Scabs get a bad reputation because they’re dry, crusty, and inconvenient, but they are one of the body’s most effective protection systems. From a biological standpoint, a scab is your skin’s ...

As an anxious child, I always had my fingers in my mouth. I’d bite my nails and peel my cuticles until I bled. My parents tried different strategies to help me, but nothing worked. And then I hit ...

Acne excoriée is an excoriation disorder defined by the uncontrollable desire to pick, scratch, or rub acne lesions. It's a mental health condition that falls into the group of obsessive-compulsive ...

Every other Friday, the Outside/In team here at NHPR answers listener questions. Lately, the topic has been healing, and this week's question comes from Lucy Perkins via Instagram, who wants to know: ...

Excoriation disorder, also known as dermatillomania, is a skin-picking condition. People with excoriation disorder will pick, scrape, rub, scratch, or pull at their skin, sometimes to the point where ...

I have always been a picker. I remember it from my earliest playground knee grazes—the irresistible urge to peel off the scab as soon as it formed; to see the bright white flesh beneath. I knew I wasn ...

Although my skin-picking past is written all over my face, it doesn't make me any less beautiful. If you saw my face in person, you would notice that it is covered from chin to forehead in pockmarks.

Medically reviewed by Casey Gallagher, MD Key Takeaways Scabs on the scalp can come from dandruff, acne, or contact ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." If you find yourself itching your head, you may have dry skin or irritating dandruff. While these are ...

We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we love. Promise. But after I was assaulted in my early teens, skin picking became a coping mechanism, a way I could feel ...