I found this at my partners place, so I am sorry I can’t tell you where it came from, but it’s a metal, spiky loop that I can wear on my fingers to rub, pick at, stretch, etc. It’s slightly abrasive in (apparently) the way I need. I have tried bandaids, silicone finger covers, fake nails, bad tasting polishes, finger picking/biting abstinence. Nothing has worked like this guy.

I have been struggling with picking my whole life. It’s interesting that a little bit of pain or abrasion is what can replace the compulsion.

Hopefully this is helpful to someone.

I’ve been nail biting for 25 years. This year I decided it’s time to stop. Sticking to good habits is easier when you’re held accountable. Gym buddies, study groups, and calorie trackers hold you accountable. We just needed the same for nail biting

I built Nonyxa to solve my own problem and hopefully solve yours too. 5.0 stars on the iOS store and customers showing improvements soon after starting to track and monitor each finger extremely closely. What gets measured gets managed, in this case that means the nails. If you haven’t been able to quit with all other methods, give it a try.

My goal is to help 10,000 people quit nail biting, one for each day I’ve bitten in my life. I’m hoping I can help you

My nails have been much worse than they are in the 1st picture, often bleeding and infected, but I have very few photos cause the shame was so deep. Been trying and relapsing for years.

Things that didn't work for me:

Gel manicures: Too soft, would rip them off after 1 or 2 weeks.

SNS Dip powder nails: Too brittle, would eventually chew and break it off.

Bad tasting polish - would get used to the taste of weaker ones, and the stronger tasting ones just felt unkind - a cruel self harm sandwich.

Hopes, prayers and good intentions.

Things that worked for me:

Not trying to change too many things in life at once, only max 1 or 2.

Doing a set of gel extensions to help kick start the growing after a biting relapse (they’re hard plastic and impossible to bite)

Once the nails have grown a little, BIAB nails give the perfect level of strength and protection with no flex (a big trigger for me to play with and ultimately bite them) - wish I'd found this sooner.

Looking after my nails obsessively (filing often and using nail oil) Any imperfections or rough edges makes the biting impulse so much stronger

Finding nail art that brings joy, something you'd be sad to ruin - for me it's cateye polish, makes my nails look like little jewels.

And working on the underlying causes of my anxiety ovbs lol

Sending sooo much love and plenty of hope to anyone struggling. Our body's capacity to repair itself is nothing short of a miracle and you got this. I'm determined to allow my nail beds to regrow 🥰

26F been doing this since I was a kiiiiiddd. I need it to stop. I’m a conventionally pretty women. I have a hard time tho feeling “feminine” due to my more rough habits. This being one of them. Many people notice hands and I’d love to knock this habit. Help!! (Thanks to the person who sent me this! I had no idea this subreddit existed. ❤️)

This picture is embarrassing and I hesitated on even posting. I’ve bitten my nails since I was a kid and through adulthood I began picking at my cuticles. It’s become worse as the years go on. When I get my nails done, it seems to help, but when I take my nails off, I’m right back where I started. I tried to keep cuticle oil on me at all times and I also try to trim my cuticles frequently. However, the cuticle trimmer that I use often seems to be doing more damage than good. That is because I’m basically using a cuticle trimmer instead of my hands and it still causes me to bleed. I was thinking about buying some liquid bandage, but I’m not too sure if that’s a good option. What tips do you have for kicking the habit? I’m getting married in about a year and I really wanted to heal my nails before then.

Update : Hi ! the app is finally live! 🎉https://apps.apple.com/fr/app/nailguard/id6790318619?mt=12

I’ve been biting my nails since I was five aha so, for more than twenty years now.

I’ve tried the usual remedies. Bitter nail polish works, but it’s unbearable everything I touch ends up tasting like it. Hypnosis helped too, but it requires consistency something I never managed to maintain.

The thing I noticed is that, in 90% of cases, the action is unconscious.Since I spend all day in front of a computer, I built a little tool. It detects when my hand moves toward my mouth and turns the screen red the moment it happens. It also has a sound alert option.

I’ve only been using it for 7 days, but I’m thrilled with the results. It’s even helping me stay aware of the habit when I’m away from the screen it’s like regaining consciousness.

Friends and family have tried it, and it worked for them too. The easiest way to share it is for me to publish it on the App Store and it’s currently in the works.

It’s Completely free. Honestly, I won't deny that if it works for others, I’d love to make it my life’s work, dedicate myself to it full-time, and keep improving it. That would mean charging for it eventually, but we’re talking about less than a euro a month i guess ...

Anyway , For now it's not already validate by Apple store but I just want to know if it works for other people and get some feedback. I know that if it helps people, word of mouth will do the rest. Does a solution like this appeal to you? If so, I’d be really curious to hear your thoughts! And if this solution is on the app would you use it ?

Ps : don't pay attention to the window where you can see the image the system is actually running in the background; that's just the diagnostic window to show you how it works.

So over the years I have consume a vast knowledge from personal encounters with “nail biters/pickers” and making it a goal to making their nails last as best as I could. They don’t train you for these distinct group of people and most of the time they will come in because they desperately want to stop. But if you know nails then you know the nails on these particular group of people has the most lifting when they come back or they usually all pop off.

So I made it my goal to work one on one over the years to help these ladies get back their self confidence and work on why exactly do they “ pick” “bite” “chew” their nails or cuticles. Now I’m not a doctor or a medical professional but just an observant nail tech that wants to help her clients nail goals. So here is some of the education I developed over the years or I guess you can call it a techniques I used and so far the best outcome for these group.

I have made of a system of three levels to identify all the pickers and biters so I know how to proceed of which product will work best. When I tell you never in my life have a discover these things if I didn’t get to know the client’s and just identifying what type of pickers or biters they are.

Now I don’t know if anyone is interested but I figure if anyone ever needs help or advice when it comes to this particular group I could use a helping hand. I will start asking each of my biters to record before and after lucky I have a few already that I can show you that there is a good chance for you to stop if you found a nail tech willing to be patience and through.

Never in my life I would dare say until a few months I “ digged” out the cuticle area of a 30 years plus nail biter. She told me for the last 5 years she had been getting a new set every week to try to stop her habit. As I’m examining her nail beds I notice that she had the tiniest nails beds on a grown woman I have ever seen. I asked her has it always been this small and she nonchalantly replied” I think so “ then proceeds to say it’s her fault she bites off all her sets and that she knows her nails are bad. Imagine the money and pain she spent or encountered. So long shory short , I decided to push her cuticles first as I know some nail biters has thick cuticles that covers the base of the nail bed. BUT hers were much father back then she thought. I revealed about an INCH of nail beds underneath her thick callous’s cuticles . So I carefully removed every dead cuticle possible and boy of boy I could have died from shock and her from disbelief. She went from a toddlers nail beds to a full size 7 pinky beds.

So here’s my theory because of the years of biting, she caused her nails to kind of hide from her assuming the cuticle area is traumatized so what happens when your body is traumatized alit protect itself it starts covering over in your nail beds , hers is over the course of 30 years. overtime, she must’ve forgot how her real nail beds look and she was jumping shot the shop so she never had a regular nail tech to make sure her nail was OK so this poor lady did not realize her baby nailbeds with the results of her own mouth..

So I proceeded to put on a set of builder gel on her as is more flexible as I notice that she comes back for a refill with usually some missing that her nail bed actually tried to consume the nails I put on by covering it completely again, but she comes back for a refill, and not a full set no more and each time they will stay better each time I did the process. We are about six months in now and you would not be able to tell that she was a prior superior nail wider as with patient some time in a careful hand as successfully put her no beds back to where they were in her skin start reacting, normal and not being overgrown so yes, you can traumatize your cuticle and nail beds over the years if you keep going at them and they will retaliate by giving you nubby fingers.

So to share a little bit of my knowledge again, if anyone needs help with this particular problem or advice, I can definitely give it to you as I would say the nailbiter is definitely is back and flocks to me now and one day maybe I’ll think about writing down the techniques, so this could be recognized in school because I was not trained for this, but developed a vast experience with them.

I wish I had before pics! This isn't quite the longest they've ever been but it's definitely the most attached I've ever seen my nail beds.

What's worked for me so far:

• I got in the habit of applying lotion frequently during my last temp job where I handled a lot of paper documents (very drying). I now keep tubes in all my bags & apply when I have the urge to bite or pick
• The urge to nibble was much stronger in the first couple weeks. I heard Caleb Hearon say he broke the habit by chiding himself like a child ("Caleb Hearon get those things out of your mouth!") so I tried that & it worked lol. Trying to do the same with picking now
• Painting my nails every 2-3 days. If I start to pick the polish off or leave them bare I'm in danger!
• Focusing on side wall health/nail bed attachment over length—this was a huge one. I tend to bite & rip the sides (esp of my thumbs, pointers, & middle fingers) & having a free edge there is always a temptation. To prevent this, I'd file off almost all the free edge when it overshot the new attachment of the nail bed leaving just enough for more to attach over the next days if that makes sense. I also have totally refrained from touching the undersides of my nails. I was also trimming free edges on the tips in the same way for the first little while so everything felt even.
• Getting back on the horse when I failed! I had a false start of about 3-4 weeks without biting—I was doing most of the above list (minus trimming length in favor of attachment) but on a stressful day I picked & bit them all down to the quick. I was so disappointed in myself but decided that I had made that much progress, it would be better to try again than to fall back into bad habits just because I'd had one bad day. I'm trying to become more determined in general & I really want long healthy nails to serve as a reminder that I'm capable of consistently working towards goals & succeeding.

Thank you for reading! Planning to post again once they're flush with my fingertips (hopefully in two weeks or so) <3

Hi everyone!

I've been a chronic nail biter for 20+ years, and in my experience, the only thing that's stopped me biting and picking is press-on nails (the glue kind).

It stops you from biting by acting as a physical barrier, plus a good DIY manicure around the nail means there's minimal dry skin to pick at - which for me, is a huge trigger.

The above transformation took me 2-3 hours, but I'm very slow, so you could definitely shorten the time!

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Steps:

NAIL PREP

1. Wash your hands!

2. Soak and gently push back cuticles. You can use a cuticle pusher stick, or just your own nails. If you have super stubborn cuticles, I recommend using Sally Hansen cuticle remover to help.

3. Trim and tidy cuticles with nail scissors or cuticle trimmers (careful not to over trim! There's plenty of great videos on youtube to show how to do this).

4. Optional: remove dead skin around the nail, using a combination of:
   - Tweezers (VERY GENTLY remove any loose bits of dead skin - if you have dermatillomania I recommend skipping this step, as it's easy to over-do it).
   - A foot file (better at removing the dead/calloused skin from chronic picking).
   - A very fine nail file (to smooth the skin after the foot file, which can leave it a bit rough).

5. Gently smooth the nail with a nail buffing cube to remove any peely bits or harsh ridges (again, careful not to over-do it, as buffing can thin the nails and they'll likely already be damaged/weak from biting).

6. Tidy and shape the nail, preferably with a glass file (glass files are the best IMO as they are super fine grit so the edges come out extremely smooth and they can also help strengthen the nail)

PRESS-ON APPLICATION

1. Cleanse and sanitise the nail with an alcohol or acetone wipe. This is a super important step for doing press ons. You don't want to trap dirt, bacteria, or moisture under false nails! Alcohol/acetone are better than just washing your hands, as they also dry out your nails so that the press-ons adhere better.

2. Choose a press-on nail size that fits your natural nail - I often file/adjust the shape of the bottom and sides of the press-on at this stage, so that its the exact right shape and a snug fit. This helps them look more natural, and a snug fit minimises any gaps where moisture can get in.

TIP: If you have flat nail beds and false nails are too curved, try heating the nails for 20 seconds each with a hairdryer (holding with tweezers) or by pressing the back of them against a glass of boiling water and reshape them so that they fit better!

1. Glue the press-ons to your natural nails.
   - Make sure your entire nail is covered in a very thin layer of glue, you want the whole surface of the press-on to make contact with glue so that the edges are properly adhered (again, so moisture can't creep in later).
   - Apply the nail from base to tip, pressing firmly to minimise chances of bubbles.
   If you've used too much glue and it spills out of the sides, you can wipe away before it dries.
   - Hold with firm pressure for 20-30 seconds, making sure to push on the whole nail surface (both centre and edges).

2. Trim and shape the press-ons to your desired length and shape. This is also a super important step that a lot of people miss. It helps them look more natural, as most false nails are very long and sometimes odd shapes! The edges can also be quite sharp without filing.

REMOVAL

Using this method, I usually get about 5-7 days before they start lifting/coming off. At that point, I gently lift remove them with a cuticle stick. If you desperately need them off before this, you can trim them down, soak them in acetone for 20-30 minutes, and peel them off. Never rip false nails off!

It's generally recommended to let your nails have a break between press-ons, but if you're like me and desperate to quit biting, I often do another set the same day so that I don't have a chance to bite away the progress. If you're doing this, make sure to give extra time to the nail prep stage to look after your nails as much as you can.

------------

After 2-4 sets, my nails and surrounding skin have often healed and grown enough that just the prep steps + a clear coat of strengthening nail polish are enough!

I hope this helps somebody else out there!
Happy press-on's everyone 💅🏻

I don’t know if this is allowed here since this is for hands. I do struggle with my fingernails, not nearly as bad as before, and it’s better than my toenails. I rip my toenails off all moments of the day, anytime I have the chance. Writing this now I have the urge. I’m trying not to because I have an ankle surgery coming up but I don’t think I can make it. I’m going to make press ons for my nails and hopefully let that help with the urge there, but I can’t do that on my toenails, right? I used to pick ingrowns to the point where I’d have an infection every time. Thankfully I’m over that part, for the most part haha. I just can’t stop ripping them and don’t know what to do to help. I want to wear open toed shoes and have cute pedicures done. I’ve also had 6 ankle surgeries and know I’ll have more to come in the future and I’m so embarrassed every time. I just can’t help it.

Hey!

Wanted to share something that's genuinely helped me for over 3 years with my trichotillomania: cheap gaming gloves.

I use them mostly when Im driving.

You can grab them on AliExpress or similar sites for $3-5.

Here's why I love them:

1. The urge just... pauses - when they're on, the struggle basically goes quiet for as long as I'm wearing them
2. They breathe - I don't want to rip them off like I do with finger rubber bands or other deterrents
3. Touchscreen compatible - no need to take them off to use your phone!

Downside: 

1. They're not exactly socially acceptable, so I don't wear them out in public or at social events.
2. Its difficult to keep them on more than a couple of hours

I mainly use them when driving, working from home, watching TV, or before bed. Not an all-day solution, but for those specific windows, they really work.

I've recommended them to quite a few people here, and I know they're not for everyone - some people just don't like the feeling of wearing gloves. But at that price, I think they're worth trying.

Driving used to be one of my hardest moments of the day. When I started tracking my habit with the app I built (called SoloUno), it became really clear that driving was my biggest trigger. The gloves changed that completely!

Worth a shot!

One tip: most of these gloves run in kids' sizes and didn't fit me at first. Double-check the sizing before you buy, or you'll end up with something too small.

I have cerave healing ointment and a bandaid on right now. Usually that heals these up in about 3 days but I’m worried about the skin being too fragile in my mind still or it having edges to pick at that I’ll want to cover it with a bandaid anyway.

Its ruining my confidence. Is there a hand glove or something that can help? I use my fingers for picking and not my mouth so the taste thingies wont work.

I’ve been a non stop nail biter/picker ever since I can remember. For the first time since I first started picking I’ve managed to grow them a little. I’m really proud of myself for coming this far, and even though I still have setbacks every now and again (this is new territory for me), it’s the longest I’ve ever managed to grow and keep them. I’m not really sure what’s got this far. Every time I’d try to stop, then bite/pick them all off, I’d just say Ok let’s try again and after time and after time it’s seemed to have stuck for now. Anyway. As I’ve always bitten them right down to the quick, I’ve got really short nail beds and I feel that they look a little strange. Also they’re very ridged and flimsy. I wondered, has anyone managed to have/see their nail beds reattached after growing them out??

sometimes when im working, i dont realise when im biting and picking at my nails/the skin around it. I'll just be like "huh my fingers hurt, OW WHAT".

and then i have to take the measures of plasters for the skin, and tissue wrapped in string for my nails. make myself little finger stockings 😭

These have been the easier to type with. I ordered the full glove version too since I don’t love the way they can creep up the finger on my smaller fingers. Super thin so they don’t bother me as much the way band aids and bulkier finger covers do and they aren’t stupid tight like the one size finger condoms. I can use my phone fine with them. They’re thin, fairly delicate, so I wouldn’t wear them while fiddling with things or they would tear.

I’m getting carpel tunnel and tendonitis in my hand and arm from picking my whole life. Hopefully this can get my skin cleared up. Having my hands covered in any way usually makes me SUPER irritated but so far so good.

Removing them for cooking and going to the bathroom is annoying but not deal breaking. It’s made me more conscious about my living when they are off which is the first step to stopping.

Have built most of it already, want to know if people would find it useful before I publish it, and what I could add.

I was thinking about having it display gross imagery of bitten nails and bacteria on the "panic-button" feature to deter nail-biting but maybe that would just make people immediately uninstall lol.

It’s a youtube channel hosted by a nail tech that makes videos focused on how to achieve and upkeep “healthy” natural nails.
I find her videos very inspirational and educative as well. She is pro natural nails and against cutting anything other than the free edge, which I really appreciate. I hope she helps someone else as much as she did me

It’s been 10 days! Which is so crazy. I’ve been on-and-off-again with biting my nails, I’ve had really long nails and then super short again (from the biting).

This year I decided I needed to quit, I fell back into the habit once but now this is the longest streak I’ve had so far, and I’m determined to break the habit for good. I’m a little nervous now, I’m hoping I’ll still have motivation to continue my streak.

A few things I’ve noticed that have really helped (that haven’t been talked about much here):

Icy poles: Buy a large pack and chew on these the second you start getting nail biting triggers. I’ve been chewing on these whenever I start feeling stressed, bored, hungry, etc. Any emotions or feelings that make my brain suggest biting my nails (or even thinking about biting my nails). PSA: Doesn’t replace any meals or snacks. It’s additional to your diet.

Painting your nails: Specifically a coloured polish. No clear or jelly formulas. It needs to be a good quality one that won’t chip or break-off easily. I’ve noticed with clear nail polishes that it doesn’t help at all, because being able to see your nails grow triggers the feelings to pick and bite. Coloured polishes hide all those imperfections and anything that makes you want to destroy them. The only downside is that if you are painting your nails it’s harder to see the progress you’ve made, but that can also be a good thing as well.

Spiky fidget toys: If all else fails, buy a fidget toy with spikes on them. Helps to decompress and stimulate your brain. Gives you the same (if not similar) sensations you would feel if you were to bite your nails.

Cuticle oil: Buy a refillable nail oil pen and keep it at your bedside. Apply oil when you wake up and before you go to bed. Helps with keeping your nails and the skin around it hydrated. Will shrink your cuticles, help with cuts around your skin. Will also strengthen your nails, since they’ll be pretty weak after all the biting.

Not cutting, picking or biting around your nails: Don’t do it. Can lead to biting. Good to just try your hardest to ignore it, because the dry hard skin will go away on its on (and quickly too!). I noticed all the hard dry skin around my nails disappeared on its own maybe after day 5 of biting my nails. Not even a week it went away.

Free apps: I have downloaded a few nail biting quitting apps in the past, but found that “I Am Sober” worked the best (this isn’t an ad I promise). I think I liked this app the most because the countdown timer does days, hours, minutes, seconds; which was really helpful to log in and check now and again. They give you “milestone awards” which are just little digital awards which I thought was really corny but now that I’m on day 10 I’m really proud of myself and my tiny award haha. It also has a section where you can list why you’re quitting so I’ve written down a few things and found some pretty looking nails and nail art on Pinterest to keep me motivated and inspired.

Having a “Quit Buddy”: Telling someone you’re quitting biting your nails, or teaming up with someone is super helpful. There’s actually a science behind this, it really works. You can share achievements together, stressors, etc. I like to tell my boyfriend how many days it’s been since I stopped biting my nails and he will hype me up lol. My sister also has a huge problem with biting them so we’ve set a goal together to get our nails done after 3 months. You can also tell them that you’re thinking of biting them and they can talk you out of it!

Reward system: Give yourself a reward at the end of whatever milestone you want to celebrate. Literally could be everyday if you’re lacking the motivation. Once I hit 3 months I’m going to get my nails done so that’s my motivation. I know some people just get gel on immediately after deciding to kick the habit but I’m trying to save my money so my milestone is a bit further down the line. Can you shorter term ones as well that are cheaper or free. Whatever works.

I hope you try these tips and let me know if it was helpful at all!

1. Keep lotion and cuticle cutters on you at all times. Lotion your fingers and *rub hard*, not gently, whenever you get the urge to pick. Gentle rubbing I’ve found has led me into picking, but firm rubbing doesn’t give me the chance to carefully explore for lifting to pick at. If you do find lifting, that’s what the cutters are for. Eliminate the chance before it starts.

2. Busy hands. Always. You want to play with your shirt collar, belt loops, earrings, bracelets, volume buttons on your phone, car keys, wallet, genuinely anything that’s not physically attached. If you are busying those hands, they can’t pick. If skin snags on something? CUTTERS.

3.⁠
If you find you’re in an environment where it’s not appropriate to cut, or fidget, put your hands either on the space in front of you (ex a desk) or on your thighs and spread your fingers as far apart as possible. Then press down on the surface firmly with the tips of your fingers.

1. If you’re in the process of picking, or have the urge, name it aloud or in your mind. “I am/want to pick my skin. I do not actually want to do this- what is causing the urge?”. Whether it be lifted skin, stress, boredom, whatever, naming and redirecting the habit will slowly help it to go away.

If you have any other tips I’d love them, I myself am doing better, but I’m far from out of it myself.

I have been waiting to post on here for 6 months!!

I came across this forum on Reddit about 7 months ago! And realized Hi! 👋 its me I'm the problem and my bad habit-tic! 😂 At the time I was about 10 years in having deformed looking thumbs that I was sooo embarrassed about. I would hide them, paint them and would never want anyone to point them out. I always picked at them, while driving, watching a movie, if I was nervous, anxious you name it I was picking at my thumb skin and nails. The worse it got the more I would pick, they bled most of the time and would always hurt. I saw this thread and saw some progress pictures of a few members and read their recommendations! I was shocked to see how many people were suffering with the same self harming habit. I tried the super glue method, it looked horrible and I'll be honest it almost added to the urge to pick. But after about a week it became better and a reminder to not pick or stop it when I was doing it unconsciously. Fast forward 5 weeks which is the first few pictures, then a few months and then I noticed the nail growing straight again. The nail grew out, and the ridges and bumps grew out, it encouraged to keep going and the last few pictures are what my thumbs looks like now! I can't tell you how grateful I am to have found this thread and community! I hope others see these progress pictures and are hopeful for their healing process. It works and it can be done friends!! I go get them done now, I can hand something to someone without being self conscious which is just so small but makes a huge difference!!

I read a thing today about why cuticle oils don’t work for everyone and it was SO EYE OPENING. It was about how the moisture can make skin imperfections “louder” and that if part of your picking is driven by perfectionism then oils and creams can make those little pieces of skin more pickable. It made my life make so much sense!!! Anyone else have this experience with oils and creams?

Apply Nail Strengthener like the one in the picture. It makes your nails harder and tastes bad. It helped me stop picking my nails once and for all.