✨ How Reusable Squishies Can Help You Stop Skin Picking or Hair Pulling (BFRBs)
If you’ve ever found yourself picking your skin during stress, pulling your hair when anxious, or biting your nails without even noticing — you’re not alone. These actions are known as Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours (BFRBs), and they affect millions of people worldwide.
At Squisharoo, we believe in gentle, non-judgemental tools to support you. That’s why we’ve created a line of eco-conscious, reusable sensory squishies to help break those cycles — while being kind to your hands, your mind, and the planet.
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🧠 What Are BFRBs?
BFRBs (Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours) are compulsive grooming behaviours — such as:
Skin picking (dermatillomania)
Hair pulling (trichotillomania)
Nail biting (onychophagia)
Scab picking, cheek chewing, and more
These behaviours often start as coping mechanisms for stress, boredom, anxiety, or sensory discomfort. Over time, they can become deeply wired habits that feel impossible to stop.
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🔄 The Habit Loop: Why BFRBs Are So Hard to Break
According to behavioural science (like Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit), every habit has a loop:
1. Cue – Feeling anxious, bored, or overstimulated
2. Routine – Picking, pulling, or biting
3. Reward – Temporary relief or satisfaction
To stop the behaviour, we need to change the “routine” — but keep the reward.
That’s where reusable squishies come in.
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🧠 Rewiring Neural Pathways With Sensory Substitutes
When you fidget, pop, squish, or stretch a textured squishy, you're activating tactile neural pathways that satisfy your brain's need for stimulation — without harming your body.
Neuroscientific research shows that replacing a repetitive behaviour with a safer alternative can help form new neural pathways. This is called habit reversal training (HRT), a therapy commonly used to treat BFRBs.
By consistently reaching for a squishy instead of your skin or hair, you’re:
Training your brain to follow a new pattern
Keeping your hands busy and soothed
Getting a similar sensory reward (pressure, texture, movement)
Slowly reducing the compulsive urge over time
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🌀 Why Reusable Squishies Work So Well for BFRBs
Unlike typical fidget toys, Squisharoo’s reusable squishies are:
✅ Ultra-soft and skin-safe: Made with certified Ecoflex silicone that’s gentle on sensitive fingers
✅ Reusable and refillable: Our jelly bead squishies come with refill packs, so you never run out
✅ Designed for texture seekers: Each squishy is made to satisfy different sensory needs
✅ Custom-moulded: Shapes like hearts and paws connect emotionally, not just physically. 🐾
Plus, they’re beautiful, calming, and handmade in South Africa — so you’ll actually want to use them.
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💡 Real-Life Tips: How to Use a Squishy to Interrupt a BFRB
Here are some ways to make squishies part of your self-soothing routine:
1. Keep it nearby: In your bag, next to your laptop, in your car — wherever urges usually strike
2. Pair it with awareness: Notice the urge → pause → grab your squishy
3. Squish mindfully: Focus on the textures, shapes, and bead movement. Let yourself get lost in the sensation.
4. Celebrate small wins: One fewer pick, one pull less, one moment of calm? That’s big.
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Want to share your story? Tag us on Instagram or TikTok @squisharooza 💙
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♻️ Bonus: Reusable, re-fillable!
Squisharoo’s reusable squishies are made to last — and that matters. We believe in healing without harm:
🌱 Skin-safe materials
🌍 Eco-conscious packaging (jelly beads need to be vacuum packed though)
💧 Easy to wash and reuse
🎁 New designs, same purpose
Because you deserve comfort — without the guilt of waste.
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🌟 You Deserve a Softer Way to Cope
Your hands aren’t the enemy. Neither is your brain. You’re just wired to soothe yourself — and now you have a better way.
Explore our full range of reusable squishies for anxious hands, made for people with BFRBs, by people who understand.
👉 Shop Reusable Squishies Now - Have a look at our Products page!
👉 Follow us for daily support, tips, and relatable squishy joy: @squisharooza
