I bite my nails but want to stop?

Question

Is there anything I can do / take to make them grow fast and strong?

Answer 1

I had to ween myself off of them. I managed to convince my self to only bite the nails on my little finger (pinky). I just trained myself t only go for those nails not the others. As the other nails grew longer and stronger i began to loose any desire to nibble at them but instead would put clear nail varnish on or other strengthening stuff. That took the attention away from my old habit of biting them. Then eventually without realising it i stopped biting my little finger nails too. I still have a habit of picking at them though but no biting. They aren't super long or pointy and i very rarely where colour on them, but my hands look better, the skin doesn't get sore and i can do things like open cans much more easily now (plus i don't have those horrible bits of nail in my mouth any more).

Answer 2

I bit my nails until I was 37 - tried everything over the years but of course since it's an unconscious response to stress, you can't usually just decide to stop. Anyway, I took up meditation to cope with a stressful job and after two weeks I noticed that my nails were growing. I never bit them again, even when I did get stressed again and wasn't meditating.

Then recently my husband (who didn't know about any of this as I met him later) started getting very irritable and tense - too much work I guess. He'd learnt a different form of meditation years back but never practised it, so I said why don't you try and do it every day to see if that helps. Then the other day he said "you know I've stopped bitying my nails?" - and that after 47 years!

Maybe you could do a relaxation technique every day for say 3 weeks. That should have the same effect (it's the same process, just calming down the body and mind). You can buy a CD or just download one as a free MP3 from the web. Just put "free relaxation download" into a search engine and you'll find a few. 20 minutes is probably about right but it does need to be done regularly. Good luck.

Answer 3

Whoever tells you not to stop biting your nails is an idiot.
Biting your nails encourages infections of all sorts as you're putting your fingers in your mouth, touching things and people around you and then putting your fingers in your mouth again. God knows what kind of germs you're bringing in there.
If you are anything like me, that nasty tasting nail varnish (or any type of varnish for that matter) will make no difference whatsoever as the urge to bite is so strong you end up biting the varnish away and can hardly taste it anyway as you get too engrossed in biting your nails.
I found 2 things that do help:
1. Have false nails/nail extensions fitted. However, know that you do need to grow your nails just above the tip of your fingers before you have this done (as you do need a surface to glue the fake nail on).
2. Get a stress ball or something you can use to keep your hands busy and relieve stress when you feel the urge to bite (I like the button idea that someone posted).

Answer 4

I had the same problem, and to be honest, i probably still do...sometimes! I have tried drinking nail growth tablets and even certain nail varnishes that's suppose to taste bad,but it didn't work for me. I found that once i have some pride in my nails i dint want to bite them anymore. I had some porcelain extensions putt on, wait until your real nail grows underneath till your desired lenght and then have the porcelain removed from your nail. To make it stronger use some nail strenghner varnish you buy at Boots. I found with the porcelain on i couldn't bite my nails, its to hard, and that thought me to stop biting them. By the time you have long natural nails under the porcelain,and you get them removed,you have learnt to kick the habit of biting.
Good luck, cause biting nails is a really bad habit!

Answer 5

I have some good stuff from the chemist,its called "PERFECT 10",and it works for about 3 weeks,then i re-apply.It has vitamin E in it,which makes the nail itself tougher-the other good thing about this perfect 10 is that,when you wash your hands,it intensifies the bitter taste for about 3 weeks-so you won't go near your nails! I have been biting my nails now for 40 odd years,and it gets so pain full and bloody at times,doing buttons up,doing the washing up etc-i just had to do something-and this product,although pricey,does work!

Answer 6

no, don't stop. I stopped once and the only difference it made was that I could open watch clasps and small tiny things that I never cared about anyway, not when compared to the unparallelled joy of have a little nibble when bored or er, bored.Plus you will suffer anxiety when you break a nail and who needs that in their life?.I love biting my nails and of course this means that nailbiters don't suffer from the same crippling vanity that afflicts most. Bite on sister, bite on.

Answer 7

You definitely need to stop...a combination of will power and that horrid tasting nail varnish will help. I stopped biting my nails when I was a teenager because I wanted to wear nail polish, and trust me black nail polish doesn't look good on bitten nails.

Had a conversation in the pub with my friend about nails. She has never bitten hers and her nails are much bigger than mine (sounds strange I know) not that she has bigger hands or anything. Then we compared our nails with a girl who has always bitten them and hers were really small. Biting your nails actually prevents nails from growing properly and healthily

Answer 8

I used to bite my nails until I was bought a beautiful ring as a gift. It looked horrible on my chewed finger so with lots of willpower I stopped biting!

I now have strong, healthy nails with lovely white tips! I trim my nails on a regular basis with nail clippers, I never use nail files/emery boards as I think these damage the tips of your nails.

I only ever wear clear nail polish on my fingernails as I think coloured ones stain the surface of your nails!

Hope this helps :)

Answer 9

I used to bite my nails, and when I eventually managed to stop, I was amazed how quickly and strong they grow when you leave them alone!
I don't recommend any chemicals or therapy, just keep reminding yourself not to do it, and stop straightaway every time you catch yourself doing it unconciously, and before you know it you'll have broken the habit. Remember, it's just a habit and nowhere near as hard to break as say, smoking or drug taking! Good luck with it, you can do this, you are already partway there just recognising the problem and wanting to do something about it.

Answer 10

I believe like you it is a habit that is difficult to stop,if I am stressed I bite,if I get too involved with a book I bite yet when I don`t seem to have a care in the world all is ok,so if you do find a tried & tested formulae be sure to email me in the future because I genuinely wish to stop as well.