I have trichotillomania! I'm so happy you shared this with us. You've made me feel so much more okay with myself!

I think what you're doing about the rosehip oil makes sense. If you don't want to support the company because of their fear mongering (we appreciate that), then you can just say you are using rosehip oil, but not mention the brand. If people ask for suggestions you can suggest oils from brands that you would get it from if you bought your own.

Thank you for opening up about your trichotillomania. I also have it, and I love when people open up about having it makes me feel less alone. I've made it a year now without pulling out any hair 🖤

Thanks for talking about your trichotillomania. I have dermatillomania, so I tend to pick at my skin when I'm anxious. It can be so difficult to ditch these habits and it's also hard to make people understand who don't struggle with compulsive issues.

To Michelle & everyone here in the comments opening up about trichotillomania: You're not alone, it's normal that you struggle and it's nothing to be ashamed of! Even supermodel Sara Sampaio has it. You can thrive and be happy no matter what! And don't forget, you can always ask for help in times of crisis 💙

thank you for bravely dicussing trich and also exposing what you loved & no longer do!

it's really disheartening to see a lot of my favorite brands start using clean beauty marketing words. it's virutally impossible to find brands that don't do this anymore. i've heard that a lot of beauty industry professionals say this is where the market is headed towards so every brand must follow or get left behind. which sucks cause to me, clean beauty is anti-science and i try to point this out but i often just get ignored :(

I have eczema and I've completely ditched all these "clean beauty" brands. I thought that natural = better. I used to believe in that fear mongering and that *chemicals* are toxic. Glad I'm much more enlighten now after having found you and different dermatologists here on KZfaq. It has literally saved my skin. I've never had my eczema so much under control than I have now. I used to put "calming" essential oils on my extremely sensitive skin, and I couldn't understand why it would only get worse, and I assumed that it was just because of my skin condition. I still really like rosehip and apricot kernel oil. I think those are the only two things I still use lol. Thank you for putting up educational content, it really sparked an interest for chemistry in me. ❤️

I've suffered from trich for over 10 years now! I've alsways been so ashamed of it - I did not have *any* upper eyelashes for many years at a time. I've been in.. recovery? for a couple of years now and have beautiful lashes. I sometimes have short episodes and develop patches but have improved so much. I'm kinda proud of myself. Thank you so much for talking about it!

Seeing you reflect after learning more is amazing. Reminds me that I need to look into my habits that I don’t even think about anymore. We can all learn more and do better going forward.

I just stumbled upon this channel and came here to say how grateful I am that you talk about trichotillomania. Turns out I'm not alone! I'm 38 and JUST started to get this under control. Seriously, thank you so much for being open about this.

Thank you for talking about trichotillomania so openly. I do the exact things as you and I'm working on managing it now, but I've suffered with it since I was 10 and my parents would always get mad at me or shame me because of it which resulted in me feeling isolated and ashamed of it most of my life. Thank you so much

I've just now realized that the lifetime of hair pulling is exactly what you've described. I was teased for it and my adults thought it was just s bad habit I couldn't quit. This is a revelation. Thanks for talking about it x

I also have trichotillomania - my eyebrows are the poor targets! I’ve found it’s been much worse during covid as I’m spending so much time at home and there’s more opportunity to pull. The thicker, spiky hairs are my Achilles heel. Thank f*ck for recent developments in the eyebrow product game - the fine brush tip pens are my absolute saviours! I used to have to rely on a full fringe/bangs to hide the issue. Thanks for sharing your trich Michelle, it’s really comforting to know that a woman I admire struggles with something that I do.

I used to use all Eminence skincare products (used their Clear Skin Probiotic line for 5 years)- then I became sensitive to all the menthol and citrus + lavender extracts and now I can’t use any Eminence products! I also no longer buy their “natural + organic is better” marketing because I know better and I ❤️ chemicals

I grew my nails because if i feel the tips of my fingers i will scratch any bumps i find, especially on my scalp. I didn't even gave it any thought, until someone on KZfaq spoked about it and i understood that it can get quite serious with time.

We need an expert on pilling, or at least an ongoing exploration - on what are common culprits or what ingredients pill when thrown together, for example one product layered onto a different one... Please mull it over, Michelle!

I’ve definitely changed my taste in makeup and skincare over the years. I used to be into the “natural” skincare way before the clean movement, but I’m off that bandwagon.

Would love to know what you use on your nails now instead of Seche Vite! Love your videos x

Michelle can you make a video about debunking skincare ingredients myths? Like DMDM hydantoin, Kojic acid, Alpha Arbutin and the sunscreen filters like Ensulizole? I get so much mixed info that I don't know if they are safe or not

Omg I thought I was the only one who compulsively pulled out my wirey hairs! Thank you for talking about this! On that note, does anyone know why people with pin straight hair get wirey ones too?

Thank you for talking about trich! I have dermatillomania and mild trichtotillomania. It's hard, and hearing you talk about it means a lot to me

Thanks for talking about the trichotillomania. It's refreshing to see someone open up about it. Also, I have also mostly stopped using a lot of Australian beauty products for the reasons you mentioned. They tend to lean on fear mongering and "natural" claims which I am REALLY not into.

2 videos?! Ma’am we are not worthy. Also, will you please do a video on your favorite vitaminC derivatives? I know you’ve done a video with Beck Wynta on products, but your recent tweet about vit c derivs has me thinking.

No way! I have trich too, had it for 13 years. I’d never have guessed! Thank you for sharing ❤️

omg I literally had a full on lush phase at high school, the amount of money I spent there I-... I could’ve got a good skincare routine instead that would’ve actually help me with my acne but no, I was buying bath bombs and face masks that do nothing for the skin🥲🥲🥲

OMG, I didn't even know that this has a name, turns out I also have trichotillomania (I pull my beard hair a lot and have hairless patches on my chin)

Chaos dragon energy, you say? Let's be friends. I have ADHD, and I'm also obsessed with skincare and chemistry (it was my undergrad major).😆❤️

Hey Michelle! Thanks for the transparency. I’ve definitely changed over the years especially as more scientific and fact based information is available to counter the marketing.

i really appreciate your honesty. i have psoriasis, all over, but bad on my scalp. i pull out scales and hair.. im pretty ashamed about my behavior, and i appreciate you acknowledging that it is ... what it is❤️

I would love to hear your thoughts more specifically about Sukin.

"and I've read way too deeply into ... everything" omg same! I go in hard when I'm learning about any topic 🤓

I've noticed the same about Seche Vite peeling! I'm glad it's not just me. I used it for ages because it dried so quickly, but it's not long-lasting.

I’m so glad you opened up about the hair pulling. I also had this when I was 13.

Thank you for mentioning Sukin. I've bought a few of their products for face, hair, and body, and they're just....meh. It's just as well that their UK website doesn't ship to the EU anymore (which is where I am). Mediocre products that either clogged my pores or didn't do anything for my hair.

I swore by the Trader Joe’s tea tree tingle shampoo for years... turns out it’s really drying for hair. I had been using seche vite for years. Never knew it redissolved the polish underneath. Been trying new ones currently using OPI.

I stopped using Neutrogena when I bought a retinol serum that was so heavily fragranced that I returned it immediately. Fragranced skincare loses all credibility for me.

I used to pull out my lashes and brows when I was like much younger, around 6, I still pull out my brows occasionally but not nearly as much. I used to pull out hair on my head when I was like 11-12. I stopped after a friend called me weird when she noticed, cause i used try and get the follicle as well. I used to like examine it. So I had stopped pulling hair on my head, and till date I mainly only pull from like my armpit or groin. The areas where it’s socially acceptable to be hairless. It was wild to me to grow up and see that I wasn’t the only one, and how common it truly is.

Thank you for talking about trich! My mum has had it since the 90s.

I am late to this video, but I just wanted to say I have pretty bad dermatillomania. You sharing the fact that you have trichotillomania and you are dealing with it and looking good makes me hopeful. Thank you for talking about it 💜

I actually sang the 'some products I used to know' from the description box. Once I find something that I like, I tend to stick with it so I don't switch products often. But I no longer use either of the face creams I loved for a while. One was the Olay Total Effects (or something like that) fragrance free. Then I realized I don't like the smell of SPF chemicals. I also quit using a L'Oreal face cream because it had too much fragrance in it. If I can still smell it on my face an hour later, that's way too strong.

6:58 This is actually pretty relatable. We don't get paid sponsorships, but I still feel the need to research brands before buying from them or recommending something to family/friends. If there are proudly science-based companies that anyone likes, please share!

here for the skincare chemistry basics and throughly researched propaganda. Still LOLing about that whole situation and video

Trichotillomania... me too! Eyebrows permanently gone from this. Been drawing them on for 20+ years. Thank you for being open about this!

For a split second I thought you said "nerdification bell" instead of "notification bell", which as a science major got me like "yes to the nerdification of beauty!!!"

When I first started skincare, I used to drop 2-3 drops of tea tree oil into Cetaphil lotion as my face moisturizer. lol

Try cnd vinyllux top coat. Not fast drying, but very long lasting. Their cuticle oil is amazing also. Essie good to go is also a nice, fast drying top coat.

Thank you for confirming my suspicions that Seche Vite was probably decreasing the life of my manicures! So many nail people on YT use it, I thought it was user error on my behalf...it would look amazing for a day or so, but then it would shrink up and peel all the layers off. (It just occurred to me that maybe a lot of the people reviewing nail colors on YT change their colors so frequently that manicure longevity might not be their biggest priority.....). Thank you for all you share in your videos. Much appreciated!

Thank you for your honesty about your struggles with tric, your break outs and keeping a schedule :) its sort of good to hear, that these are 'normal' things other people also deal with

I also ditched the shower sponges! My folliculitis improved almost instantly because of that. Just use a wash cloth once a week to exfoliate.

You are SO brave to open up about trichotillomania! I do not have it, but I have overcome some other destructive habits. I’m fully aware of the stresses that cause these, the bravery it takes to admit these sorts of problems, and the inner strength it requires to overcome them💗💗

I feel you so much on this video lol I never blogged but circa 2009 was when I got really into beauty and while I used different products (I am German) I can relate to so many of your points. One of my first chemical exfoliants unfortunately got discontinued. Avene cleanance K was a really nice product with both AHA and BHA. I then bought the Bioderma Sebium Serum which I still occasionally buy nowadays (it's been slightly reformulated I think and is now branded as Night Peel). But finding good chemical exfoliants really was tricky back then. I also got really into natural skin care. I don't know, maybe it's because homeopathy and alternative medicine is really popular in Germany but natural skincare is massive here. And brands like Weleda even directly finance their "alternative medicine" departments through their cosmetics sales. Nowadays it just grinds my gears hearing them use the exact same rethoric as anti vaxxers, Covid deniers and other anti science folk. But at least it got me into reading ingredients lists, even if what I like to see on them has drastically changed in the last ten years. I also really liked BB creams back then. Tbf for some reason German drugstores and beauty stores used to only carry very small shade selections. I'd get so frustrated seeing Michelle Phan review Maybelline or L'Oréal products and they had such an enormous shade range in the US. I knew full well that while the same product was sold in my region I'd never find a shade match. So BB creams kind of filled that void for me.

Liked for your admitting your Trich diagnosis. Thanks for being brave. Please explain how you got through it.

I pull my hair too and target the rougher textured hair and pick my scalp. I also do my eyelashes too.

Omg, I used the angels on bare skin by lush religiously often when I was about 10/11 and I swear it is the reason for my skin problems today

Thanks for talking about what you used to use and why you no longer use it!

Thank you for sharing that you struggled with trichotillomania! I overcame trichotillomania, it took years for me to gradually let it go. I love NeoStrata Bionic Lotion. It has 15% PHA and it's perfect to gently exfoliate without irritating.

I developed trich a few years ago when going through a horrible breakup. I used to have luscious, thick hair and now it’s down to less than half of what it was before (with really sparse spots that mean I never wear my hair up). Thank you for talking about it so candidly, it’s something I never knew about until I developed it myself.

I also have/had trichotillomania. It’s more controlled now. But I still do it when I’m stressed or super concentrating on something.

Thank you for this video. ❤️ Finally something to watch while having my morning coffee ❤️

I think that you are one of the most relatable people that I've never met. Whatever you do to stay grounded is working and I'm incredibly impressed. 👌🏻 Perfection.

i think the best way to adress your problem is leaving a disclaimer when you share products/routines!

I broke up with Cerave A.M. a few years ago. It used to not ball up (and I loved it) but now it does.

After you described trichotillomania, I just discovered I have those symptoms. I especially try to pull out my eyebrow hairs when I'm doing a stressful assignment or test. Sometimes I catch myself while other times it's unconsciously out of habit. Thanks for the info!

Just a little note about BB cream! Your assessment is pretty bang on--jack of all trades, master of none, and the shade ranges tend to be extremely disappointing (although often suitable for the ultra pale, like myself). However, BB cream has one advantage over foundation, which is that it's much more flattering over textured skin. It tends to slightly smooth over texture rather than emphasise it. Bobbie Brown discusses this in an interview, where she basically admits that she doesn't get it and wouldn't work with it, but then amends her comment to say that it's very flattering over scarring or texture when compared to foundation. I personally agree. Sheer coverage with or without concealer is also an option and one that works for my skin, but if you have active blemishing or marks that you need to cover in addition to texture, I would recommend giving BB cream a try, since it will generally give you that coverage without being full coverage (like a foundation or IT Cosmetics CC Cream) and without making uneveness seem worse.

I make Lushs Angel on Bare Skin. It’s so easy to do. Thank you for taking a stance on “clean” beauty. The fear mongering bothers me. Any fear mongering bothers me on all levels. Lies to get your money or to control. The problem with fear mongering is the people who fall for it will fight you. 😬

I also have trichotillomania! Thank you for mentioning that and I'm glad you're able to manage it.

Oh my god yes, I have dermatillomania and will pick pick pick at my eyelashes if I have clumpy mascara stuck in them. In bloom mascara is the worst for that. That's part of why I try to focus on gentle skin care, it's a healthy way for me to redirect that compulsive need to "clean"/"fix”/etc my face to relieve anxiety And if I don't have big welts or blackheads i can't really find anything to scratch at until it's bloody

I used to use the cerave daily cleanser (not the gentle one) for about 15 years until in the past 2 years I started learning about skincare and realized it was stripping my skin and causing more issues than it was helping! I used it when I thought squeaky clean skin was the goal

Thanks for being open about your trich! So few people talk about it. Me and my mom both have it, and I used to pull the heck out of my eyebrows until I redirected it to another part of my body. I still pull when I'm stressed, but it's less noticeable now.

Thanks for the video, Michelle. I haven’t used it in ages, but it’s interesting to learn how the Sèche Vite Top Coat works. 🌸💕 I no longer use a First Treatment Essence….I just never experienced any WOW! factor from them and I tried several including the infamous SKII as well as Missha and Secret Key Rose Edition. I use a couple of toners and stopping an FTE showed no difference so I’m saving my money. L-ascorbic acid…I finally gave up! I’m one of those people who turns orange (including fingers and nails) when using any l-ascorbic acid serum no matter how fresh it is. I haven’t given up on a vitamin C serum and recently purchased an ethylated ascorbic acid and a THD acid serum. No orange with either and I really like the feel of the THD serum. Still testing to see if one has a greater brightening effect than the other.

I have a love-hate relationship with waterproof mascara. I often wear mascara alone and so I don’t remember to use makeup remover. The next day it’s flaking off like crazy!

Please please make a video about how you have been managing your trichotillomania!

I also look for kinky hairs! I swear I have double hair follicles everywhere, I always hated my super thick, unruly hair, but turns out it was preventing my pulling from showing, and now I definitely appreciate it more. But am also wearing my hair ultra short so I can't get a satisfying pull. I wish I could pull my eyelashes, they grow in every direction and push on each other, but ouch!! PS I've been very happy with Now brand essential & base oils. No MLM nonsense, no dramatic claims, no marketing at all, really. They sell them at health food stores, where a lot of nonsense does go on, but also upscale grocery stores (related, but different, nonsense) and online. I love their rosehip oil and their rose absolut in jojoba. I do use essential oils, but with restraint, research, & care.

I wanna know what eyeliner you’re rocking. Lovely!

I used to be able to use almost anything on my skin as a teenager and I had acne so I loved physical scrubs (I thought I needed to scrub my skin clean because of it) Clearasil, Clean and Clear and Neutrogena scrubs, St Ives scrub, a Garnier scrub with menthol, Biore scrubs or their heating wash in winter (not sure why it heated up but guess it wasn't great for facial skin lol) , peel off masks and then I got rosacea in my 20s (and still have the acne) lol so now my skin is sensitive and I have to be pretty careful, so it's all Cerave, Cetaphil, La Roche Posay, Paula's Choice and fragrance and essential oil free K-beauty now lol

Oh my God, thank you for talking about trichotillomania! I used to pull out a few strands of my hair and eyebrows when I was a kid and my relatives were quite worried and always asked me why I did that but I had no idea why myself. I was just bored and probably had a bit of anxiety back then too now that I look back. I had no idea there was a term for it, or even an explanation. I always knew I had some sort of anxiety although when I hear people talking about anxiety I realize that mine is nowhere near as bad as theirs and I feel like I can't qualify what I have as anxiety. Anyways, thank you so much! I will go and look into trichotillomania a bit more ^^

No longer use anything by philosophy, which used to make up a majority of my skin care. It was great in my youth, but now with 50+ mature, drier skin, it just stopped doing anything for me, so....moving on.

I have Trichotillomania too! Mine started at nine too and I still pull. Thanks so much for sharing!

I wear false lashes BECAUSE of my trich haha! I do also find that thicker eyeliner definitely helps to mask it, though!

THANK YOU for sharing about your trichotillomania!!! Do you have any recommendations for those of us with dermotillomania? 🌼💓🌼💓

Ohohoh, I have the very Michelle problem, too. Especially since all of French pharmacy has decided to go “clean” at once. What a fun way to catch up with old posts. I remember I used to be obsessed with this pearlescent L’Oréal sublime something serum back around 2012, it was so so pretty, I am actually kind of sad that it doesn’t seem to exist anymore, would be very curious to experience it now.

I don't have trichotillomania but I am a compulsive spot picker - it's such a hard habit to break..

I never thought about how the skin care benefits from bb cream can't absorb into my skin after applying sunscreen. Thanks so much for sharing this info. :)

Holy shit, I think I have this too! I'm undiagnosed though, but I totally yank on kinky hairs and mess with my lashes when my eyes are itchy. I never got bad enough to get bald patches though.

Thank you so much for your comprehensive and informative videos on skin care, UV protection, also sunscreens review and free guide with sunscreen ingredients! It helped me so much and gave me more understanding! Your videos are so substantive, simple enough and fun to watch! I would also like to know more about sunglasses UV protection. If you could make a video about it, that’d be awesome! Thank you!

This was such a fun video! I'd love to hear which products you still use from those early blogging days.

I have a mild form of tricholtillmania, its so hard but it feels very reassuring others struggle too.

I have derma/tricho and omg the lash extensions thing !!!! Not me yanking out every last lash and being bald eafter every time I get them

Thanks for sharing this information Michelle!!!!..personally never been bothered about fragrance...parabens...cruelty free nor clean beauty!!!.. if I enjoy a product and works for me that's all it matters!!!.. thanks for sharing your experience...

Nivea Creme! I used to slug with this on the regular, but it was never really the right product for my skin, I just didn't know any better. Now I have more cosmetically elegant QV ceramide ointment for when I wanna slug. I think there's actually a lot of Nivea and Dermaveen products that I was OBSESSED with at one point, and now I just feel... 'eh' about them. Also, that feeling itchy when there's a loose hair? Me but with my eyebrows haha.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with trichotillomania 🤗💕

Most things I don't use anymore are because I can't 😂. Infamously known by my friends for every product I love getting discontinued. Like I didn't want to splash the cash on Tatcha essence (also 🤷🏻‍♀️ about it). So I tired a few duds for toners. Found the Shiseido Benefiance toner, I loovveeddd it. Shiseido discontinues it and has a whole new toner line up. My skin hated them 😂

Love Milani blushes, I have the benefits coralista but have not used it yet .

I have dermotillomania so I can relate to the trych stuff. My younger sibling has trych pretty badly, they have no eyebrows.

Lush angels on bare skin is my guilty pleasure, so milky and calming! I also keep mine in the fridge, Uhgh so good!

While a lot of folliculitis isn't necessarily infected, as a bacterial folliculitis sufferer on my face, scalp, neck, and body (although body is usually only if the skin is broken or if the skin becomes excessively sweaty or damp in hot weather), I would really love a science-based skincare commentator to discuss the subject and some of its approaches to care. I spent years having this misdiagnosed as acne, and it wasn't until I got blood poisoning and my GP witnessed my face clear up in about three days on an antibiotic completely unsuitable for acne that we realised something was up. (Coincidentally, I also got a rare folliculitis outbreak on my thighs about two months later, and that made the connection easier to make, since once again, everything everywhere cleared up quickly during treatment.) Honestly, if I have active folliculitis, most aestheticians I've visited in Australia will confuse any facial folliculitis issues with acne (although my skin is blemish prone, albeit with normal oil production, as is pretty common for folliculitis sufferers regardless of skin type), and in almost all of these instances, the therapist has never even heard of folliculitis outside of waxing. I've had mine swabbed, and you wouldn't believe how many experts I've had to explain, "The underlying cause is staphyloccous aureus bacteria; not p. acnes". Sure, many of the aproaches to treatment are similar, but this is still a huge fundamental difference. While I find that the only guaranteed long-term solution for me, since it seems to be fairly auto-immune linked in my case, is a low-dose antibiotic prophylactic on prescription (especially during summer), there are also some Australian products that are really helpful. I won't cover the generic crossovers with acne nor prescription topicals, but for cleansing, I can recommend the AZClear cleanser, which is super gentle and non-stripping and which has a small amount of chlorhexadine formulated for facial skin (chlorhexadine washing is an option for the body, if it's bad enough and discussed with a doctor, but most of what's available is really optimised for wound care or surgical hand-washing technique, i,e, completely inappropriate for the face), and pHisohex, suitable for face and body (really effective and pH-balanced for the face, but a little sensitizing, so especially body or occasional usage). Re: the latter, I've had so many people scaremonger against any use of triclosan in any context. That's a whole other subject, which I personally feel has more to do with past triclosan misuse (toothpaste, clothes washing agent, etc). However, if it comes between a couple of days exposure to a 1% face wash or being covered in rapidly-spreading staph-infected, damaging, sometimes bleeding, nodules and bumps, I know what seems like the reasonable option to me. Triclosan is one of the recommended treatments for bacterial folliculitis in Australia and New Zealand, so I feel confident in suggesting this to others (for acne, there are better first-line treatments, so I'd give it a miss).

Hey Michelle can you review the brand Ethique

Hello, Michelle! I appreciate a lot of your advice and videos, I've learned a lot of info about skincare and make-up. If it's not a trouble, I would love seeing some advice and recommendation from you using peofessional skincare brands. What is the difference between the commercial ones, are they better and some recommendation.

I don't have trichotillomania but I do have dermatillomania, but I pull loose eyelashes too they're so annoying I accidentally pulled out like 10 eyelashes the other day and now I have a bald patch 😩