I’m excited to see some growth and progress, I’ve been growing my nails out and then relapsing for as long as I can remember, but this is my first time getting them done professionally. Honestly, part of my motivation to do so is so I can convince myself that I paid a lot and therefore I shouldn’t ruin the expensive manicure. I’m excited to se where this journey takes me.

Saw this subreddit more or less 6 months ago in april. Got out of a bad mental state back then and my nails were suffering under it. Wanted to change this habit i picked up like 10 years ago so i no longer had to hide my fingers or be ashamed of them.

Like many with this behaviour, nail polish with aversive taste doesn’t help. Also being told to just stop or whatever isn’t realistic.

What worked for me was making a conscious decision to want to stop. At the beginning i wore cotton gloves at home, which was the only place where i was biting them. With those gloves i no longer could unconsciously do what i did for so long. Also i worked on the underlying issues, which are in my case being able to deal better with stress or find different coping mechanisms. Also important to try and fix the underlying issues causing the stress.

Putting colourful nail polish on once their a bit grown is helpful, cause it may trigger u less to bite them. Was at least the case for me.

Sending out love to everybody struggling, it gets easier, all love.

hi everyone, I had been a nail biter/ picker for all my life until roughly a year ago. I got really into nail polish and decided I wanted healthy nails. With determination, I stopped biting and picking at my nails and started taking better care of them!

My nails on my non dominant hand hadn’t had any major chips or breaks in 6 months and were pretty long for my standards! I still had a lot of progress to make but I was proud of them and myself.

Last night I was in a very stressful hours long situation regarding the safety of a family member where I was the primary responsible party. Just due to sheer stress I completely ruined my nails and bit them/ picked them all off 😭 I didn’t even realize what I was doing until it was already done. they’re SO short and damaged and jagged and peeling and layered. And even a bit sore from where the nail bed was disrupted. All my months of progress gone in an hour!

Everyone is safe and sound now, which is what’s most important. But in the aftermath I can’t help but be so devastated about my nails 😭 it’s going to take months just to grow out the damage so that they can be healthy before I try growing them long again. I was just having so much fun giving myself manicures with my long pretty nails!

It feels a bit silly to be so sad over them, especially when something much more serious happened, but I was hoping some of yall would understand! I would really appreciate any words of encouragement 💚

Give me some tips and advice on how to fully stop biting my nails. Longest streaks I can hold are like 2-3 weeks max before I start again. I want to grow my nails but this habit has been with me for about as long as I can remember

It is fair to say that I have had my share of ups and downs for years
What has helped lately getting regular nail appointments
I started with short acrylic extensions
Then switched to BIAB
Several nails have pinged off and I relapsed and bit those ones but just went back today and really happy with how they are looking!

New to this subreddit, but I've always been a nail biter. I've had stints where I've managed to grow them out a bit but I'll always end up biting again. This year has been quite good, not linear progress but much more controlled at least, since when they stopped looking damaged it made me feel really good about my hands and has been easier to stop after I bite one nail so I don't ruin the rest.

Anyway, a bit over a month ago after I got stabbed by something under the thumbnail when washing dishes, it got slightly infected, and google said to not trim the nail and just let it heal (unless it got worse), so by the time it finally looked fully better my thumbnail was so long and it made me for once feel like my thumbs weren't so ugly!

So since then I have managed to not-bite almost completely ALL 10 NAILS, at least I haven't fully bitten down any nail, just some nibbles which I quickly fix with a file. I tried shaping them nicely too, and I wanted to share because I feel really good about my hands. I think this is the longest and nicest my nails have ever looked, and I hope I can make it last. I feel like they've grown super quickly too-I have been applying lanolin quite a lot but I don't know if that has made any difference.

I saw some posts here where people have shared how they've managed to extend the nail bed all the way to the end of the finger. I'd like my nail beds to grow out further, but how do others stop themselves from cleaning grime from under their nails? I'd found that since I've stopped biting, my new habit is clearing dirt out with the other nails, but I figure I might be inhibiting the nail bed from reattaching since I'm pushing under there. Any tips?

Thanks for reading!

I’ve been a nail biter my whole life, nothing serious it’s just mostly something I do when I’m bored. But recently my nails managed to grow out a little and I’ve discovered something amazing. Cleaning dirt out from under my nails. It’s so satisfying. Now whenever I think about biting my nails I know it’s not worth it because then I won’t be able to get the dirt out. And cleaning them is releasing way more endorphins than biting them. Hell sometimes I’ve been purposely trying to build stuff up under them to clean them out. I’ve been using this flathead screwdriver thing and it’s great. This may be the greatest pass time I’ve ever discovered

Not helping that everytime I pick or bite at my nails my partner makes it into a huge thing, only causing me to do it more….
How do i politely tell him to him to pls either stfu or stop, causes he’s making it worse 😞

so i have ocd and a big part of that is the obsessive-compulsions which almost always involve picking. my hands are my holy grails and i’ve been working on growing them out. after a stint of contact dermatitis from gel nail polish, my nails have never been healthier. i’ve done this before but my compulsions were so horrible i ripped off like. 3/4 of my thumb nail. like i literally don’t have 3 of my toe nails bc it’s so bad. i did this to my ring finger on the same hand about two years ago, but it grew but just slightly Off…. i only come here to ask what sort of tricks did you guys implement for getting them to grow back healthily?

Jojoba oil is a lifesaver!

I have naturally thin nails. I went to a nail salon that absolutely demolished my nails. They over-drilled my natural nail and after the removal process, I’m left with these. My nails have never looked this unhealthy before. 🥺
I assume jojoba oil daily and thick hang cream is the best I can do to bring my nails back to healthy?

considering painting them for Halloween but I feel like they’re healthier when I don’t mess with them too much. The urge to pick is still there but I’m trying!

What’s a good way to stop chewing and picking your finger nails

This is my thumb. It looks so ugly and I don't know what to do. I don't know if it'll grow back. Any advice is welcome

Has anyone else tried nail repair kits (such as ORLY’s nail powder and glue) to harden nails and resist the urge to pick / peel?

My nails grow out so thin, so it’s hard to maintain any decent length without them splitting / peeling from the sides. As soon as I see a small tear, I just have to rip it off.😞

everything in my life seems to go downhill so fast and so regularly, i have an awful love life, im flunking my semester, i have no discipline and can never fix anything in my life, and I keep biting my nails until they're no more biteable and then I move to the skin, I've even come to the point where I use regular nail clippers to literally cut through thick skin on my fingertips, exposing thin pink skin underneath. i can't seem to stop and also don't have enough confidence to walk around wearing physical barriers like gloves or tape. i CANNOT afford bitter nail polish I'm so broke even food seems unattainable sometimes. even though this is as close as it gets to a cry for help, please look at my life and be grateful for anything you do have.

I remember being so frustrated when I first quit thinking my nails would never look “normal” and that the white part of the nail would start halfway down. Trust, they will grow out again. These are my nails 6 years ago vs yesterday (the nail beds grew out quicker than that though don’t worry!)

nail biting is genuinely ruining my life how do i stop please i stopped cutting myself and started biting my nails but its uncomfortable to do almost anything with my hands

Sometimes did a bit of nibbling here and there but I think I did a pretty good job resisting to bite off the nails 🥹

Wonder if it's too early to start adding some nail polish..

It’s not an overnight change, but consistency + patience is key! Don’t forget to show yourself some love for doing already wanting a change! :) You got this!!

Even I still relapse, but always giving yourself the opportunity and chances to change is what matters!

DAY 1. They dont look too bad because ive applied a clear health polish and applied hand cream and jojoba oil.

Please may I have tips on how to stop and keep the habit at bay ( my right hand is always the wost )