How to stop touching your face

Whether you use an app, your daily planner, or just a piece of paper, try keeping a count of the times you touch your face. It’s just about paying a little more attention to your actions. Research shows that as long as you keep counting, the action will be repeated less often compared to before - when you would touch your face whenever you felt the urge to. This would need to be a long-term solution though because once you stop tracking it, you might go back to touching your face often. 

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Paying more attention to this habit will help you take note of when and why you do it. The triggers can be common, like biting of nails when you’re stressed or anxious, scratching an old scar when you’re bored, picking at chapped lips or tucking your hair back. There are some specific ways to deal with these triggers - like cutting your nails really short or putting a bad tasting/smelling nail paint on them. For a scab or scar, use a bandage or thick layer of vaseline to cover it, so that every time you reach for it, you realize what you’re doing. For chapped lips or even dry skin overall (which could make your skin feel itchy), you must stay hydrated and do your entire skincare routine after washing your hands thoroughly and carefully. Use a stick or tube lip balm during the day, instead of a pot. Keep your hair neatly tied back so it doesn’t touch your skin or eyes. If your trigger is something more unique, try coming up with an appropriate solution for it. 

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Trying to break this habit can be tough - and you may sometimes not be able to think about anything but the need to touch your face. The need may even intensify if you try to repress it for too long. In such situations, you can try replacing the urge to touch your face with a different action - like scratching your arm or rubbing the back of your hand. Slowly, you may be able to trick your brain into being satisfied with the alternate action when you feel the urge to touch your face.

Another option to reduce touching your face is to keep your hands occupied with something else, especially during the times when you touch your face the most. For example, if you have a habit of touching your face when you’re watching television, try picking up knitting or even just a Rubik’s cube to solve alongside. If you do it more when you’re on the phone or reading, you could keep a stress ball at your desk to help you out.

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A simple reminder can also help. Whether you want to use the screensaver on your laptop and phone, place a mirror in front of your desk or wherever you spend most of your time, place sticky notes wherever you’ll see them the most or wear a new ring or bracelet to serve as a reminder to not touch your face, is obviously up to you.

If that doesn’t work, you can go on the offensive with a face cover or the roughest pair of gloves you can find. Wearing a face cover all the time helps avoid hand and mouth/nose contact but it isn’t easy by any means, so tell yourself that the only way to get rid of it is to not touch your face. Scratchy gloves could make touching your face more uncomfortable, which may decrease the urge to do it. You must remember to keep your gloves clean at all times though or they could transfer microbes to your face as well. 

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Penalize yourself every time you touch your face in the day. Find (or make) a piggy bank, keep it in an accessible place, and put money in it every time you touch your face. Some people do this to avoid swearing around the kids but it can be used to break any bad habit. You could donate the money you collect to a good cause at the end of this - or to a political party you hate, if that makes your will to stop touching your face stronger.

Sitting at home and working (or watching movies) all day long can take a toll on your eyes. They might start feeling heavy or itchy which may make you want to rub them often. This is why it’s important to take a break from screens every 20 minutes for 20 seconds and ensure that you get adequate rest at night as well. If your eyes are feeling dry, you can even try using a humidifier. 

Wearing contacts can also make you want to touch your eyes more often. It’s a good idea to skip wearing contact lenses for now and fall back on spectacles. Make sure your glasses fit well, though, or you’ll keep touching your face while trying to adjust them. 

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