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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if u bite your nails, or used to. How did u stop.

51 replies

Alwayssearching · 19/05/2018 01:19

I always have done it and worse when wound up etc.
To the point they bleed., from cuticle to tip they are 1cm.so very unsightly and yuk

Tried the varnish, fouls tasting stuff. Fidnt work. And would want to use now because of touching the babys items.

I'm getting married next year so I need them to be nice.. Each day I try to stop, my brain thinks ah one more day wont hurt.. Like starting a diet lol
.
And above all else. Its a horrible disgusting vile habit..

OP posts:
PollyParrot1 · 19/05/2018 01:24

I told the DD's that you catch thread worms by chewing your nails. No idea if it's actually true or not but it does make sense. Hmm Use the toilet, don't wash your hands properly and the eggs get under your nails and hence into your mouth. It had the desired effect Wink of no further chewing.

fuzzywuzzy · 19/05/2018 01:26

I just one day decided I didn’t want to bite my nails anymore as I wanted to grow them and manicure them.

That’s all it took. I would have to keep reminding myself not to bite them tho as it was a very old habit.

Original poster
Alwayssearching · 19/05/2018 01:29

No thread worms as of yet. In 36 years. Phew.

I need willpower! It's not like a diet when can have one bad day, as they'd be gone and it would be starting again.

I got as far as two weeks before.. But then had a shit day. And before I knew it all my hard work was undone
.
I did tell dp to slap me ( obviously not proper slap but push my hands away) but he won't lol

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 19/05/2018 01:34

Keep nail clippers with you at all times. When you get the urge to chew, clip them instead. It gives you more control but still helps with the urge. I stopped this way and I always start again if I lose my nail clippers.

A file can work too but for me the clippers are the best.

MrsCrabbyTree · 19/05/2018 01:35

I found Bio-sculpture nail gel worked for me. Well worth the cost and having to get the base filled everyone 3 weeks. I was lucky that a friend recommended a manicurist who was gentle and very good at applying. Went from nails like yours to lovely long ones, after doing the gel for about 2 years to well and truly break my habit. It can be done so good luck and congratulations on your up-coming wedding.

BertieBotts · 19/05/2018 01:36

What about getting false nails applied? They won't have the right texture to bite so might put you off. And you'll be able to see what it's like to have nice long nails.

statetrooperstacey · 19/05/2018 01:39

Agree with the pps. I was just like you. Ur had hell nails about a year ago and have kept them ever since. They are impossible to even nibble. Indestructible and always look nice I keep mine quite short, have a very manual job and they hold up well. My nails are always lovely!

Seren85 · 19/05/2018 01:40

For me it was false nails. I did try to bite them at first because that was a go to but you can't do it. When they eventually came off I had become used to not biting my nails. I get my nails done intermittently now but no longer bite them when I don't have acrylics.

nokidshere · 19/05/2018 01:43

I bit mine for over 50 yrs despite trying many times to stop. In the end I bought files, buffer, clear polish, strengthening polish and I spent 5 mins every day looking after them and always put polish on, even if it was just clear. It only takes a matter of weeks for the difference to be clear.

I've added pics of mine, as they were, 6 weeks later, and now. I haven't bitten them for over 2yrs now.

To ask if u bite your nails, or used to. How did u stop.
To ask if u bite your nails, or used to. How did u stop.
To ask if u bite your nails, or used to. How did u stop.
Graphista · 19/05/2018 01:43

One nail at a time. Stopped biting forefinger first but still bit the other 9, then a week later stopped biting both forefingers and so on but by the time I got to only having a few left I was 'allowed' to bite I'd kinda broken the habit anyway.

Dd struggling with it now but she has phases of doing well and phases of struggling.

Sciurus83 · 19/05/2018 02:04

I bite off acrylics Blush

mehimthem · 19/05/2018 02:09

I have bitten my nails for almost all my life but notice now - only in the past year or so that they are growing - & I have to trim/file them now.
I havent tried to have long fingernails but have kept them short & slightly rounded. And like others, file or trim regularly, polish if you like it, hand creams etc ... & before you know it you will have 4 or 5, or hopefully, all 10 nails looking pretty. Stress & boredom both set me off (& while reading books haha) so know your "weakness" & either keep busy or pretty your nails first to avoid the temptation.

Good luck Flowers

C2205 · 19/05/2018 02:22

I'm a nail tech and have had many clients who bit their nails. One Lady had bitten her nails since she was a child and really wanted to stop so I applied extensions, hard gel and gel Polish to finish off. For a long time she substituted biting her nails for cheering the gel off instead but now
she no longer needs the extensions as her own nails are so long and very rarely bites the gel off.
I've found in a lot of cases, so many people have bitten their nails for years and don't actually realise they're doing it until it's too late but having the hard gel/gel Polish breaks that cycle as it's a different texture/feeling/sensation that they realise and stop!
I'd definitely recommend it to any nail biters you need to find an experienced nail tech/salon though so make sure you do your research, check their pictures and ask people you know where they go etc.
Hope that's of some help xx

C2205 · 19/05/2018 02:24

chewing not cheering x

CarolineForbes · 19/05/2018 02:31

Bio sculpture gel was what finally solved it for me. I bit them for 25 years and a lot of people agree when they see old pictures of my nails that they are the worst they’ve seen. I managed once to stop biting them for a few months but got stressed one day and ruined it all :(

I have lovely nails now and get lots of compliments. I get the hard gel and get it quite thick as I’m terrified even after 3 years I’ll bite them again.

It’s expensive to get my nails done every 3 weeks but IMO worth it for my self esteem. I used to be so embarrassed of my hands and sometimes still dream I’ve gotten stressed and bitten them again and I honestly feel so disappointed in myself in the dreams!

lborgia · 19/05/2018 04:05

Hypnotism. I chew off acrylics too. I was supposed to have 4-5 sessions, but only went twice.. I stopped chewing my nails same day, but started again a week or so after the second session.

It's on my list of things to do to go back and do all the sessions!

Good luck, it's miserable.

PS nokids - do you mean you actually painted them every single day?

lborgia · 19/05/2018 04:07

PPS absolutely true about the thread worms apparently!

Roystonv · 19/05/2018 04:45

Seconding reducing the number of nails you bite. I did this in that I left my thumbs as the ones to chew and then gradually stopped biting those too.

Beetlelove · 19/05/2018 07:48

I bit mine for 20+ years and really wanted to stop. I carried a nail file and nail clippers with me. Every night I applied a strengthening clear polish and if I had the urge to bite my nails I would file them instead. I also used to bite the skin around the nails so I carried the nail clippers and clipped the skin instead. I haven’t bit my nails for 15years or so and the thought makes me feel ill. I still have to carry nail clippers every where and at all times as I still pick the skin around my fingers if I haven’t got them with me. They are a million times better now though.

blibblibs · 19/05/2018 07:58

I also stopped biting in stages.
Started about a year before my wedding as I didn't want to be putting my hand out for a ring with horrid bitten nails.
Took me almost the full year to get them all long but once you have a few nice nails it's a great motivator. Thumbs were the last to grow, because there easier to hide and you get the best chew from them Blush
Dior nail glow is a lovely clear polish, you could get some ready to apply once you have your first unbitten nail.

nokidshere · 19/05/2018 07:58

PS nokids - do you mean you actually painted them every single day?

Yes every day, mostly just clear varnish. Although every few days or once a week would maybe work. I just felt that if I was doing something to them each day it took the focus off biting.

GreenTulips · 19/05/2018 08:01

I just decided I wasn't going to do that anymore
Although I still enjoy the odd one now and again!

SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 19/05/2018 08:02

Wow nokidshere well done!

OrcinusOrca · 19/05/2018 08:04

I got braces and I just can't chew them effectively with straight teeth. Was too much hassle so it gradually reduced and now mine are like this

To ask if u bite your nails, or used to. How did u stop.
RhurbabAndCustard · 19/05/2018 08:06

I used to do it in my sleep. I went on holiday for a week and didn't bite them as we were in and out of activities and by end of week they looked better so I Carried on. Bit my nails since I was a child and stopped aged 43! I now have lovely pained shellac nails and haven't looked back. But I know I need shellac on and keep a nail file with me else it would be so easy to go back. I used to be so embarrassed by my nails