How do you keep yourself from biting your nails?

I like a long nail biter but I'm nervous nail. I have tried nail polish, but always seems tacky after a few days because of the cutting and I do not always remember to take it off and put on a new layer. I know some people say use vinegar flavor that keeps me from biting, but it did not work for me (work wonders for my 2-year-old though). What do you do for women to keep yourself from biting?

Find something else to do.  When you catch yourself biting your nail.... quickly stop and focus on something else to get thru the nervous tension... like doodling.  Keeping your hands busy while sketching will help refocus your brain.

There are articles out there that help with bad habits and how to reteach your brain to stop those habits you want to change... a simple google search will give you oodles of information.

Good luck!

Awareness and willpower. I bit my nails for years... pretty much til I was like 16. I found that I had done it for so long that I wasn't even really aware when I was doing it, which was often. A big part of it was forcing my own awareness. When I caught myself doing it I had to substitute another habit. I started putting lotion on my hands whenever I did it. Let me tell you, my hands were VERY moisturized the first week.

Then I started painting them properly with base coat, polish and top coat twice a week. If you have some good fast dry top coat it will cut your manicure time way down. This not only strengthens them but when you spend time to make them look super nice it really slows you down from chewing them. If they are chipped and peeled it's much easier to chew them.

Retraining yourself usually takes about 2 weeks. After that I didn't even have the urge to.

Sincerely,

The Reformed Nail Biter

Originally Posted by Dalylah /img/forum/go_quote.gif

....When I caught myself doing it I had to substitute another habit. I started putting lotion on my hands whenever I did it. Let me tell you, my hands were VERY moisturized the first week.

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Oh! That's a good one... its easy, convenient, and not to mention very beneficial!! You're hands will be smooth and look amazing!!

Originally Posted by DreamWarrior /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Oh! That's a good one... its easy, convenient, and not to mention very beneficial!! You're hands will be smooth and look amazing!!

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Plus, if you start to nibble a nail on a hand covered in lotion, the taste is gonna be Very offputting.

Originally Posted by calexxia /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Plus, if you start to nibble a nail on a hand covered in lotion, the taste is gonna be Very offputting.

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Been there, done that, was horrid. *ack*

Originally Posted by Dalylah /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Been there, done that, was horrid. *ack*

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Yup, I totally speak from experience on that one /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I've found that I'm much less likely to bite or pick at my nails if I paid to have them done. This works even better if it's a noticeable color. Red chipped nails look horrible so I'll go out of my way to avoid touching them.

I don't bite my nails but I peel/tear them when they're not polished. So if I want to grow them and stop from peeling/tearing them, I polish them and I won't do it.