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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

False nails

29 replies

Wedonttalk · 18/02/2022 18:32

AIBU for traffic.

I'm a mail biter. Hate hate hate the habit. Just put some false ones on and thinking about all the women I know from work, school drop off, neighbours s, and I'm sure none of them are nail biters. But then how would I know?

AIBU to assume I'm the minority
AINBU to realise that loads of women wear some sort of false nails, gels, tips etc

OP posts:
IsItTooHotInHere · 18/02/2022 20:10

I'm 62, always bit my nails, for as long as I can remember, used to have whitlows (very painful). I'd used that horrible-tasting stuff on my nails. It didn't stop me from biting them. I'd tried false nails many times - used to chew them too. My wedding photos show my bitten nails (or photos of me trying to hide my hands)

2 years ago, I decided to stop. I carried on biting my nails apart from one on each hand. Then, after a week or so, I bit my nails apart from two on each hand. I gradually increased the number of nails I didn't bite. In the meantime, I bought a few different colours of nail polish, painted my newly-grown nails.

Now, for the 1st time in my life, I've bought a lovely manicure set, lots of nice nail polishes, and I have to trim my nails because they get so long. One of these days, I might go to a salon and have them done properly.

Ponoka7 · 18/02/2022 20:43

False nails/Shellac etc are popular in all of my DDs peer groups, but they aren't nail biters. A lot of people do bite their nails, though.

Hellorhighwater · 18/02/2022 20:51

I bite mine, unless I gel them. Even then I will if I get a chip. Can’t help it, I’ve done it even before I realise I’m doing it. Had to have them so short for work it never mattered, and can’t shake it now. I’m trying to kick the habit, but they’ve always been so brittle anyway, it’s tough going, even with gel overlays. I can get them to last a week, if I’m really careful and only cook and take long baths when they’re due a renewal, but they’re chipped and lifting badly by day 6. No way I can have a dramatic colour!!

StoneofDestiny · 18/02/2022 21:31

Gel will stop you biting your nails.

JaceLancs · 18/02/2022 21:49

I’ve never bitten my nails but love gel polish - have my nails done every 4 weeks

PurpleFlower1983 · 18/02/2022 21:57

I bit my nails until I was 20. I can’t remember how I stopped but I have gel nails every 3 weeks now and it keeps the habit at bay!

Waxonwaxoff0 · 18/02/2022 22:01

I have false nails but I don't bite my nails. The thought makes me cringe.

Justleaveitblankthen · 18/02/2022 22:05

I don't bite my nails but they simply don't grow. Just split and break. Always have done. Same with my hair. Not nutrition, just genetics Sad )

LilacPaisley · 18/02/2022 22:06

I have gel nails every 3 or 4 weeks but have never bitten my nails. It hurts when they're too short

MonkeyPuddle · 18/02/2022 22:09

Well I don’t bite my nails or wear false or gel nails. I can’t wear them for work and biting nails gives me the ick.

Brighteyedtriangle · 18/02/2022 22:11

Stopped nail biting at 18 after many many horrible nail biting years. Started again in lock down. The anxiety the drinking the not taking care of myself.

Started painting with gel again and stopped biting again. Its abit like smoking a hard habit to break.

Gel your nails it helps

Chely · 18/02/2022 22:18

I'm not a biter, I can't stand false nails but mine grow beautifully long and strong. DH was a biter and I found it really annoying, our kids have all done it too.
Protein is vital for good nails, in your diet and you can get protein nail conditioners too.

trashcanjunkie · 18/02/2022 22:54

These are press ons that I painted - they make me
feel pleased every time I look at them so I say balls to anyone else and glue some on! The Kiss ones are great

False nails
BlueThursday · 18/02/2022 23:00

The only thing that stopped me biting (at 22) was getting acrylic nails

I’m now 39 and never been without acrylic or gel nails in case I start again

scarpa · 19/02/2022 02:45

Only thing that stopped me biting mine at 22 was getting gel polish on.

Had them done by my sister for a few years then bought my own gel kit - takes me an episode of something on Netlfix every few weeks and npq they don't get bitten and always look reasonably presentable!

user1473878824 · 19/02/2022 02:48

I don’t bite my nails but I know at least three people who started having them done to stop biting it and it worked because it got them out of the habit. That said, two had bitten them down to the quick so much they got acrylics to have “proper” nails for their wedding to try and then also just grow them properly after - as a fix it works but you do need to give your actual nails a break. I don’t think it’s a bad idea if it gets you out of the habit of biting so that when you stop having them you don’t go back to it. But most women don’t. I like the odd manicure, have shellac polish as a treat, but never false nails.

Nat6999 · 19/02/2022 03:42

I used to have acrylic nails to stop me biting mine, but now I'm back to square one as I can't get out to get them done.

poTAYtoes · 19/02/2022 03:51

I don't have false nails or even wear polish, but I haven't bitten my nails since I was a child. I don't remember how old I was when I stopped, but I know how I did it. I followed my mother's advice to sit on my hands whenever I'd catch myself about to bite my nails. And if you're at all squeamish about germs, remind yourself that you haven't washed your hands. Wink Finding something else to do with your hands helps, as well.

MinnieJackson · 19/02/2022 05:41

@scarpa is it hard to do your own? Can you recommend any kits? I don't bite I pick and peel them off Blush pretty much given up with normal varnish now as it barely lasts a day before chipping.

MrsDThomas · 19/02/2022 07:15

I used to be a biter. Then I started going to a salon for gel polish.

Builder and a nude colour for the first month, then builder and a nice coffee for the second. They grew lovely!

Been having gel polish for 3 years and I have definitely stopped biting.

Used to pay £27 every 4 weeks. Found a home tech now who comes to me for £15 so I get them done every 3 weeks.

housemaus · 21/02/2022 14:17

[quote MinnieJackson]@scarpa is it hard to do your own? Can you recommend any kits? I don't bite I pick and peel them off Blush pretty much given up with normal varnish now as it barely lasts a day before chipping.[/quote]
It's a doddle! If you can paint your nails neatly, you're fine. The biggest issue for me was not having a steady hand, especially doing my 'off' hand.

You need decent gel or they peel too easily - a lot of the ones you can get on Amazon are rubbish at best and prone to causing reactions at worst.

I'd recommend Young Nails for the base/top coats and colours - almost everything else you can buy really cheaply, but these are good and legit. They're not super expensive either, considering how much use you get out of them - I had my base and top coat for 18 months before I finished them. I bought these as it's who my sister uses in her salon and I've never had any issues with them.

You need:

  • Lamp (LED preferably - most cure with LED now and quicker/less damaging than UV, mine was a tenner off Amazon and still going strong)
  • Cuticle pusher - if you don't, they look a mess round the bottom! About £2 off Amazon
  • A nail prepper - basically a high isopropyl alcohol content, can get very cheap on Amazon - and some lint-free wipes/cotton pads to prep the nail - something like this
  • Some decent files
  • A protein bonder - usually looks like a little nail polish but just a runny liquid, after you've prepped the nail you paint the bond on and it helps the gel stick (eg does this too which helps them last really well but you can get cheapy ones on Amazon, never noticed much difference)
  • Then your base and top coats, and any colours.

So with the exception of the actual polish, you can get it all really cheap - and even the Youngs stuff you'd be looking at £20-30 for top and bottom coats, then £10 ish per colour. But they last forever, I've had the same colours for a few years!

Do really thin layers - thinner than you think, or it'll bubble or peel. Make sure you cap the free edge of your nail with the polish and topcoat to seal it all in. Easy! :) Mine last at least a couple of weeks but I'm very hard on my hands, if I don't try and use my nails as screwdrivers they'll easily last a month (obviously with regrowth).

Getting them off is the pain - you have to soak and file them and it takes ages, so I've been known just to file it all off (which I think is probably not v good for your nails).

Justcallmebebes · 21/02/2022 15:03

My daughter bites hers in her thirties. Drives me nuts. I've just paid for her to have a manicure and false ones so I'm hoping it encourages her to grow her own now

incognitoforthisone · 21/02/2022 15:46

I have dip-powder nails done because it's basically the only thing that stops me biting my nails. I used to frequently bite my nails until they bled.

If I have nothing on my nails, I bite them. If I put ordinary polish on them, I don't bite them, but I do pick the polish off which absolutely wrecks my nails underneath and then I end up picking or biting them because they're weak and peeling. So I have dip-powder manicures every three or four weeks. I used to have false tips underneath, but now I just have it done on my natural nails as they've grown to a reasonable length.

The woman who does my nails says she has a lot of clients who have acrylic/gel/dip-powder nails for the same reason, so I don't think it's that unusual at all. And even a lot of non-biters have fake nails anyway, just because they find them stronger or easier to manage than their own nails.

Treaclepie19 · 21/02/2022 15:50

I don't bite my nails or have false ones but I have awful OCD so they're in a dreadful condition from too much washing and cleaning (read picking) underneath them to keep them clean 🙄
Annoying because I always had nice nails before.

Danikm151 · 21/02/2022 15:55

I used to bite my nails like mad, then got braces and physically couldn't bite them any more so better nails yay!

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