I'm not denying i get perverse pleasure from picking and popping but i hate myself for it. Its such a viscious cycle because it makes me more repulsed by my body and that nakes my need to pick worse. Geeeez! Its hard. I also invariably come back and forth to this sight as my KP and picking gets better and worse.

Phew, finding this thread makes me feel a lot better! I get the bigger KP bumps a lot on my arms and the back of my left thigh, and I have a horrible tendency to pop them when I'm bored or have my mind on something. It feels good to make the bumps go away, but then every one I popped gets all red and I feel like an idiot.

I think it's like whiteheads, gross as that sounds. You see one and you think, "OMG, yuck! I want that gone!" even though it's damaging to pick at it.

...It's oddly nice to be able to talk about this to people who know what I mean and won't go, "EWWW YOU DO WHAT?!"

I wanted to reply to the person who suggested that picking could be OCD. I am a bit sceptical about that idea because I am a little OCD myself in some areas of my life. The urge to pick is more out of boredom or as the "dirty girl" said fascination with the process itself. Whereas the OCD things that happen in my life are true compulsions and greatly affect how I live my life - they take time out of my life that I resent. The picking urge, while I feel guilty about it and hate the resulting blemishes on my skin, isn't at all the same. It is the same thing as people who pick zits on their face and can't keep their hands off that zit.

I am kind of excited to have found this site though, because I only just last night put a name to my skin problems. And it is nice to know that I am not alone!

I used to do that too- I called it preening.. When I was stressed I'd cut & clean all my nails, do my brows, pick my kp bumps, etc.. then if I still felt stress I'd trim my kids' nails.. sometimes I cut my hair.. don't recommend that one!
I've learned to destress in other ways now.. much healthier. it feels much nicer to have someone else wash & cut your hair!
It like a simple reward though.. you are cleaning your skin of ick. it is fairly easy and there are lots of little 'prizes'.