Wedding Blog

i used to have a similar problem.. i’d bite the skin/cuticles around my nails. i hated the habit (i always looked so gross) but i just couldn’t stop. what eventually got me to stop was splurging on expensive hand lotion and some manicuring tools. every day i’d slather the lotion just on my fingertips, around the nails, and i’d take a cuticle nipper to clean up the skin around the nail when i absolutely felt the need to bite. (for you, it may be a nice nail file.) usually you can’t carry around the stuff and do it in public, so i’d carry around small, clear band-aids (or really cute hello kitty ones) and if i felt the urge to bite a particular finger, i’d wrap it in a band-aid until i got home and could use the tools. it was a bit embarassing sometimes, having 3 or 4 band-aids on all different fingers, but no one ever really asked what happened and if they did, i’d just say “cheese grating accident”. i know you feel like you’ll always want to bite, but i eventually stopped. time to time i still find myself bringing my fingers to my mouth, but once your fingers go back to “normal” for a while, it’s difficult to start biting again because you know of the pain and bleeding and all that. and once you’re “normal”, the manicures will help a LOT!!! (till then yes, i ruined many an expensive manicure….)

GOOD LUCK! you can do it!!

i got acryllics for a while, and when theres nothing u can bite, you just stop, Its a mind thing.

I know acryllics are really bad for you but I heard theres something called virtual nails that one of the wedding bees had blogged about a few months back

I remember watching Queer Eye and one of their make-over guys had a nail biting problem so they painted his nails with nail polish that tasted bitter. Maybe this will help?

Maybe you should try what the women who want to lose weight in Allure magazine do..they go public. Meaning their weight loss (or lack there of) is being charted for EVERYONE to see so you really want to do your best. So maybe you can post a picture of your nails (close up) on weddingbee and update it each week. Sounds brutal but it just might work.

lol you are not an adult male with an emotional problem…that cracked me up. My friend used to bite her nails too but after getting acrylic nails, she stopped.

i am also a !terrible! nail biter. the bitter nail polish never worked for me; i would just get used to the taste and then go back to the business fo biting.

i have scaled back significantly in the last few months by focusing on not biting one nail at a time. i know it sounds crazy (well, crazy for an emotionally disturbed nail biter), but it has worked for me.

my co-worked had the same problem, and she wore acrylics for two months before her wedding. after she had them removed, her nails were really weak, but they polished up fine and she looked great for her wedding!

All these posts are great advice, but I found what really helped me was some extra motivation. Back in high school my mom wanted me to stop biting my nails so she offered to buy me a new pair of shoes if I would stop and it worked! I didn’t even really think I could do it but I did. I find that I still go in phases of biting/not biting, especially when I’m stressed or when I don’t have anything to do with my hands (like while reading). Now I just give myself a little incentive, like buying a new handbag or whatever and it works. It also helps, as someone said earlier if you tell someone about your goal. Maybe tell your fiance and he might help keep you in check. Good luck!

I did the one finger at a time too. And I put a bandaid on that finger while starting out. Although I’ve always had a very difficult time with that last nail.

The nasty polish is no good. Either you get used to the taste, or worse, the taste brushes off! Use your hands to pick up a bagel? The taste got on the bagel!! I suppose if you were doing a combo finger biting and weight loss….

And I bit off the acrylic nails - I’m that much of a nail biter.

For me, the best thing was going to work in a hospital…you def don’t want to put your hands in your mouth when you know what they have been touching!

i was a terrible nail biter also - wow there are a lot of us!

basically i’m compuslive with my nails. i’m either biting them or grooming them or polsihing them, and i don’t think that will change very easily, but i have been able to grow my nails by making sure i take care of them well.

it’s not easy, but what helped me through it was using brigh red nail polishs. i do them myself because even when i do get them done the tips chip, and thats the most important part to keep coverd. i invest in nice salon quality nail polish like opi, essie, or orly because they do last longer (1-2 weeks) compared to cheaper kinds like wet-n-wild. And when your nails chip or you falter and start nibbling again you can fix up the tips quickly.

The best strategy I’ve found is to constantly put lotion on my hands - focusing around my nails. When I feel the urge to pick, I massage my nails and cuticles instead. I feel like it gives me the same emotional release (because the picking is stress-related).

I’ve really been trying to stop too! I’ve tried acrylics, but I chew right through those (gross, huh?) I’m going to try the LCN and the photos I think… Good luck!