How I Stopped Nail Biting… Permanently

biting[Please be advised that some of the links provided are affiliate links and I do receive a small commission if you make a purchase using those links]

I have been nail biting since forever, and I do mean forever.

There have been times when I stopped, but within at least a year I would go right back to nail biting. Until last year.

nail biting

It has been over a year since I habitually bit my nails, and now I am proud to call myself a former nail biter.

How Sway?

Well, let me start with what doesn’t work:

  • Nail polish that tastes bad doesn’t work.
  • Daily manicures doesn’t work.
  • Substituting the habit for chewing gum doesn’t work.
  • Biting my cuticles instead doesn’t work…mainly because I was already doing that.

nail growth

What works?

First I had to commit.

Last summer I was looking back at some old videos and noticed my nails. They looked pretty bad when biting, and looked much better than I thought when long.

In my mind, my hands looked bad with or without nails because of short nail beds. However, watching the video’s completely changed my thinking.

favorites

After realizing I do like my hands with nails, I committed to growing out my nails again.

I immediately would chastise myself every time I bit my nails, and I went for a manicure. Yes, I had nothing for them to file, but the nail technician cleaned up my cuticles, while sharing her thoughts on nail biting.

biting

I also began to paint my nails every week.

Yes, they looked absolutely ridiculous for about two months. Imagine, short stubby nails with polish.

However, I started to get good practice with painting my own nails for which there is a serious learning curve.

This also led to me building a nail polish collection. In order to build a collection I began to find black women with nail polish blogs and to follow black women who feature nail polish on Instagram.

70 nail polishes later, and I am obsessed.

I still get the occasional manicure, but I mostly just take care of my nails at home.

biting

Displaying my nail polish does go a long way in keeping me interested in caring for my nails.

Now that I do not bite my nails, I can appreciate how strong they are.

I also learned that I can easily grow long nails, and I love to polish them. Shaping my nails is a whole other story!

nail biting

nail biting

Please be advised that some of the links provided are affiliate links and I do receive a small commission if you make a purchase using those links.  This does not cost you any extra when you make a purchase.  I very much appreciate your support of this blog in doing so!

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