How do I stop biting my nails?

Question

I have a very bad habit of biting my nails...my nails look horrible. I have tried numerous times to stop but I keep biting them. Any advice from ex nail bitters on how to stop for good? I really want my nails to look nice for the upcoming holidays.

Answer 1

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Tape your nails. One way to stop biting your nails is to tape the end of each with Scotch tape. Then when you go to bite your nail, you'll get an unpleasant mouthful of tape.

Apply a cream or lacquer. At your local grocery store or pharmacy you'll be able to find a plethora of nail creams and lacquers. Simply apply them to your nail and you'll get an unpleasant bitter taste each time you try and bite your nails! Brands such as "Control-It," or Orly beauty's "No Bite" are such products. But truthfully, there are many on the market that all work well. If it tastes bitter, it should be a deterrent.

Chew gum. Sometimes biting your nails has less to do with the obsession of nail biting and potentially more to do with an oral fixation. Therefore try chewing gum to occupy your mouth. That way if you try and bite your nails, you'll be stuck with sticky fingers.

Wear mittens. If all else fails, wear mittens. It is so ridiculously unpractical and slightly embarrassing in public, that it should help stop that nasty nail biting habit real quick!

This is not a quick fix or miracle cure and YOU are in charge of sticking with the program. You must be 150% determined to do it or it wont work.

Caring for your nails

Purchase a bitter-tasting formula made expressly to stop nail biting. Choose the worst-tasting solution you can find. Wash hands every morning with soap and water and towel dry.
Apply a liberal amount of the solution to the nails, cuticles and surrounding skin. Continue to reapply the solution throughout the day as it wears off.
Reapply the solution at bedtime. Make sure the bitter taste is always present on your nails.

As nails begin to grow, coat them with a polish made for strengthening nails. Get regular manicures to maintain nails.

=)

Answer 2

Well, being an ex nail biter myself, i know the struggle of the "addiction". I tried so many things until i found what worked for me. First i tried going cold turkey but that eventually faltered. Then i tried putting garlic on my nails but i rubbed my eye one day and it burned. Then i tried stopping one by one. I stopped biting my pinky nails. Of course i still bit all the others but every time i felt a little more comfortable i stopped biting two nails. Each transition took me about one or two weeks to feel comfortable and finally not biting my thumbs took maybe a month or more! i know it sounds like a lot but i tried cold turker it didn't work for me. More than likely you tried it too. You may not have pretty nails this holiday, bbut i assure you that next year should be better.

Answer 3

Been there, done that. I'm an...umm..."ex-nail biter" and it wasn't easy. I was truly sick and tired of my nails being so ugly (I was embarrassed when people looked at my hands because I was afraid they were thinking bad things about my ugly nails). They were VERY short. So I was seriously ready to give up nail biting. One day, I told myself to just STOP! And I kept myself (and this took all the effort I had) from biting them everyday until they grew long and pretty. Remember, you have to be determined to stop. Otherwise, you'll end up biting again. If you feel like biting your nails, just put your nail in your mouth but don't bite it off, just lightly. That will help you when you get nervous and want to bite them off.

Answer 4

I have been biting my nails for years. For my birthday, my father sent me to a salon, I got a manicure (which was a joke because at the time I had NO nails just stubs). Ever since the manicure I have been painting them regularly with Sally Hensen Acrylic nail hardener! It smells horrible but makes your nails sooo thick and I have not bitten them since!!

I recommend getting a really nice manicure and pushing yoru cuticles back then paint them everynight. I do it while I'm lying in bed at night...everynight because I tend to pick the polish off instead of biting them!

Good Luck Chomper!

Answer 5

Try to wear socks on your hands to prevent yourself from biting them.
I had a habit of doing that too, all I did is just think how my figure hurts really bad when I bite them. So I just kept that in mind. But having fake nails is also a good idea.

Answer 6

I have been biting my nails for years. I would bite them to the point of connection. Now I just always carry Nail Clippers with me and when I get the urge to bite. I clip them off again. Leaving myself nothing to bite. It's the only way that works for me.

Answer 7

I used to have the same problem, so what I did is that I put garlic on them. I know it sounds gross. Buy a clear polish and chop some pieces of garlic and put them in the bottle. Your hand s may stink, but trust me it will be worth it. If u think its too much,, then buy an over the counter nail treatment. Sally Hansen works good too.

Answer 8

I think there's something you can put on them- like a nail polish- that is supposed to taste terrible. It's something I remember from when I was a kid, and bit my nails. Maybe it's just something my mom told me to keep me from biting my nails, and I believed her. It didn't work. I still bite my nails.

Answer 9

I don't know if they still sell it, but there's this finger nail biting stuff that you can put on your fingers to make them taste really really nasty, without them looking bad. It'll taste so bad you'll definitely want to not bite your nails (and its not toxic, so if you do at first it won't be a problem)

Answer 10

if you can't just will yourself to stop doing it, try dipping your fingers in vaseline, or camphor, or something equally strong-tasting. maybe tabasco sauce... just rub some onto your fingers with a paper towel to take off the excess. it won't work if you love spicy food though! ;)

nail polish remover. it tastes AWFUL because of a chemical they put into it to keep children and animals from drinking it.