Nail Care for Biters: Quit or Don't

I bite my nails. I don't intend to stop and I'm sure there are others out there just like me. But I suppose if you really want to quit I'll include some tips on quitting-I have quit before and it's what worked for me for about 8 months. Before I get to that, I'll talk about nail care tips for biters that DON'T want to stop biting their nails.

Wear gloves when dealing with certain substances. Lemon juice is not your friend. If you bite your nails copiously, caustic substances, like lemon juice and bleach will get into those tiny cracks in your skin and nail bed. It hurts, plus it can damage your hands, so always keep gloves on hand.

Be careful what you touch. You bite your nails and that means you're pretty much licking everything you've touched. Not just that, but you're spreading your spit around. Yum. So, don't touch babies, even if you don't have a cold. Wash your hands a lot, carry Purel and be conscious of when you bite.

Take care of your cuticles. Just because you bite doesn't mean you shouldn't do other nail maintenance. Don't bite your cuticle. Moisturize them and make sure they're pushed back, but don't cut them down to a nub.

Ok, so you insist on quitting

I've quit biting my nails before. Once for about 8 months. Here's how I did it.

Nail Painting. Every night I painted my nails a different color. That helped motivate me because I wanted more nails to show off my pretty colors. Plus, nail polish does not taste good. Yes, nails need to breathe, but really, if I hadn't had them constantly painted, I would have been biting them.

Shore up your weak nails. One of the things that bothered me once I grew out my nails is that they liked to bend. A lot. I wasn't used to having nails, so I was often in pain because I had hit something caused pain to the nail bed. Strengthening nails doesn't just happen from the outside. Take pre-natal vitamins. It might freak out your boyfriend, but it helps with hair and nail growth and strength. This does take about a month, at least.

Figure out when you bite them. When an unconscious action becomes conscious, you've got more of a chance to change that action. I bite mine while at stop lights.

Replace biting with something else. Carrots anyone? Just find a different activity for your hands and/or mouth. I like chewing on raw angel hair pasta. Because I bit my nails in the car, I kept a box in there to munch on when I was at stop lights.

Make biting them distasteful. That same stuff that you can buy from the drug store which keeps kids from sucking their thumbs, well, you can paint your nails with it. It tastes horrible!

Use a physical barrier, just to get you started. This one is fun. Band-aids. Just put them around your nails during the day. People will ask what happened to your hands. You can tell the truth, or you can tell stories about wrestling with a wolverine. Or vicious ferrets. It's up to you. If you can't bite them, you won't. And, after a week you'll get used to not biting your nails. You'll also get to see your progress so it won't seem hopeless.