As a seasoned skin-picker, I often find that items made to help relieve that urge just don't fulfill that need (think picking stones, refillable zit-popper pads, etc). This thing is the closest any item has ever come to fully distracting me! It requires some digging and prodding to get some of the beads out, while others pop out with a pinch or squeeze - the same actions and pressure that come with skin picking. I even had to take a few breaks because my fingers were actually getting tired from working at the rubber. And as a nice little bonus, once you're done you're left with a bunch of beads to make some jewelry :)