A DAILY nail biter's photo diary to recovery!

Hey guys!

I thought of this idea this morning and thought it would make a great post. On some other forums I visit people often post diaries or kind of "work in progress" posts so readers can see how a project is going.

Well I am a serial nail biter and have decided that from this day forth I am going to put an end to the nibbles!

Here's my short backstory:

I never used to bite my nails at all through primary school, it was never something I thought of doing. When I moved to secondary school I went through a phase of being bullied pretty badly by some rough children, this was when I was aged 11-14. During this time I acquired a horrible habit of not only biting my nails in anxiety and worry, but also biting the skin around the nails until they hurt... sometimes even bleeding. Almost 10 years on I am now 23 I still haven't lost this awful habit. It's safe to say I am no longer bullied and I lead a pretty active social life which leaves me with the problem of always having short nails on nights out etc. During uni I would have weeks where my nails would grow quite a bit, but once they got to a certain length I would end up biting them off again sometimes without fully realizing I was doing it. The majority of the time in college and uni I would have my nails painted a colour - this would stop me biting while the nail varnish was on but would also stop people from noticing the terrible, damaged condition my nails are in! I am tired of always hiding my fingernails and being an artist I am always having people looking over my shoulder to watch me at work and I can't bare the thought they could be judging my nails as well as my work!

SO! Today I am going to tell the photo story of my recovery, I feel like if I have this log online I will stick to it more and also explain what I am doing to heal up my damaged nails on the way for people who also suffer from compulsive nail biting. 

Feel free to share your thoughts or ask questions /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> - Also if you find bitten nails gross then this may not be the thread for you! The first pictures are going to be the worst obviously /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

This is the current condition/problems of my nails while beginning this diary.



DAY 1: 



Treatment:

Filing down broken areas of nail.

Using tweezers to pull off loose skin instead of biting. 

Using aloe vera on individual nails and argan oil.

Moisturizing hands using Cetaphil moisturzer. 

Prevention: 

Wearing GLOVES while indoors! (No joke /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)

This sounds like a great plan.  I'm also a recovering nail-biter --I have mild generalized anxiety and tend to pick at my nails if they are even remotely uneven or peeling near the top.

To help combat this, I've been painting my nails regularly (the fear of having nail polish sticking to my teeth is compelling! lol) and keeping nail clippers/file "on hand" (haha) to repair damage before I get annoyed with it and bite/tear it.  I'm also taking biotin to help prevent my nails from peeling/breaking on their own.

Good luck!!  I might join in too, to help keep me accountable! 

You should go for it! It's a great way to make yourself stop /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

Even if you don't want to post online, but instead take a picture series of them improving. 

DAY 2: 



Treatment:

Hand moisturizer.

Prevention: 

Busy day outdoors, no time for biting!

Good luck!  Nothing like a bit of peer pressure to get you to change a habit 

Part of me wants to ask if you've ever tried having fake nails?  It would make them hard to bite off, right?

Thanks /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

I have had fake nails before which has helped to some extent, but I don't like using nail glue on my finger nails as I end up wanting to pick left over glue off... and then my actual nail!

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

Good luck!  Nothing like a bit of peer pressure to get you to change a habit 

Part of me wants to ask if you've ever tried having fake nails?  It would make them hard to bite off, right?

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That's how I stopped biting my nails. I got acrylic nails put on and just kept getting them filled until I stopped having the urge to bite them and also once they were long underneath. I wouldn't really recommend that for everyone because acrylic weakens the nail and causes them to break off but I've always had thick nails so it was fine for me. I haven't bitten my nails off in years since doing that.

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

I wouldn't really recommend that for everyone because acrylic weakens the nail and causes them to break off but I've always had thick nails so it was fine for me. I haven't bitten my nails off in years since doing that.

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Yeah I would figure you'd get the fake nails long enough to stop your habit of biting them, and once you've learned to not bite them anymore, you could stop using the acrylics (weaker nails might be a bigger reason to continue to not bite them!), then you can grow your nails out back to normal again without the habit of biting them.

I was just figuring if something made it physically impossible to bite, then it would be easier to curb the habit.

I used to be a habitual nail biter- I had a couple of false starts before I was able to kick the habit. I did find that as my nails grew out, they did become harder and more difficult to bite. (not so much as acrylics would be- but still enough to be noticeably and make a difference!) Your day two pictures are looking great! Hang in there, it gets easier as you go!

This might be kind of a weird thing to say but your hands are gorgeous!

I used to be a chronic nail biter too. Haven't relapsed in a few months... I find that my current nail polish obsession helps. Good luck! 

Day 3: (Late with photo sorry, internet went down!)



Treatment:

Aloe vera 

Hand moisturizer twice

Thanks for the comments guys, I have been good so far! I hope I can keep it up /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I'll probably be using a gloss or strengthener in the next few days to avoid splits early on. 

keep up the good work! I am a recovered nail biter and it was not easy but totally worth it. Its an icky habit and it hurts my teeth now. 

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

keep up the good work! I am a recovered nail biter and it was not easy but totally worth it. Its an icky habit and it hurts my teeth now. 

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Haha I know it's an awful habit. I think the worst part of it is the fact you only realize you're doing it when it's too late and your hand is already at your lips. Gloves are really the way to go at vulnerable times   

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


Haha I know it's an awful habit. I think the worst part of it is the fact you only realize you're doing it when it's too late and your hand is already at your lips. Gloves are really the way to go at vulnerable times 

 

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When in doubt, use help /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I have a tendency to sleep with the back of my hand against my chin, so that my wrist is severely bent downwards. (not sure if i'm describing this very well...if you ever see somebody who takes their thumb and pulls it down to touch their wrist, my hand is kind of in that position...then the back of my hand is propped up against my chin/cheek like a chin rest, or mini pillow)

I've actually sprained my wrist a few times by sleeping like this, but how do I break a habit I'm doing while I'm asleep?!  I have a wrist brace I need to use for when I sprain my wrists, and have to sleep with it so I don't end up re-spraining it when it's injured.  It's annoying, but sometimes that's the only thing I can do to make sure it won't hurt even more by the time I wake up! >.<;

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

Day 3: (Late with photo sorry, internet went down!)



Treatment:

Aloe vera 

Hand moisturizer twice

Thanks for the comments guys, I have been good so far! I hope I can keep it up /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I'll probably be using a gloss or strengthener in the next few days to avoid splits early on. 

Click to expand...

Keep up the great work your nails already look so much better /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Day 5:

Treatment:

Hand moisturizer 

Argan oil

Most nails are growing well so far, I have been filing some to stop breakage in weak areas.

*Also I'll be updating the title of this thread to not be daily, I will continue to update every 2/3 days so you can see more difference and less hassle on my behalf too!

*I'll rename this diary as I will update approx every 2/3 days!

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

When in doubt, use help /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I have a tendency to sleep with the back of my hand against my chin, so that my wrist is severely bent downwards. (not sure if i'm describing this very well...if you ever see somebody who takes their thumb and pulls it down to touch their wrist, my hand is kind of in that position...then the back of my hand is propped up against my chin/cheek like a chin rest, or mini pillow)

I've actually sprained my wrist a few times by sleeping like this, but how do I break a habit I'm doing while I'm asleep?!  I have a wrist brace I need to use for when I sprain my wrists, and have to sleep with it so I don't end up re-spraining it when it's injured.  It's annoying, but sometimes that's the only thing I can do to make sure it won't hurt even more by the time I wake up! >.<;

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Wow you have a habit of biting in your sleep? I haven't heard of anybody having this problem, it must be a nightmare (that was not supposed to be a pun!). I would probably advise to wear some gloves, maybe plastic so you don't have wool in your mouth haha. I hope you find a way to help yourself as it's hard enough to stop while you're awake.

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


Wow you have a habit of biting in your sleep? I haven't heard of anybody having this problem, it must be a nightmare (that was not supposed to be a pun!). I would probably advise to wear some gloves, maybe plastic so you don't have wool in your mouth haha. I hope you find a way to help yourself as it's hard enough to stop while you're awake.

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nono, not biting, spraining my wrist lol.  That's why the wrist brace helps me out.  I was referring to trying to break a bad habit that you do when you don't realize you're doing it!

I'm a chronic nail biter too.. I'm making a progress trying to recover.. Check this out

I'm glad this strategy looks like it's starting to work! I am a little worried that filing might replace biting (I know how easy it is, even without any biting habit, to file down nails beyond what I sometimes intend /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ) so I would keep a close eye on that if I were you. Maybe create a rule of "only file if the nail is already beyond the finger" or something like that? You might be able to use a strengthening base coat to prevent various forms of breakage before that. Good luck on the continued work!

braces stopped my biting /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />