How To Stop Biting, Bending and Breaking Your Fingernails ✾
And Grow Them Long, Strong, and Beautifully Oblong In 4 Simple Steps
Posted in Beauty, Emotional Health, Nails, Stress, Tips 5 min read
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TL;DR

  • Nail biting is not a “bad habit”
  • It’s a stress coping mechanism
  • We tend to take out our stress on our bodies
  • This is an emotional issue that simple discipline and will power cannot adequately address
  • You have to identify the chronic stressor(s) that trigger the nail biting
  • Think back to when it first started to help identify the trigger point
  • If you’ve done it for as long as you can remember, or since you were a kid, chances are these are childhood stressors that have followed you into adulthood which you either haven’t addressed, internalized or have been unable to detach/distance yourself from. This includes family members, dynamics, friends, physical environments and locations that trigger those stressful feelings and emotions. Other chronic stressors like work, financial independence and responsibility, etc. can also contribute to that.
  • Use flattering nail extensions to both stifle the physical act of biting yours as well as to give you a constant visual reminder of how beautiful yours will look once they grow out.
  • Pay attention to other people’s fingernails. When you people watch, go a step further and fingernail watch if possible / proximity allows, especially by people you are around more (family, friends, acquaintances who aren’t stressors)
  • Wear nail polish in colors that evoke feelings of happiness like nature greens, sky blues and sunny yellows. This intentional act of self care coupled with color therapy will help your mood and make your fingernails a source of stress relief when you see them. Using your nails for relief as visual stimulators instead of punching bags allows you to trade the destructive habit of biting/eating them while still addressing any stressors.
  • The goal is to substitute nail biting as a stress coping mechanism with color/art therapy as well as identifying and removing the worst/chronic stressors from your life so you’re not constantly driven to cope with it/them by constantly biting/eating your nails.
  • It may take a few attempts of trying and failing to stop nail biting before you are able to identify and eliminate the stressor driving you to do it, but taking intentional baby steps and using nail colors and art as visual therapy and pedicures as an act of intentional self care will ensure you eventually stop for good.
  • Once you start growing your nails out, mechanical breakage can become another major stumbling block to long, beautiful nails, even for those who don’t bite their nails.
  • Nails, like hair, are in their most vulnerable state when wet and swollen/expanded with water. The longer your nails stay soaked/immersed in water/moisture, the more they expand and become more susceptible to breaking and peeling.
  • It follows that, since the natural opposer of water is oil (water and oil don’t mix) the solution to preventing nails from swelling too much when immersed in water is using an oil, preferably a botanical oil like extra virgin olive oil or extra virgin coconut oil. My personal fave is olive. Rub it into your fingernails, beds and cuticles along with the rest of your hands each time you wash your hands.
  • If soaking in a bath (which is a self-care act I highly encourage), keep your hands dangling off the side of the tub to keep your hands out of the water for an extended period of time. Another option is to apply the oil to your fingernails (and toe nails, because they can become susceptible to moisture-weakened breakage as well) before you get in the tub to soak and the oil will provide a barrier for your nails and restrict how much water enters them.
  • When doing the dishes, cleaning the tub you just enjoyed the heck out of, or any other house chores involving water and potentially drying cleaning supplies, do yourself and nails a favor and just. Use. Gloves. Seriously, they work and prevent a lot of unnecessarily broken nails (which can be extremely painful and even damaging to your nail bed depending on the angle of force/impact).
  • If you find that your nails are inherently brittle despite taking precautions to protect them during chores. manual labor and the swelling effects of water, you may likely have a nutritional deficiency or insufficiency (especially B vitamins, iron and vitamin c). This is also true if you find that your nails grow unreasonably slowly or your nail beds are extremely pale/borderline white. You’ll likely notice this deficiency (particularly if it is severe) in other parts of your body like your skin and hair.
  • Lastly, wear nail polish. Barring any nutritional issues, this is my favorite tip because it’s a practical solution that is also beautifying. Picking deep nude and rosy nude colors offers both a protective and reinforcing armor for your nail and does a damn good job of making them look slender, soft and pretty at the same time. It’s a win-win all around, and with good quality nail polish, the pretty protective barrier will last at least a good week before chipping and your have to reapply.

The Nitty Gritty

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