Growing nails after biting them

[DarkDarkNight]

I’ve bitten my nails pretty much my whole life. I put some pale nail polish on a while back and it’s helped me stop, I have a white edge on them all so want to keep going. The trouble is the white bit grows really long if that makes sense and looks horrible, hard to explain but I end up with a short nail bed and the white tip just getting longer.

I’ve used OPI Nail Envy and a cuticle oil when I’ve stopped biting before but never got them looking nice. Any tips?

I don't have any advice but following as I'm in the same position!

I stopped by growing one nail so leaving that one alone and then stopping biting one, then another and so on. I bit my thumb nails last as felt they were less obvious. As they grow keep them short, filed and no loose skin then less to tempt you!

I understand the dilemma you’re referring to. It may be the case that you simply have short nail beds and always will regardless of whether you bite the nail tips off or not.

I’m no manicure expert (hoping someone can help with that!) but I think all you can do is keep the cuticles pushed back as far as possible (gently though, and only when they are softened by the cuticle oil you’ve wisely been using!) which will help lengthen the nail, and if you’re not polishing your nails then keep them relatively short to divert attention from the shortness of the nail bed.

Well done on cracking the nail biting habit - I too bit my nails when I was young and am so proud of them now. I’m trying to get my DD to stop biting hers and promised her a few weeks ago a salon manicure if she stopped biting them and had enough growth to work on them by the end of term. She’s looking good!

I had this when I stopped biting. It’s improved but I think I just naturally have short nail beds. Hang in there.

I have this but I just have small nail beds, nothing to be done about it. I paint mine quite often so it’s not noticeable.

I was a serial picker of nails for many years and my nails are very small. Mine also grow with a straight edge so unless I file them round and paint them they look a bit odd to me. I feel like i have to grow them for ages before there’s anything worth painting though!

Wear opaque nail polish in a fairly natural colour.

Well done. It is so hard to stop.

Thank you for the advice, I hope I’ve cracked it this time. I’m sick of being embarrassed about the state of my nails.

I never thought about having short nail beds, maybe that is it. I want to keep them short anyway as I’m not used to long nails. I would like them a bit longer than they are now, but the long white tips put me off.

I’m not currently using cuticle oil or nail envy, but have done on past attempts. I’m clueless about cuticles, but definitely need some oil as I will start picking at them.

you can buy nail polish that tastes very bitter if you lick your finger/nail.
it's developed to stop kids from chewing nails & sucking thumbs.
we had to use it for one of our kids, it worked.

occasionally it fails if people discover they like the bitter taste😳🤢🤣

I know what you mean. Some people just have smaller nail beds. I do agree longer ones look nice though. Once the nail starts growing out from really low the pink bit does get a bit bigger.
Keep at it though! I too was a chronic nail biter and skin puller and I’ve (mostly) trained myself out of it.

Zing I hated that stuff but it never stopped me biting

Hopefully it will get longer Millions

@DarkDarkNight

🤣

I hope you are able to sort it. x

Get a professional manicure. The manicurist will be able to advise on care and how to make them look great.

Well done on breaking the habit.💅

I stopped for ages and the nail bed recovered after about 18 months. I think it’s because we chew both the nail and the bit underneath.
I chewed a nail right down last month. It’s massively noticeable how different it us from the others.
My tip is keep them short and paint them dark. I love a good navy.
Agree about a manicure. It looks good but also costs money so you treat them with a bit more respect iykwim.

I used to bite my nails. A multivitamin helped make them stronger. I wear a good quality clear nail varnish (when I do) because otherwise I pick at it.

After a year or so I have a normal length nail, not noticeably short from biting so hang in there. I still bite them nervously a bit occasionally but never like I used to!

I have the same thing, I'm a life-long biter but have actually managed to stop for 2 weeks so far. I find that they usually are quite weak and tend to bend quite a bit once they are long enough to reach over the ends of my fingers, which breaks them at the sides then I start picking, then before you know if there's nothing left. I would love to have normal nail beds but they've never improved any time I've stopped biting for a prolonged period. Painting them is about all you can do I think.
Good on you for stopping so far, I know how difficult it is!