Has anyone here had to stop chewing their nails?

I am 36 years old and have been biting my nails for about 35 of them. My nails are so bitten down that I look like I have Man-Fingers and terrible cuticles. It is a nervous habit and I can bite off all my nails before I realize I am even doing it.

I have good news though...I just recently quit biting them!! Just in the past year.
I bought some Revlon Color Stay polish in a dark reddish brown color that is supposed to be stylish when your nails are short. I painted my really short nails in the GREAT nail polish that does not wear off for at least a week. By the time the polish starts to come off (when it starts to peel it comes off in "sheets" that is great to peel off with your teeth kinda like biting your nails with no damage), your nails will be long enough to take the polish off and have a bit of nail to show off and you will hopefully want to keep growing them or put more polish back on and keep going.

It really worked for me, sounds kind of petty, but if you can get a little nail growing, you will have an incentive to keep going. Oh and, my cuticles look like crap and I have started picking at my toe nails...but at least my nails look pretty...

I`m almost 58 years old and have been biting my nails for as long as I can remember. (In fact I have never seen anyone who bites them as bad as I do)
While i`m not proud of it, I am used to it, and at this age i probably am not going to quit....and nothing bugs me more than to have someone tell me to "stop bitting your nails!", as if it is too annoying for them to watch. My answer back to them is, "if you don`t like it, then DON`T LOOK!"
Linda

I used to bite mine also, I did quit though when I started beauty school, because
we would practice manicures on each other all the time! Here is my suggestion, if there
is a beauty school in your area, go and get a hot oil manicure 2 times a wk. you could even go for a polish change and hand massage on the days inbetween, on your lunch hr. or whenever, most beauty schools have night classes too! Do that for a good 2 wks. then you could cut it back, or go has much as you want! I think manicures and pedicures
at BS are $3 to $5, and plus the girls/guys need people to practice on! You can ask the girl at the front desk, to put you with someone that is not just starting, someone who is midway through, or ask for the best manicurist/pedicurist!Call first if you want and ask, and set up an appointment with them!
You will learn who is about to graduate, or who is new, and you can ask also, so then you can request and make an appointment with one you like best! they will love it, and if they are graduating soon, they can introduce you to another up and coming star, that is good also! It's fun, and please tip them whenever you can!
I believe you will quit if you do this! The hand massage and the foot massage, are totally worth it! If your taking care of them, like that I think you'll quit!
Good Luck!!!
Monique

It IS too annoying to watch. I cannot be in the same room with someone doing it, and recently got 2 newbies that were under my charge fired for doing it. They were to do to exactly what they were told and they refused. One of them was digging at her huge zits then chewing her nails. It was nauseating. I asked them both politely to stop, you cannot talk on th phone to potential customers while gnawing on your fingers, and they both whined at me about it, and pulled out the gum and began smacking and chomping, nearly as gross. I collected their badges and sent them to the team leader, who sent them out the door, still whining and gnawing.
It can be done, my SO did it when he found that it made his fingers hurt when he started learning to play guitar. I have known people that learned to crochet beautifully when they were quitting. The pretty polish seemed to work for several people I know. I have a friend that has a nail shop that a lot of her business is people trying to quit. She is so good that you can't tell they had ever been gnawed on. Good luck on your success, I know you can do it.

Well I think I'll try to start putting on nail polish again and see if that will help me quit. I really would like to

I used to chew my nails back when I was a teenager. One year I made a resolution to stop. October or November arrived and I was still chewing my nails. I decided at that moment to just stop. Now the only time I chew them is if I'm out and a nail breaks and I don't have a nail file or clipper with me, and then I only bite off the jaggies so that it doesn't catch on everything.

Like all habbits you really need to want to stop and when you do you have to make a conscious effort about whatever it is that your habbit involves. In your case it's your nails so you need to be aware of where your hands are all of the time and keep them away from your teeth.

I picked up the habit from a boyfriend and chewed for probably 10 years? then I got divorced (not same guy) and magically stopped I would love to have the extra money to get regular manicures cause my nails are very strong but I'm not very good at filing/polishing so I don't do it myself

I bite my nails like crazy all the time. I have tremendously high anxiety and bite my nails as a result. I started in second grade or so and it's only gotten worse.
I want to stop but I tend to need something to express anxiety, so I twirl my hair more when I'm trying not to bite my nails.
My nails are SO bitten down.
Haha, I think I would just brave through the vinegar or other bitter taste- my habit is that ingrained.

Originally Posted by Mollysmom

I bite my nails like crazy all the time. I have tremendously high anxiety and bite my nails as a result. I started in second grade or so and it's only gotten worse.
I want to stop but I tend to need something to express anxiety, so I twirl my hair more when I'm trying not to bite my nails.
My nails are SO bitten down.
Haha, I think I would just brave through the vinegar or other bitter taste- my habit is that ingrained.

Click to expand...

You'd be surprised. You sound like me with anxiety and all. I got a really good version of this stuff and its really disgusting. Last week I had ingested so much of the bitter taste that I thought I was going to throw up from it.

The only thing I don't like about the stuff is if you even scratch your lip or something the taste transfers there.

I've bit my nails forever!

strangely enough a few years back I stopped and my nails grew long and beautiful. were like that for almost a year and then I started biting them again!

you can get the no-bite stuff at longs or rite aid.

I get gels put on now... it's the only way I won't bite them until they bleed...
after they grow you can just get overlays to keep them strong...

When i was 16, i went to this german course, and the girl next to me had such lovely nails, we had class f0r 3 months together, anyway after the first week, i was fully motivated in getting my nails long, it was a goal to achieve. I have very weak nails so i went out and got my self the works, I previously had acrylics and i learnt how to have nice nails by just watching the lady, so i went to get the stick to push the cuticle back, cuticle oils, nail growth, nail hardner, and the 4 in 1 nail filer and buffer.

I was that obsessed that i did my nails every second night, and with in 4 weeks i had nice long manicured nails.

Now i just do mine once a week.
If you need anymore advice or tips just PM me!

I quit chewing my nails in 5th or 6th grade I think. I was a REALLY bad chewer. It's amazing, now my problem is my nails grow really fast and are really thick. I wish I could remember how I quit, but I think I just stopped.

If you can kick the habit, your cats will thank you. My guys LOVE my long nails, makes for good scritches. I think they hate it when I cut my nails.