How do I make these badly bitten nails look presentable?

[BadHabits]

I've been biting my nails obsessively for about 25 years. Been trying to stop for ages with limited success. These past two months have been an improvement and they're still horrid as you can see but at least they're not bleeding!

What can I do to make them look presentable? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. 😊

I would get gels maybe? I think they do extensions that can't be bitten too if you want them to be longer but also grow and be healthy underneath?
I think they look fine though tbh, I'd leave them!!

I would get gel nails or paint them yourself. I like to get gel nails as they look so much nicer even if short and stops me biting / picking for a little while so they grow stronger and more 'presentable'

I bite too, I really struggle to stop, but painting them helps (for a while)
Get the Sally Hansen gold varnish that helps them grow, it will helped them grow quickly and having them painted lowers the drive to bite. Or peel off the nail varnish if you need to do something, that's what I do!

I've heard of those! My worry though is if the nail tech would do anything for me? Went there years ago whilst I was in Uni and the lady took one look at my nails and asked me why I bothered making an appointment. ☹️

This is also pretty much the first time in my adult life whereby my fingers aren't bleeding, so I'm afraid that leaving them like that might cause me to regress, if that makes sense?

I would get a very pale pink/beige nude gel polish on them and keep going, you'll see a difference by the time they need re-doing in 2 weeks.

The gel polish is very strong so they shouldn't break.

Make sure you have the gel polish removed properly. The only time mine have broken is when I've peeled it off myself!

Paperdoll Ooh I'll look into that growing thing thanks!

I was a nail biter for years but wanted my nails to look lovely for my wedding. I had 2 nails that were bitten to the core. My nail technician painstakingly built then up and I had short false nails. That worked well for years and I broke the nail biting habit. I then damaged nails again and for years didnt have any treatment. I have now gone back to work and am now getting my nails re done with gels. They look really smart.

Well done BadHabits it is a difficult thing to stop.

I second pretty nail varnish, even if they are still short. I have no experience of gel nails or anything, so can't comment there.

Massage Vaseline in to your cuticles every day...it's good for growth and makes your whole hand look more 'polished'.
Well done on stopping biting!

I'm an awful biter and I have acrylics done every 3/4 weeks

I'm a beauty therapist. Call and explain what you want and what your goal is. they will probably be happy to help. I was a biter for years and years but have finally managed to stop for the longest period of my life, almost a year.

Whoa YouCantArgueWithStupid your nails look great! Bit of a clueless question and I really am sorry for the ignorance I'm showing here: does polish/gel/acrylics stain the nail? Seen so many conflicting answers to that question around the web.

Also is there anything specific I should ask for the first time I go? Or can I just show up on my appointment slot with "here are my bitten nails could I perhaps get some gel on them 😊"?

What the hell with that technician telling you she couldn't deal with your nails.

I am biter. I used to get acrylic extensions, but I found they made my own nails weak. One day, I was advised to have a manicure with a pale gel polish. No extension, just paint over my natural nails. It wasn't immediately beautiful, but definitely better than my bare nails. It lasted two weeks, during which time my nails were too hard to bite. I went back to the salon to have the polish removed and reapplied, and after about two months I had beautiful long, natural nails.

You do become a bit of a slave to the salon - I have picked it off myself, or even used acetone to remove it, but if I have my nails bare for longer than a day or so they start drifting towards my mouth.

Also I have never had staining from either gel or acrylics. They apply a clear basecoat first.

They don't stain mine but as pp said they can make them weak. But I'd rather nice looking acrylic nails over bitten ones

Take a photo you like and say I want these! That's what I used to do before I knew the lingo!