Picking at dead skin?

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For some reason I can't not do this. I look at my hands a lot, and especially lately they've been pretty dry. Even when I'm at work and I am supposed to be doing some task, if I see my hands I often automatically stop what I'm doing to pick at them.

In 4th and 5th grade I used to put a whole bunch of Elmer's glue on my hands and let it dry so I could peel it off. For some reason that was really enjoyable for me. I kind of want to do that right now... too bad I don't have glue.

Is this kind of thing common with Aspies?

I have no idea if it is common, but I do that and worse. My leg is a total mess atm. Going to consoling so hoping I can get help with that and other issues. But I have done all my life. Pick at skin on my fingers, lips, or if I feel something out of place I can't stop messing with it.

I used to have a compulsion [I still fight it] of picking at and peeling away loose flaps of epidermal skin on my lips and fingertips. I would do so to the point of bleeding. it just bugged me for the loose flaps to keep catching on stuff.

I've done that from time to time. Also a more common compulsion for me is to pick my hair into a scruffy mess.

you will want to stop that before the hair stops growing back.

I do that all the time on my fingers where the skin is dry/gets dry easily

Same. I tend to pick at scabs on my skin as well or when a cut is healing. I have no idea why, I'm a "picker" as my mom would say.

Used to have that problem... but because I have eczema it was something I had to stop. I'm not sure how I stopped as it used to be a strong compulsion, the eczema hurt bad and I decided one day probably around when I was 13 that I had to stop. It helps to use lotion, I really love the feel and strong smell (dull sense of smell so I like it when I can smell something) of hemp lotion and it helps to protect my skin. Between the eczema and my compulsion it used to drive me crazy. Getting athlete's foot was a nightmare.

Dermatillomania, maybe. That's what I have.

I used to do that on cuts healing before but now I don't do it very much

If you enjoy doing it, it's a stim. If you do it to the point of self-injury and infection but can't stop, it's dermatillomania (as the previous poster said.) There have been a zillion threads about this it seems like, so it must be a common spectrum trait.

I do it too. I pick at my face, eyebrows, lips, any dry patch of skin or bumps.

I wish I could stop but the best I've done is keep my nails super short so I can't get good traction.

When I pick I feel in control of something- like I'm making something better. As opposed to how I usually feel i'm messing everything up.

I don't pull my hair out, I just play with it 'till it's a mess. It's my most irresistible stim.

my hair is so long that if I tried that I might end up with dreads.

My left thumb, but I stop when it starts bleeding, and I think it's somewhat common.