Nails

[Hannahkw1]

Any tips on how I can stop biting my nails? I hate them! I need top tips! I bite the skin around them too and its just gross.:sigh:

My boyfriend is going to propose to me when I reach target, this year hopefully, and I want my fingers to look lovely and elegant when the ring gets slipped onto my finger!

Please help!!

 

[Toots]

You can get a nail varnish type thing to put on that tastes like sh!t - that should help. Also, now matter how short, go and get a manicure - once they look pretty and have varnish on that may deter you

Good luck and congrats

xxx

 

[Hannahkw1]

Yeah I have got some and have tried it, but Im pretty good at ignoring the taste, biting off the varnish, then biting the nails, pretty much all subconciously! Grrr!

I will pop some on now though, see if I can get any better with it!

Thanks a lot

 

[ColJack]

stuck each finger into something nasty ( I was going to make a sugestion but you can figure out your own nasty.. ), and then don't clean under the nails...

 

[Toots]

the only other thing you could do is get acrylic nails so that you can't get to the nail but this wrecks you nails

All else fails - get the heads up on the proposal date and make an appointment at the nail bar to get lovely new acrylics put on and voila - lovely elegant fingers instantly

xxx

 

[Toots]

stuck each finger into something nasty ( I was going to make a sugestion but you can figure out your own nasty.. ), and then don't clean under the nails...

Eeew - can't argue with the logic though!

xx

 

[Hannahkw1]

Lol accrylic nails ruin your own nails so I couldn't do that! But yeah the nasty nail logic could work......lol

 

[ColJack]

it worked for me when I did some work on a sewerage plant.. I didn't bite my nails for months afterwards... I eventually started again though ( not while working on those sites.. ) once I'd soaked my hands clean doing the washing up for a couple of months...

 

[Hannahkw1]

Haha! Nails are dirty whenever aren't they? I once heard some statistic about how nails are dirtier than toilet seats....that didn't seem to stop me lol like I said gross!!!

 

[-Laura-]

Hypnotherapy. It's worked for me four times now

Seriously though, I am a terrible nail biter and like you, I bite all the skin as well until they bleed, are very painful etc. I've tried the vile tasting nail varnish, my nails were never long enough to get acrylics onto, and as much as I jest about hypnotherapy working four times now (and thus, it must have failed at least three of those times...) it's been the best thing I've ever done to combat my nail biting.

It's not cheap, and for me, it seems to last a good few months before it starts to 'fade' - last time I went was August, and I've just started biting again due to stress, so need to go for a 'top up' as it were - but I tend to leave these too late, so end up back at square one.

I'd recommend it to anyone - I think I must have deep rooted nail biting issues (I dread to think, to be honest!!) to still be biting after four sessions (albeit over two years), but it literally is as if the desire to bite your nails is completely erased from your mind. Very clever stuff indeed!

 

[ColJack]

have you got to the stage where you're stripping layers off the top of your nails when you bite them?
like de-laminating them?

oh and if you don't close the lid before you flush, your toothbrush is dirtier than your toilet seat because at least you wipe that with bleach every now and then...
your toothbrush ( and everything else in the bathroom ) gets a fine mist of aerosolised poop water on it everytime you flush...

 

[Hannahkw1]

Yes!!! And when they split they don't stay nice the two times i've ever been able to grow them! Hypnotherapy scares me I just can't stop, i've got one nail, on my right little finger!

I grew them for about 2 weeks back in November and they looked lovely, they have a lovely natural shape. Just my will power I guess....sucks!

 

[CatCrazy]

if acrylic is applied and removed properly they do not ruin the nail but unfortunately not many nail techs are trained properly and even fewer customers remove them properly.

Yup, i'm a college trained nail tech, no 2 week postal course or even a 4 day intensive course for me. How can anyone train in that time? Artificial nail enhancements are supposed to last 2-3 weeks before needing a refill, if you've only done a 2 week course how can you tell if youre applying nails properly without problems like lifting?

I have successfully treated bitten nails to try and break the biting cycle, acrylic is practically impossible to nibble and is nowhere near as satifying so i've been told. But unless you can find a properly trained nail tech then i would say don't bother because i've also treated the aftermath of butcher techs.

For anyone that does have gels/acrylics/silk then DO NOT pick, prise or pull them off...that is what ruins your nails. They all need soaking off. Also if your usual salon uses the electric file on your own nails that is also extremely damaging and any salons using them are known in the trade as chop shops. I wore acrylics for 5 years solid (did them myself) and when i decided to go natural my own nails were fine, not a single problem because I never overbuffed the natural nail and always removed them properly.

Sorry was a bit of a rant but I hate the reputation artificial nails have because of the bad techs out there out numbering the goodtechs

 

[-Laura-]

Yes!!! And when they split they don't stay nice the two times i've ever been able to grow them! Hypnotherapy scares me I just can't stop, i've got one nail, on my right little finger!

I grew them for about 2 weeks back in November and they looked lovely, they have a lovely natural shape. Just my will power I guess....sucks!

Hypnotherapy is really nowhere near as scary as you think it would be. There was a thread a couple of months back when someone was considering hypnotherapy but worried about it, maybe worth a search?

Then again, I can appreciate that if you really can't bear the thought of it then my advice isn't much use to you I do hope you find a solution though, one of my pre-requisites for getting engaged is that I have nice hands for a ring to go on!!

 

[Hannahkw1]

Haha! Thanks for that! Accrylics just don't really appeal to me.

The nail technicians we have around my area are largely middle eastern people who don't talk any english. My cousin had them done at one and the person didn't even talk to her, just sat her down did it and gave her an after care brochure!!!

I really want lovely natural nails that I can keep forever! With my engagement ring (which im dreaming about far too much!!!!!)

 

[CatCrazy]

I'm not trying to persuade you, I prefer natural but when I did natural nails nails NOBODY could tell they were fake, thats the difference between a chop shop and properly trained. I hated doing the white tips, not nearly as satisfying.

Book a course of manicures, a weekly treat for 6 weeks or so. Knowing you are spending money getting them done should prevent you nibbling and 6 weeks later you should have broken the habit.

Invest in some cuticle oil and massage it in daily, the massaging boosts circulation and encourages healthier growth, it also waterproofs the nails so they are less prone to splitting.

 

[Hannahkw1]

Thank you so much I will do that (when I get paid)! Thanks!

 

[lildanni]

I used to just like you and for some reason, overnight I just stopped...mayb visualise your fingers with beautiful nails and a gorgeous ring on it and really focus on that image when you find yourself moving ur hands for a nibble!

 

[dancingqueen1987]

I have gel nails (very similar to acyrlic) and they haven't ruined my nails. I've had them off a couple of times and my nails have been fine. If you get them done in a proper, good quality place, take care of them whilst you have them and have them taken off properly your nails will survive a lot better. And they look nice too

 

[Jennyonaplate]

How about getting some of those thin cotton gloves, then wear them while your hands are covered in hand cream, while you're watching tv, or whenever you'd normally bite them?

Then you'd have lovely soft hands to go with your nicely grown nails!