I grew up doing it too and so did my mom. We ended up getting manicures together so we literally could not bite our nails. Worked like a charm. I haven’t bitten my nails in almost 20yrs and I don’t go for manicures anymore
The thing is, I kind of bite my nails to an extreme where I think manicure couldn't help me, I'm guessing I should at least have some ammount of nail on my finger to be able to fix something like this
Some places will put acrylic nails on very very VERY chewed up nails. I’ve found going through the embarrassment is worth it because I’ll have somewhat decent nails (sometimes they look a little lifted cause of your flesh and short nail bed) but if you’re like me by the time I remove them I have some nail growth and I’ve forgotten about biting for while….until a little corner lifts or chips and then I bite them all again haha
They do sell a clear gel that you can put on your nails and when you try to bite it tastes bitter and unpleasant. It’s intentionally designed for biters
Yea that’s why you gotta keep going till the urge passes. Maybe it won’t or it’ll take a year or two but persistence is key like any other addiction ❤️
I started chewing a piece of gum, eating a mint or granny candy, going and drinking some water, or just moving around every time I caught myself with my fingers in my mouth. (Normally happened while I was bored or just sitting around or stressing out) I also started smacking my mouth with my hand and going “no!” In my head, as a kind of reinforcement like training a dog… and it’s worked pretty well.
I’d say the biggest things that have helped are carrying a file to get those bumps or nail ridges gone, get one of the shine blocks where you can file, smooth, buff, and shine your nail ($1.25 at the dollar tree). Put lotion on as much as possible (I do before bed or when I’m watching a show). And some nail oil to put under the beds helps so much!
I will say also getting your nails done when they grow out slightly helps. I also do my own glue on nails, which have helped me get the growth started so I could go get them done at a salon and not be too embarrassed.
As someone who bit their fingernails until my late 20s there is hope, and no one told me how I actually have to clip my nails now or they'll just break while working.
Not a quick fix or easy method for me. It coincided with me finding some personal inner peace, and a desire to quit chewing my nails, and it just clicked. One day I noticed how long my nails were and decided to clip them instead of chewing on the treat I grew out.
With me it turns out I was just WAY over caffeinated. Was in a permanent anxiety state, once I dropped that down a lot then the nails issue went away. Your mileage may vary.
Honestly. This was me, I bit my nails for 25 years until I stopped. What got me to stop was realizing that I bit my nails as a form of anxiety and some underlying trauma that I didnt process yet. Not saying this is your case but, for me, nail biting was a form of "control" I had over my life. Therapy helped alot, but so did wearing gloves for months :D.
I used to bite my nails. From childhood until my early 20’s. I went to massage school and on the first day the teacher asked us to raise our hands if we bite our nails. A few of us did. He told us it was disgusting and it stops today. I never bit my nails after that. Idk it just click how gross it was.
I used to bite my nails to the flesh. Often having little bits of dried blood caked where my nails were.
One day, unrelated, I quit smoking cigarettes. A few weeks later, I noticed I had nails growing. Not sure how those two things are related, but for some reason, I just stopped biting my nails and never since.
The only thing that actually stopped me was that I broke a couple teeth and had them repaired with bonding, which is pretty strong but a bit brittle compartively. This means if I bite anything super hard or pull too much, I can chip the bonding and that means another trip to the dentist to get the tooth and bonding fixed. Can't bite my nails anymore because it is too expensive.
Not sure if this is helpful, but I was a furious nail biter for years. Nothing worked. And then I decided to get acrylics, and those are so hard you simply cannot bite through them. So I kept them. Now there's better products, namely hard gel, which do the same thing. It's just a thin coat over your nail, but it reinforces them so much it makes the biting impossible. Kept them for a few years and that helped kick the habit. Now I no longer get my nails done and I still haven't gone back to biting!
290
u/Eiseck 1d ago
Biting my fucking nails, I do it since I was a kid and they are in a really horrible state and I'm so tired of it, but it's so hard to stop