Why Do Kids Pull Out Eyelashes?

Eyelash pulling is a form of trichotillomania, the medical condition in which people compulsively pull hair from their head, arms, or anywhere else on the body. This condition is often a form of obsessive compulsive disorder and has a variety of possible causes.

Tantrums

• Small children under the age of 5 often begin pulling hair as a natural habit, but sometimes it becomes repetitive and can be done as a form of temper tantrum.

Anxiety

• Eyelash and/or hair pulling in young children often occurs as a way to deal with increased stress or worries. Between the ages of 5 and 12, children are discovering ways to cope with anxieties and eyelash pulling is sometimes one way.

Trauma

• Some children develop an eyelash-pulling habit as a way to deal with emotions that have resulted after some traumatic experience like physical, mental or sexual abuse.

Learned Behavior

• Cases of eyelash pulling, and other forms of trichotillomania sometimes occur in children who have seen their parents doing the same behaviors.

OCD

• Some cases of trichotillomania in children can be an early sign of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and if the behavior is not outgrown by the age of 12, professional psychiatric attention should be sought.