I have terrible fingernails. I can't quit biting them. They look awful and I would love to have longer ones. I remember when I was young and my mom used to buy this stuff to put on them and it would taste so bitter..It didn't even phase me I still would bite them. Any suggestions?
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08-31-02, 09:05 AM
Cris5
Sounds like you might have an oral fixation. You could try eating an apple or sucking a lollipop each time you have the urge to bite your nails. Many smokers are orally fixated. A friend of mine was like that. She was trying to quit smoking and chewed on straws to alleviate the need to put something in her mouth.

Try giving in (for now) to the oral fixation in another way. As we all know, bad habits aren't easy to break. It will take patience, time and a concerted effort, but you'll get there.

08-31-02, 09:54 AM
Texan-In-Exile
Cris has a very good point.

If you can quit biting them for a few days, try filing and starting to shape them.
Then you will see the difference in how they feel - rough from biting or smooth from filing.

This can be positive reinforcement - it certainly has helped me.
Good luck!

09-01-02, 09:55 PM
Sherasi
I also know that stress and anxiety contribute to compulsive habits such as nail biting and hair twisting and pulling, etc. Monitor WHEN you are doing it and write down (when you catch yourself) what you are feeling and doing at the time. I'll bet you will come up with a pattern.

09-01-02, 10:39 PM
samantha
Thanks. I am not a smoker never have been. Maybe if I smoked I wouldn't bite my nails.Just a bad habit I would guess. Maybe I am nervous at times and that is what is causing it. I will take your suggetion and try that and see what I come up with. Thanks again. Sam wink

09-02-02, 01:42 PM
cattywampus
It's a lot easier to just go have acrylics put on and kept on. It's not very expensive ($25 here) and they last a long time. As they grow out you can get the base refilled for about $15. You have to have a little nail going to attach them to, but if I had a nail chewing habit, that's the way I would go.

Catty (who chews cookies instead) big grin

09-02-02, 03:33 PM
samantha
Ok Catty you will have to spell it out to this here farm girl..by nail acrylics are you talking about fake finger nails? Then they just fill in the base? But can you still bite them????? roll eyes roll eyes

09-03-02, 11:55 AM
Susan
Fake nails that is.. I was a nail biter enough so that my cuticles would crack & bleed. Yuck! One day, I just started taking care of them. Soaking them in warm water & baby oil to soften the cuticles and polishing them with fun colors. The polish has a yucky after taste so I didn't chew on them as much. They soon grew and I now have long natural nails. I found that when I had the fake ones put on I would constantly put them in my mouth biting at the ends causing them to crack away.
Good luck.
Smile.

09-03-02, 01:32 PM
doriek
Samantha

I think Catty's idea is worth a try. Several years, I sculptured fingernails for a living and saw four women stop biting their nails.

Acrylic nails are a type of plastic. A liquid monomer and powder are mixed together and brushed on to the nail bed. It dries in minutes, hardens into the plastic and then, is filed into the shape of a nail.

As Susan suggested, not everyone is the same. Some women do bite the plastic and crack it or pick at it. If you consider acrylic nails as a way to stop biting, you can ask the nail sculpturist to design your nails thicker than usual.

09-03-02, 01:44 PM
doriek
Good post, Sherasi

It really is important to understand the reasons for behavior. Finding out why I do what I do, is solving 90% of the problem. big grin

09-03-02, 08:36 PM
samantha
Thanks alot guys! I will check into this.

09-07-02, 10:51 PM
BlueJewel06
I quit biting my nails...and i picked up biting the cuticles...PAINFUL! but as painful as it is, i still do it. Its so compulsive, i dont even REALIZE im doing it! before i go to bed and while watching a movie are the worst times for me. I just have so much trouble stopping! so, my advice is when you do quit biting the nails successfully (which can be done, i stopped myself when i was only in forth grade!) do NOT pick up any other bad habits in place of it!

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