Entering SP... Nothing Happens Except for Itchy Face

I've had this little issue for a while now. I'm in my bed and it's peaceful. I remain motionless and I feel the familiar numbness of sleep paralysis. It starts with my hands, sometimes affects the rest of my arms, then it goes to my feet and legs. My eyes relax, maybe start REM'ing. I get deep into it, some HI appears.

And... that's the extent of it. For some reason I can't get deeper than that. I spend 45 minutes to an hour waiting for something to happen, perhaps even trying to get the HI a little boost by imagining something yet it's useless.

Another odd issue is that my face, especially around the mouth, starts to itch. While I can go on while it's there, the itchiness is infinitely annoying.

Any help? Gracias.

After SP and HI, you have to go to sleep. This is the most important step. You actually need to focus on sleeping. Or you could go to sleep right away. You need to fall asleep before you can enter your dream. You get sucked into the dream, and you get a sensation of getting sucked, or falling into the dream. Much like the sensation of passing out. This happens quite suddenly, if you don't pay attention, you will litterally pass out, fall asleep, and lose consciousness. You're supposed to fall asleep and pass out while being conscious. My theory is, the moment you fall asleep, those split few seconds, those are the keypoint to get into a dream. Imho, SP, HI etc don't really matter. The only thing that matters is crossing the bridge from waking to dreaming while staying conscious, without passing out. If you don't pay attention and think about other stuff, you will miss it.

Also about the itching on the face, I've had the exact same thing, the best thing to do is scratch! Because the annoying itching will distract you and make you unfocused. And if you don't scratch, the itching will stay forever.. it's amazing how sometimes it doesn't go away. And the itching prevents you from falling asleep.

Alright, I'll be sure to scratch them. What are the hints of impending sleep? It's hard for me to determine when it's about to happen.

Eh... I know I already asked this.

What are the signs that I'm about to fall asleep? For me, I only perceive fully awake, tired, then asleep. Any way of knowing that I'm about to hit the barrier?