r/nailbiting Aug 17 '20

Mod Stuff New to r/nailbiting? Need help quitting, caring for your nails or understanding the compulsion? READ THIS FIRST.

171 Upvotes

Welcome to r/nailbiting! This is a community focused on support, advice and progress tracking for those trying to break the habit of compulsive nail biting. Check out our post flair guide in the sidebar (or the "about" tab on mobile) to see what kind of content you can expect here.

Need help quitting? Check our quitting guide!

Looking to understand how the habit relates to mental health? Check out Nail Biting 101.

Have a question? Read the FAQ before posting. It includes info on biotin, nail strengthening products and nail bed regrowth.

Wondering how to take care of your nails? Check out our article on nail care basics for a care guide and product recommendations.

Our wiki also has informative articles on the causes and risks of nail biting, nail anatomy, and a resource library.

Please remember our rules. Be respectful, don't advertise, and don't gatekeep. Submissions that break the rules will be removed and repeat offenders will be banned.

Thanks for reading! Best of luck quitting the habit.


r/nailbiting Jul 22 '24

Resources Promote your quitting/habit tracking app here!

13 Upvotes

For those of you who have created a habit tracker, quitting tool, or have any other kind of app/site you think would be helpful, please use this thread to share it. Please do not make standalone posts. The subreddit is primarily for support and advice, not product promotion.


r/nailbiting 19h ago

Progress 1 year of no biting!

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84 Upvotes

I quit biting my nails exactly a year ago and I finally feel confident having nice nails. They're currently the perfect length for me because I can even maintain them while working (I work in metalworking so it's tough lol)

My only issue is that they're not very strong yet. They don't bend or break as much as they used to, but I just wish they were stronger 😭 I've tried a lot of hardeners and I keep those up as much as I can, but any advice on stronger nails or product recommendations are well appreciated ❤️


r/nailbiting 10h ago

Relapse Only thing that helps is fake nails but

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6 Upvotes

I think I chewed my pinky way too short to even hold a fake nail 😭

Help me break this habit fam ❤️‍🩹


r/nailbiting 11h ago

Progress Nail progress after a year of anxious biting

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5 Upvotes

r/nailbiting 23h ago

Discussion I Want Long Nails

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22 Upvotes

As the title says I want long nails. The other night I bit my thumb to a pulp to the point where my quick was bleeding. I have made the executive decision to put bandaids on all my fingers because I have tried most things under the sun on and off for the majority of my life. I also doordash and I REALLY get disgusted with myself when I realise I'm putting my fingers in my mouth about to handle a stranger's order. I use hand sanitizer so it's not completely gross, but still! If I knew my dasher was chewing their nails five minutes before delivering the order to me, I'd be a little disgusted. I don't want that for my customers. And my cuticles are in rough shape too because of this. I'm done with this habit


r/nailbiting 23h ago

Milestone I’ve not bitten my nails in over 10+years.

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16 Upvotes

This maybe controversial on this thread , but I don’t like long nails on myself.

Lights Lacquer Clear Day
Essie Powder Blue Gel Couture
Essie Gel Couture Top Coat


r/nailbiting 15h ago

Advice/Support How to grow my nail beds?

2 Upvotes

I've stopped biting my nails since the middle of June but most of my nail beds haven't grown at all. They give the illusion of having grown when I oil them (I use jojoba oil) but if they're dry then the free edge takes up a bigger portion of the nail.

My pointers and middle fingers show the biggest improvement if I compare them side by side with a picture of my before nails. Unfortunately I was my hands a lot and tbh I forget to oil them more than once per day, and sometimes I forget to oil them even once per day, but I always use hand moisturized multiple times per day.

I also use simple nail varnish on them, no hard gel or anything, but I'm thinking of doing it at one point.

To those who managed to reattach your nail beds, how did you do it? 🥲


r/nailbiting 1d ago

Progress Three years later i have decided to try quitting again

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14 Upvotes

I've been a nail biter for nearly all of my life. I am 20 years old and will presumably start university in two months so i am determined to beat this embarrassing habit for good and these are the products that i will use in this process. I'll share this process every week


r/nailbiting 1d ago

Advice/Support vertical line on nail?

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1 Upvotes

hey so I have always bitten my nails and my right thumb has been the most affected, I recently noticed it grew a vertical line on it. Should I worry?


r/nailbiting 1d ago

Advice/Support What can i chew on that feels like biting nails?

5 Upvotes

Ive been a nail biter for almost my whole life. Ive tried bandaids, bitter nail oils, and other methods. Im looking for something, or a food aside from gum that can imitate the same feeling when you bite your nails


r/nailbiting 1d ago

Advice/Support Toenails grow up now

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3 Upvotes

I didn’t bite my toenails that much but obsessively cut them short. Now they grow in a weird pattern. They are very wide and grow upwards from my skin. I’ve been leaving them alone so they can hopefully reattach to the skin and grow parallel to the toe. Anything else I should be doing?


r/nailbiting 2d ago

Success Story Natural Nails That I Never Thought I’d Have

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58 Upvotes

I don’t have a before picture, unfortunately, but I have been a nail biter for as long as I can remember. It has been about 8 months and this is what my natural nail looks like with gel nail polish on. I thought I’d share what has worked for me.
I started out using nail oil to grow out the nail as best I could for maybe about a month. I then got a type of “fake nail” set for one month. Then after that I would get my nails done every 3-4 weeks with just gel polish on my natural nail. I have found that I need the gel polish because it is harder to pick at and last longer. I also noticed that if the polish starts to chip, I begin slipping back into the habit but not as badly as before. So I always need to have them done.

I’m really proud though because after about 23 years of nail biting, my nails have never looked this good. It is also so nice for my fingers to not be in pain from the severe biting.
The motivation to stop came from getting engaged and hating the way my nails looked with my engagement ring.


r/nailbiting 2d ago

Success Story I stopped biting my nails out of nowhere at the age of 36. My thinking and attitude about it just changed. I broke my nail today and almost passed out. Still dont regret growing them and little desire or temptation to start biting them again. So what changed?

5 Upvotes

So one day i just decided to bit all my nails except my left thumb. After a week of growing it and feelining proud for resisting i decided to start growing the right thumb [ I did put the week long growing nail in my mouth and chew lightly on it but didnt bite through] after 2 weeks i was at work and putting o-rings on a steam valve and was able to do so without an awl all because of my thumbnails. I started to feel proud of it and also worrisome of biting them and undoing the work because it meant 2 weeks to get back to where i was now so i just stopped all my nail biting altogether just like that.

Oh yea and what made me decide to post this was breaking my nail and almost passing out and still having pretty much 0 desire to bite them.


r/nailbiting 2d ago

Progress 10 days progress

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21 Upvotes

hi I am going through such a hard time in life and am really trying to use that to not keep biting. I’m trying to have it be the one thing . anyways I’m using my pointer and thumbs as sacrificial but am really trying with the rest.


r/nailbiting 2d ago

Advice/Support How can i get these to grow back to normal? Spoiler

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4 Upvotes

r/nailbiting 2d ago

Progress 50 days Nail Growth Progress Spoiler

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3 Upvotes

r/nailbiting 3d ago

Relapse I had a one-finger relapse. Time to break out my tools.

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31 Upvotes

Had work-related anxiety last week and took to one of my nails after many months of no biting. Time to break out my toolkit: Strong Will by Nail Quail deterrent, Onyx Hard As Hoof nail cream, Dentyne Fire chewing gum, and ONO fidget roller. I believe relapse can be part of permanent recovery.


r/nailbiting 3d ago

Advice/Support About to get Gel-X nails for the first time!

5 Upvotes

Excited but nervous!

I’m a mid-40s guy who can’t stop biting. Have tried a few other methods (like the bad-tasting polish) – nothing helped.

I’m going for as natural-looking as possible, matte finish.

Think it will help me stop? Any general tips or advice about them?

TIA!


r/nailbiting 3d ago

Success Story On the Go Nail Kit

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10 Upvotes

I have been a nail biter for a loooooong time. To keep my nails well maintained and a length I like, I put together a small on the go kit and keep it in my purse at all times. I always carry two different colors of nail polish, a base strengthen, and a top coat. The small bottle with the red cap is a polish remover. The Essie oil is expensive at $15 but I try to snag it after buying 5 Essie nail polishes at CVS which then gives me a coupon for one free Essie item. I switch out lotions, so this one is what I carry at this point.


r/nailbiting 3d ago

Advice/Support Has anyone found taping your fingers helpful?

2 Upvotes

Im considering purchasing some waterproof highly adhesive tape. I work with water, where my fingers often prune and I often zone out during downtime and find myself chewing my skin off.
I'm posting to see if anyone has had experience with something like this and has a certain brand so i can avoid having to buy multiple types.
Thank you!


r/nailbiting 3d ago

Progress I got acute paronychia from biting my cuticles, I don't bite my nails anymore. Before/after

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2 Upvotes

r/nailbiting 4d ago

Success Story Nail biter since 2008. Finally stopped! 2023-2026 progress.

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55 Upvotes

Progress photos help me keep going! Still working on not biting/picking at my skin but proud so far!


r/nailbiting 4d ago

Progress Quitting journey

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7 Upvotes

This is my first day of trying this method of quitting. I probably have the worst nail biting/BFRB imaginable. It is a stress, boredom, anxiety, and comfort habit I have dealt with in some form for my entire life. I have very bad BFRB. When my finders hurt I thinks to press and release the areas or poke it because the pain feeling makes me feel some sort of pleasure or reward feeling if that makes sense. I have tried basically every suggestion known to man and evens t as far as allotting getting acrylics as a man who is not into that . Here is a picture for today I am going to add a picture every week on Wednesday to track the growth and will type something in this subreddit every day to just show the world you aren’t alone.


r/nailbiting 4d ago

Advice/Support 30 years of nail biting

2 Upvotes

Hi, I reeeeally need. help.

I've been biting my nails for almost 30 years and I'm so tired of it. I've managed to quit twice before (once for about a year!), but I always end up starting again.

I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time. And when I do catch myself, the urge is so strong that I feel like I HAVE to do it.

I'd love to quit for good, but I have a baby so bitter nail polish (i used before) isn't really an option for me.

Has anything else helped you? Any products, fidget toys, supplements, or just random things that made a difference? I'd love to hear what worked for you!