BFRBs, explained
What are body-focused repetitive behaviors?
Body-focused repetitive behaviors, or BFRBs, are repeated self-directed habits like hair pulling, nail biting, and skin picking. They are common, they are nobody's fault, and they usually run on autopilot, which is exactly why noticing them in the moment is so hard and so valuable.
Try Hands DownThe common ones
Trichotillomania is recurrent hair pulling, most often from the scalp, eyebrows, or eyelashes. It frequently happens during absorbed states: reading, screens, driving.
Onychophagia is chronic nail biting. Idle or focused moments carry the hand to the mouth without a decision ever being made.
Dermatillomania, also called excoriation, is recurrent skin picking, often starting as fingertips scanning the face for something to smooth or fix.
A shared thread runs through all three: the behavior begins before you are aware of it. That gap between the hand moving and you noticing is where an awareness tool can help.
How it works
- Open it in your browser. Nothing to install. Create a free account, start your camera, and you are monitoring in minutes.
- Choose what to watch. Four zones cover the common BFRBs: scalp and back of head, eyebrows and lashes, mouth, and face. Turn on the ones that match your habit.
- Get a clear alarm, right away. The moment a hand crosses into the zone, the screen and a sound tell you. When it gets one wrong, a single tap files it as a false alarm and keeps your trends honest.
Your video never leaves your device
Detection runs entirely in your browser with bundled on-device models. No video is recorded, saved, or sent anywhere. Only a small log of when a nudge happened and how long it lasted is stored, so your trends can exist. Open your browser's developer tools and watch the network tab while you monitor: there are no outbound requests.
The core is free. The extras cost $17.99, once.
| Free | One-time unlock | |
|---|---|---|
| Live detection and alarms | Yes | Yes |
| All four watch zones | Yes | Yes |
| Driving mode | Yes | Yes |
| Today's count and trend charts | Yes | Yes |
| False-alarm reclassify | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-device sync and backup | Yes | |
| Journey progress timeline | Yes | |
| Day notes | Yes | |
| CSV and JSON exports | Yes |
The unlock is $17.99, once. No subscription, no ads.
Sources
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
- Grant, J. E., & Chamberlain, S. R. (2016). Trichotillomania. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(9), 868-874. Publisher
- Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Chamberlain, S. R., Keuthen, N. J., Lochner, C., & Stein, D. J. (2012). Skin picking disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 169(11), 1143-1149. Publisher
- The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors. bfrb.org
Questions
Are BFRBs my fault?
No. BFRBs are recognized, common behaviors, and shame tends to make them worse. An awareness tool works without judgment: it simply tells you the moment a hand drifts, so the choice returns to you.
Does my video get uploaded anywhere?
No. The camera is read frame by frame in memory and thrown away. The detection models are bundled with the page and run locally. Nothing visual ever leaves your device, and your account only backs up nudge counts, settings, and notes you write.
Is this therapy?
No. Hands Down is an awareness tool. Many people use it alongside habit reversal training or work with a therapist, where noticing the behavior early is the first step.
Which habit should I start with?
Start with the one that bothers you most and turn on just that zone. You can enable more zones at any time, and the trend charts split by behavior so you can see each one on its own.
What does it cost?
The core tool is free: detection, alarms, all four watch zones, and trend charts. A one-time $17.99 unlock adds cross-device sync, the Journey timeline, day notes, and exports. There is no subscription.