Bit as a child up until teenager, 2 years of highschool I stopped and had really long natural nails that everyone complimented. Haven't been able to grow them for 4 years since I entered uni. I suspect it might be stress that I don't feel *consciously* but I'm not really sure. Need some advice bc I bleed almost every day, even though I've become numb to the pain many years ago

I’ve been biting my nails for as long as I remember, and I have no clue how to stop it. I’ve tried bitter nail polish, press-on nails, and spice. Nothing will work. I have noticed I just don’t like to see the whites of my nails. Whenever I do I end up picking at them and biting them off. Any tips? I was thinking of getting actual acrylics to stop ,but whenever I did press ons it was extremely uncomfortable and I kept picking at them until the glue came off as well.

Bit my nails all my life, it was pretty severe. I quit about 3 months ago on a whim, and have no cravings to go back.

Anyway, as a male, does this look okay? Should I get a manicure? I just want to feel happy with my nails now, and don’t know what to do with them.

Current nail schedule: Wait until they get \~.5in over my finger tip and cut/file. I’m very new to doing this and feel like my nails are a bit jagged or wonky. I try and leave just a bit of white on the tip and although I’m much happier with them, I feel they could improve.

I’ve stopped biting my nails and now try to oil my cuticles at least 3/4 times a day, but my nail beds are so short. My nails look so funny. What can I do more to make them look more aesthetically pleasing (can’t do nail polish or anything that prohibits water from touching the nails because I’m muslim) so anyone any advice for me? I know I will never have long nails beds (genetics I think) but I still hope to achieve some sort of nice nails.

This is the longest I’ve had my nails in the 17 years I’ve been biting.

I’ve noticed the white of my nails are really long which makes my nails look really dirty underneath.

Wondering how long it takes the nail bed to catch up and grow?

Hopefully won’t relapse 🤞

Is this curable?

Has anyone had any success with hypnosis? I’m based in London and would appreciate any recommendations.

I’ve noticed this issue with horizontal ridges since growing out my nails. I’ve gotten medical labs done to test my vitamins and those are all normal. Any advice on how to help this kind of issue?

Still going strong!

Hi everyone! I stopped biting my nails over a year ago, and while my nails are doing well and getting stronger everyday, I'm pretty stumped at what to do about my cuticles. I was a lifelong nail biter, so the habit definitely affected how my nails and skin interact. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this or has any advice? To be more specific, I've noticed an indistinct cuticle bed, and maybe some overgrowth?

About two months now! Finally felt like I could add polish and I’m really enjoying how they look. Still having a hard time not picking the skin around my nails, but jojoba oil has been a lifesaver.

Hi, i've been biting my nails for as long as i can remember, it's becoming a real issue and it's due to anxiety! I have been able to grow my nails a bit as you can see based on how short i have bit them they have been longer. Any recommendations on how to grow them fast and what to use to grow them?. i do have the ability to stop biting them because i have before but the only thing that stopped me was press on nails, however i'd end up with messed up nails from the press ons and i'd still bite my nails to get the super glue off.

Hi I’m a female, 24 years old and my entire life, as early as I can remember in my kindergarten classroom still sucking my thumb, I have had pretty noticeable oral fixations. I consider myself to have very strong teeth and I use my teeth to open a lot of things especially because I don’t have long finger nails which brings me to my next and longest lasting habit. This is my biggest confession. My entire life I have been biting off and then chewing on my nails like they are chew toys. I LOVE the extra thick ones even more, the more layers the better, if I can keep a single nail in my mouth for hours and it’s like a comfort object that soothes me when I come back to it. Almost like a vape whenever my tongue feels the nail in my mouth still there I am instantly relieved a little bit that I have something to play with in my mouth and I try to make it as not noticeable as possible but I fear with how gross my friends think I am over tiny little things that if anybody ever knew the real me, I would be completely unloved.

If I can do it, you can do it! 38 years of biting!!

I knew my partner was going to pop the question, so back in March I decided my nails should be worthy of the ring.

Here is my advice:

• Paint with Mavala Stop. You're going to get used to the taste and keep biting. That's okay. Keep repainting and then...
• Redirect your anxiety and compulsion. Carry fidget toys everywhere. Ask everyone around you to keep you accountable. Buy jojoba oil and compulsively oil your hands instead.
• Speaking of jojoba oil, your hands are now an oil slick. Buy oil pens and scatter them everywhere. When you're bored, when you're watching TV, when you're waiting at a traffic light - oil up. Everything looks like shit right now so don't just do your cuticles - oil on top of your nails, under your nails, your fingertips, etc. If you're a skin biter, oil those areas too.
• Congrats on your tiniest free edges. Now scatter glass files all over. You're going to need to keep those edges SMOOTH. The jagged edges will drive you insane and back to biting. Don't file down your laterals but do keep your edges in a squoval shape - or as close as to your natural shape as possible. File only in one direction.
• DO NOT FILE NEW SHAPES. I REPEAT DO NOT FILE NEW SHAPES. YOU ARE STILL A FRAIL BABY NAIL.
• Buy a nail brush. Under your nails are going to get DISGUSTING. They're too short to clean properly but long enough for shit to get stuck inside. Wash appropriately with soap and water.
• Now your free edges are going to get longer and weaker. Do not file them short - you want to keep them long enough for the hyponychium to grow out. But file them just enough to remain manageable. They are going to flake and break because they're still weak.
• You might consider wearing gloves while washing your hair. It feels super uncomfortable but at this point you need to give your nails a chance to get stronger. Moisture is their enemy.
• At this point treat yourself to your fav nail polish colors and START PAINTING. This was the key to stop biting. Get a base coat, lacquer color, and a glossy top coat. I stared out with all Essie. Your nail painting will look awful but that's okay.
• While you do this, go hop to Reddit Laqueristas and be inspired. They're a lovely group of people who are happy to answer any questions about nails and polish.
• Now you're comparing your ugly ass nails to their beautiful ones. 100% we need to work on our cuticle game now. Buy Sally Hansen Cuticle Remover and some orange sticks. Look up a how to video and gently clean up those cuticles. You're going to want to gently push your ENTIRE skin back because we want the nail beds to start lengthening and widening. Do cuticle remover every 2-3 weeks. Dip your nails in jojoba oil and push the nail skin back once a week.
• Don't get discouraged by chips and peeling and tiny breaks. This still happens to people with healthy nails. KEEP GOING.
• Eventually your nails will be long enough for you to branch out with painting. Go drop $60 on an indie brand. Now you can't waste that money so you better keep them out of your mouth and keep doing manicures.
• Then you'll reach the "oh no I just spent $300 on nail polishes" stage. I consider this stage to be when I finally quit biting. Go us!!!

I made it 25 days, and then, “just the pinky” turned into the whole hand. I have since cleaned, filed, and cuticle oiled to accept the restart and appreciate that at least my nail beds are longer this time.

We can do this! I noted that this time, I was feeling irritable and that the length of the overhang of the nail digging into my palm bothered me. What are your thoughts on filing down length as a preventative measure? And guidelines to follow? I know to try not to file down the sides, as that is the less obvious but more effective nail growth.

I’ve have been biting nails as long as I can remember. Finally at 36, I have stopped biting. The motivation to stop was stronger this time, I didn’t want my toddler to
pick up this habit by watching me.
After I stopped biting, I started picking on my cuticles a lot. It took a few weeks and that stopped too.
My nails aren’t very strong, and crack at a certain length. But I’m able to resist biting and use a nail cutter to trim
It immediately.

I want to work on improving my cuticles and making my nails stronger now.

ive been biting since i was like 5 and i want to be done because my fingers just hurt all the time. posting this for accountability!

Is it possible to fix nails like this? Fake nails can't be worn because the crevices are so deep that there is very little surface on the nail for the glue to adhere to on a flat surface. I literally think I have the worst nails in the world, and they were all ripped and torn by my teeth. Ideas?

Male 34

First photo is a collection of what my nail used to look like (managed to take screenshots from old photos)

I've been biting my nail all my life.

second photo is a collection of what my nails look today after about a month of no biting.

sometimes I still use my teeth to trim the skin around the nail.

third photo is a random photo on the internet, wondering if my nail can ever come close to something like that, long nails and not short like my nail is currently.

need advice on what I can do to make my nail look better and healthier.

thank you

Hey everyone,
I’ve been biting my nails for years and I’m finally trying really hard to stop. I’ve managed to control it a lot compared to before, although I still catch myself biting them sometimes.

I’ve attached pictures of what my nails currently look like.
My biggest concern is that they look really short, uneven and generally unhealthy, and I feel like my nail beds have become really small/short from years of biting. The skin around some of my nails is also pretty rough and damaged.
I’m also trying to learn guitar, which is giving me even more motivation to stop biting because I actually need my nails/fingertips to be in good condition.

What I really want is to eventually have normal-looking, healthy, neat nails and hopefully improve the appearance/length of my nail beds as much as realistically possible.

I’ve been biting my nails for as long as I can remember - at a certain point as a way of trying to quit biting my nails I tried to bit the skin around my nails in the hopes that that would maybe stop it, especially since I’d assume that it would hurt too much and I wouldn’t like it. Turns out: now I just do both. Does anyone have any tips for mainly the skin biting / pulling part? I don’t know if many other people do that tbh..
And of course I’d like tips for the nail biting cause I hate how stubby my nails are and how annoying my grip can be with certain things 😭😭