Help To Stop Biting

Apr 3, 2012

meghan p.

hey guys i need some help to stop biting my nails 

Apr 3, 2012

Bella P.

Hey, Meghan. I will tell what worked for me, and I don't know if you will find it helpful. I used to bite my nails for more than 25 years. What I did was bought one of those awful clear nail polishes that taste funny like garlicy and painted my nails with it everyday. Also, and this is a little weird but works, covered my fingertips and nails with micropore so that I couldnt see or touch my nails.

Weird and nasty, I know! But it worked. I changed the bandages twice a day everyday and washed my hands very well. I haven't bitten them in a year.

Then, as I started to notice them getting longer I bought some cute nail polishes as a motivation and started watching nail tutorials everyday for extra inspiration.

Hope this helps.

Apr 3, 2012

Andrea S.

I found that getting manicures worked for me. Why spend the money if I'm just going to bite my nails and mess it up? 

Apr 3, 2012

Aly G.

I bit my nails for 20 years. I tried everything from that foul-tasting polish to getting manicures to sheer willpower and I always ended up chewing them again. In December I got a new job that I needed to look professional in and went and got a set of Gel nails. I still have them on and I've stopped chewing on them because these things are impossible to get off. 

Apr 4, 2012

meghan p.

i heard that gel nails suck the calcium out of your nails and make them soft was that your experience

Apr 4, 2012

Marissa F.

get your nails shellac'd. Its basically a gel-like nail polish that doesn't chip, but when removed it does not damage your nails the way gels or acrylics would

Apr 5, 2012

Aly G.

I personally haven't had any problems with them so far but the shellac polish is a good alternative if you don't want to make the commitment to falsies.

Apr 5, 2012

Elenna L.

I think you should get a stress ball or something to keep your hands busy. Usually people bite their nails when they're stressed, nervous or bored. You need to do something else with your hands. Hope this helps!

Apr 5, 2012

Heather C.

I bit my nails for most of my life up until 3 years ago. I just got tired of having ugly natural nails and was tired of artifical nails. So I guess I just got it my head that I wanted nice nails. I got stubborn about it really. I kept my nails polished and I keep a file with me for any snags. If I am able to smooth it out instantly, then I won't be tempted to nibble it lol. It really is just mind over matter, it is very much like a lifestyle change. You have to form new habits, like keeping them polished and carring a file with you always.

Also getting a nourishing oil to put on your nails. I find it best to keep the oil by my bed, and putting it on my nails before I go to sleep so it can soak in. it will make you nails stronger, and less likely to split or peel, which could lead you to biting again.

Good luck! You can stop, you just have to believe it and want it.

Apr 6, 2012

Shyla L.

Using the nasty polishes NEVER worked for me. Neither did having my dad give me Tabasco sauce every time he caught me gnawing at my fingers until they bled. I have nice nails now, I don't bite them, but I do still have a habit of bringing them to my mouth and biting AT them. I'm working on it. I'm not really sure when it clicked for me, but generally keeping polish on them stops me from biting them clean off. Instead I have a bad habit of peeling the polish off, but then I immediately paint them again so as to not bite. I'm still trying to fight my habit, I hope this helped!

Apr 6, 2012

Erleen P.

Hey Meghan! I'm a former nail-biter as well. My mother tried every method known to mankind to make me stop biting my nails, nothing worked. However, when I decided I had to stop (I think this is the key element, making the decision), I simply started applying nail polishes in light colors (because I didn't like how dark colors looked on my tiny nails). I made a ritual out of it: once the nail polish started chiping, I removed it, and started again with a different light color. I used products to strenthen my nails also. Until liiiiiitle by little they starting growing.

When they start breaking, which they will do a LOT because the biting only weakens the nail, simply file them, and do everything again. Don't bite them all again even when the temptation is too strong lol, I got all kinds of frustrated because they kept breaking but, I just took a deep breath and started my whole manicure ritual again.

As Shyla said, keeping a nail polish helps a lot, once you start seeing your nails all colored and pretty you'll want to keep them like that. I do hope this helps! Good luck!!

Apr 7, 2012

Shyla L.

Also! I started using the products that strengthen them, as well as taking Biotin supplements. It made my nails grow super fast!

Apr 7, 2012

Jasmine Marie E.

I was a chronic nail bitter for 25 years and like the others said you have to decide to STOP ( no nasty tasting nail polish, $$$ my parents offered me etc could stop me). I know I did it as a stress, nerves thing. So like Loredana said I found an alternative, if I felt the urge to bite, I put on nail oil. I always kept a file with me to fix snags so I wouldn't pick. And then they started to grow slowly...and I bought a few pretty neutral polishes and made nail maintence my new ritual. It's hard, but soooo worth it - look at all the amazing nail art here! And the sooner you stop the better, I know I caused some permanent damage to my nailbeds and now my nails aren't as "pretty" as the could be. It causes damage to your teeth and enamel. And lord only knows what we touch each day and then your hands are in your mouth...
Keep strong! You can do it!  :)

Apr 7, 2012

Marianna D.

I felt it helped to paint my nails weekly, so i had somthing I liked on my nails so i wouldn't bite them :) Hope that helps :)

Apr 7, 2012

Beauty D.

I also bite my nails, but till now I dident find the secret how to stop it I m still searching.

Apr 9, 2012

meghan p.

now there is a new problem i have been polishing my nails and filing them but now they are peeling and breaking

Apr 10, 2012

Angela D.

I bit my nails for 15 years, and nothing worked for me (the nasty polishes, the tabasco sauce, wearing a bracelet to bite instead...) I finally kicked the habit cold turkey when my High School biology teacher showed us the amount of germs that are actually under our nails. It was so gross, I couldn't stomach biting them anymore. To help with the peeling and breaking, use a strengthening base coat, and non-acetone nail polish remover. 

Apr 10, 2012

molly c.

well i recently just stopped biting my nails i found that if i paint my nails differently every day and if i feel like i want to bite them i just pick at the nail varnish with my fingers of course this dint look to nice witch helped me to stop because now i can go out with nail varnish on and come back with it still perfect or i can go out with no nail varnish on at all and still have non-bitten nails! i hope this works for you or you find something even better to work for you. x

Apr 13, 2012

ashley h.

like most of the other girls, i bit my nails for years (up until i was 21 or 22, can't remember). i would just chew off the no bite polish. i never really painted them, but i finally started doing it to make my ugly stubs a bit prettier. then one day i noticed in the mirror at work...i had a bit of pink polish IN MY TEETH. really? it's embarrassing enough running around with food in your teeth, but i'm sure all my customers saw the hot pink chips stuck in there & thought...what the heck has that girl been eating?!

i still find myself nibbling at them from time to time, but that incident some how made me stop biting them. colors on your teeth are cute if you have braces, buuuuut that's about it. 

Apr 14, 2012

Amanda L.

both my daughters and I are nail biters. I can often get mine to grow out, then when in a meeting or some mindless activity I would bite them off with out even realizing it until half my nails were gone. What works best for all of my family is to keep our nails even and filed smooth. that way we are less likely to find a snag or hang nail and start chewing at it. then I paint all our nails a couple times a week with a pretty strengthening polish. finally I add a top coat of the anti bite bad tasting polish. If I keep up on it and re apply the bad tasting stuff at least 3 or 4 times a week then we all seem to grow out our nails, but if I slack off and skip it for a week or so then I return to biting. *sigh* I also find if I let my nails get too long I tend to chew them more then if I keep them at a nice length that is just a little longer then the tip of my finger, and I find I chew my thumbs most if they get too long because they bug me while texting. LOL So I keep my thumb nails a little shorter then the rest.

Apr 17, 2012

Emily L.

Nail biting is a habit that has deep roots in emotional/mental trauma. Basically, when you're nervous, concentrating, daydreaming etc. It takes time to overcome it. The tough part is you do it subconsciously. You can put on nasty tasting polishes or solutions but some people do get used to the taste. Some of my clients had manicures to stop themselves from biting but it usually lasts 2 days max, before they start again. The best solution is getting something you can't bite through until you overcome biting.

I normally recommend clients to get gel overlays or Gelish to overcome nail biting. It's tough as hell to bite through. If that doesn't work, acrylic overlays. That's impossible to get through. Good luck!

Apr 18, 2012

Phoebe M.

dont worry i bite my nails to

Apr 18, 2012

Phoebe M.

one thing you can do is put fake nails on it helps me

Apr 18, 2012

Lauren M.

This was my main new years resolution this year. I just started taking care of my nails at home (by giving myself manicures) and painting them all the time with different polishes. I've since stopped biting my nails and they look great! But now I have a nail polish obsession to worry about :P

Apr 21, 2012

meghan p.

thank you all soo much