hair, but that takes more time and more intention. Will I do it? Who knows? I would like to, but only so many thing can be priority.