Stop Biting Your NailsI’ve been biting my nails for as long as I can remember. I do it subconsciously most of the time, so it’s been really hard to stop. When my brother’s wedding was getting closer, I tried everything because I couldn’t really afford to put tips on. By the time the wedding rolled around, I still had very short nails, but at least they weren’t bitten down to the quick! Here are a few tips to help you stop biting your nails. Some worked for me, some are tips that others swear by. Hopefully they will help you have gorgeous nails in no time…or at least something a little more elegant that scraggly stubs!

Tips to Stop Biting Your Nails

  • Keep your hands busy. Idle hands are the nail-biters playthings! Keep your hands busy as much as possible. I type most of the day,but at night when I’m watching TV, I have to constantly eat something to keep my hands out of my mouth. Of course, that’s not good either! I try to chew gum or eat sugar-free mints. If you’re crafty, try taking up knitting!
  • Make them taste bad. Some people swear by nasty tasting polishes or gunk that you can put on your nails. My mom even suggested hot sauce. I just get used to the taste though. Then again, any flavor on your nails should send a signal to your brain that you’re biting your nails again if you do it unknowingly.
  • Paint them…then eat the polish! Okay, I know how ridiculous that sounds, but this is what worked for me the best. I paint them with non-toxic clear paint, then scrape the polish off instead of biting my nails. Hey, when you’re desperate, you’ll try anything!
  • Paint them, but don’t eat the polish! You could take the more logical route and just paint them a pretty color so you’re more likely to avoid ruining the paint job.
  • Pay for a manicure. When you’re shelling out money to make your nails look better, you’ll think twice about sticking them in your mouth. I managed to go from Weds-Saturday without biting because I didn’t want my $20 manicure to look cruddy for the wedding.
  • Remind yourself of the dangers of biting your nails. Your hands come into contact with like a zillion germs every day, and I highly doubt you always remember to wash them before you stick them in your mouth. Aside from the potential germs that you’re ingesting, biting your nails can also cause infection if you’re biting the skin too. Nail biting can also cause dental problems. So really, it’s much more unhealthy than you might think!
  • Enlist help.Between my mom, my friends, and my boyfriend, any time I started biting my nails someone was there to remind me to stop. Tell everyone you know that you’re trying to stop biting your nails, and ask them to go to extreme measures if necessary to get your hands away from your face!
  • Pin inspirational photos on Pinterest.My Awesome Hair and Makeup board on Pinterest is filled with really cool nail art that I’d love to be able to do one day. None of them would look good on short, stubby nails, so if you want to actually try them, you need to stop biting your nails.

I admit, although I managed to go a week without biting my nails, I’m starting to fall back into the bad habit. I have to be really conscious of my nail biting right now because I finally have little ones and I don’t want to lose them all. Do you have a favorite trick to stop biting your nails? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!