Anyone managed to stop biting their nails? How?

[Sharkyfan]

For 2020 I’d like to stop biting my nails.
I don’t always know when I’m doing it.
I hate that my nails look shit and I can’t ever paint them. Sometimes I bite the skin round the nail and it gets sore.

When I was younger I tried that stuff that tastes bad but kept forgetting and putting my fingers in my mouth

I’ve also in the last had acrylic false nails applied with a natural finish think it was called American tip or something - the nails did grow underneath but it damaged the nail bed a bit and was an but time consuming to have done. I could try that again I guess.

Any other ideas?

[Sharkyfan]

I’m 38 and working towards being fabulous at 40!

[scousadelic]

I bit mine from being a child until 50 years old.
I had acrylics on to have nice nails for my birthday then carried on for a while, several months I think, and somehow the habit just went and I never started again
I have to say my nails are still shit almost 10 years later. They grow very fast but are very thin, ridgy and break easily. I've tried all sorts of nail strengtheners and supplements but nothing has helped so I often have gel nails

[Silvercatowner]

The only thing that stopped me was the filling I had at the dentist about 10 years ago. The way my tooth had been filled meant I could no longer get a good enough bite to nibble my nails.

Sorry - probably not what you want to hear.

[Louise0701]

I always bit my nails as a child well into my early 20s. I also bit the skin around them and I still do this sometimes. I now have a gel polish every 3 weeks. It’s so nice to have nice looking nails. I just have a very natural light pink as I’m not one for bright colours on my nails but you can get loads of fabulous colours. I haven’t bitten my nails for almost 2 years now.

[Sharkyfan]

Maybe acrylics are the way to go then? And then go back for gel colour once they’ve grown off maybe?

[Sharkyfan]

It’s just a matter of finding time to have the nails done, and what to do when they start growing.
And I play piano and another instrument where it won’t work for them to get too long...

[Wiifitmama]

Yes me! Life long biter (I am 47!). Until this year. I found a local nail technician (not in a salon) that I trusted and was able to put on extensions and gel polish and work with me as they grew. I now have gel polish every two weeks and have not bit them since. I keep them very short and practical and just a plain colour, but I love them so so much and have no idea why I didn't;t do it before. My nails are very strong, have not been damaged at all by the gel polish, and when she takes off the polish to manicure them before reapplying, I am always amazed to look down at them and see my own real nails! Something I never saw before.

[JuniperBeer]

Do it one by one. Stop biting your little fingers to start. Then next week, stop your ring fingers. Then your middle fingers. Etc. Until you're just biting your thumbs. By the time you get to your thumbs you've practically broken the habit. I have just done mine.

Best thing ever. Took just over a month. But they look amazing now!! Took me over 30 years!

Use cuticle oil at least twice a day. Cutex do one.
Get the reddy pink nail treatment polish from Boots own. Goes on clearish don't worry!
Use hand cream.
Any time you feel yourself going to bite rub cuticle cream in.

Buy a cuticle tool from boots- £2 and trim cuticles. Your hands will v v v quickly look so much better- within 48hr I promise you.

[Parkandride]

Gel polish

[JuniperBeer]

The pinky red nail polish treatment is called "nail growing solution" about £6

[NewIdeasToday]

Acrylics. Works brilliantly.

[Poppyfields21]

Shellac/gelish worked for me. Don’t go for acrylics

[SeagullOnTheWind]

I stopped about a fortnight ago, again. But this is the first time I've stopped since xmas 2017.

I bit mine severely til I was 20. I put clear varnish on, then keep filing them back (difficult when the nail is tiny) until they're not ragged. Moisturise. You can get 'cuticle butter' some places.

I have to have varnish on, or I bite them. It then takes me a few more weeks to leave the cuticles and skin round the nails alone.

Getting them professionally manicured is good, because they push up and trim the cuticles back.

But. If you're going to have a manicure they usually use a nail buffer which sands down the top layer of your nails. I had quite a few lots of shellac nails done and my nails started to split and break.

I don't grow mine long because it's impractical and I scratch myself subconsciously. But shellac really helps and looks lovely too.

[Brokenfurnitureandroses]

I stopped biting mine once I started having gel nails. Get the manicurist to file them down quite short and then they won’t grow too long on you over the 3 week period that they generally last for.

[JosephineDeBeauharnais]

DH had hypnotherapy, which has improved things but not stopped it entirely. It's a revolting habit and one of the most unsanitary things you can do. It's potentially really bad for you. I hope you manage to stop OP.

[laaalaala]

I get a gel manicure with builder in a bottle applied underneath. My nails have never grew until I started getting this and they are strong and healthy underneath too

[peachgreen]

Gel extensions are better than acrylics but you do have to commit to going back regularly. I can't keep mine on for longer than 10 days as they grow so fast thanks to the years of trauma! @JuniperBeer's advice is how I stopped biting mine.

[ReviewingTheSituation]

I bit mine until a few yrs ago. I stopped before I got married 20 yrs ago, but started again. I do have 'relapses' but have had nice nails for a year non-stop now. I have to use sheer willpower to get them to a paintable length, then a gel manicure so that they 2-3 weeks of unhindered growth (manicure in a v pale pink so the regrowth at the cuticle is less noticeable).
Once I get to that stage, I have to have them painted, or I bite them again. The habit of 45 yrs just won't go! I paint them properly with a decent base coat, 2 coats of colour and a good top coat. That gets me 4 days (5 if I'm lucky), and then I remove it and repaint. It's the only way for me. I don't bite painted nails.

I have a nail file in my handbag, in my car, on my desk, by my bed so that the first hint of a sharp edge or break can be filed before it gets bitten.

It's hard to stop. Very hard. But nice looking nails are a lovely thing to have - focus on the end goal to get you started. It's only s couple of weeks before someone can do something nice with them. Good luck!

[Luxembourgmama]

Almost I go through stages where I bite more but the mad urge had gone and I never bite the skin anymore. I basically felt less anxious oddly enough after I had my first kid both times on maternity leave I stopped biting.

[Sharkyfan]

Thank you everyone
I think then that I will look into gel extensions?
But also try the technique of stopping one finger at a time, not heard that idea so thank you. I’m just wondering if I have that level of consciousness about it but will try!

[HappyAsASandboy]

I am a 40 year old nail biter.

I can stop by applying fake nails continually for 6-8 weeks and then making sure I file and polish weekly.

I don't use acrylics because they damage the growing nail. Just plastic fake nails and nail glue. They last just under a week if I am careful with them and don't soak them in the bath/washing up water etc. Cheap and effective.

Once they're naturally long, I absolutely have to keep them in tip top condition; one slight catchy bit and I'll nibble it and then a bit more and then the others to match the length and 30 mins later they're all gone. But if I carry a nail file to deal with any snags immediately I can go for a year or more before it all goes wrong again

I can't use the foul tasting stuff because it interferes with eating crisps and biscuits as well as nail biting.

[maddiemookins16mum]

I used to do this until my 30s. I stopped biting my dress ring finger, three weeks later I had a lovely finger nail. I purchased a lovely ring for myself. 2 months later all my nails were grown, shaped and manicured.
They looked lovely so I never bit them again.

[42isthemeaning]

Life long nail biter here. Stopped 2-3 times then relapsed. Back on the wagon again now and have been since August. First of all I identified when I was doing the biting. Whilst watching tv, driving and using my phone!! I took up knitting for a few evenings a week and this kept my fingers out of my mouth! I also employed dh and the dc to tell me off if they saw me nibbling. When the nails grew a bit and started having white tops again (2 weeks growth), I went to the beautician and she manicured them. I've had this done twice now and it has encouraged me to keep going. I had a sparkly red polish on for Christmas and it has lasted over a week. It has made a big difference to my self esteem. The advice a pp gave you on using cuticle oil, using files and hand cream are all very useful things to do as well! Good luck! Why not post us a before (and then an after) pic?

[BG2015]

Gel polish.

I have mine done every 2-3 weeks. My nails are awful otherwise.

[iswhois]

I second acrylics