How to avoid biting nails, and maintain them well?

[TopHatFox]

I have a habit of playing with or biting my nails, which often leads to their breaking, bleeding, and other unpleasant things. I also have little bits of skin that roll up near the nails, which are no fun (I wonder if they're there because of some nutritional deficiency?)

Anyway, if you bite or have ever bitten/played with your nails, what were the best methods that worked in your case to stop that habit? What was the best way to maintain nails and the little skin bits after that? (do you keep them short, medium, long, how do you trim them, do you paint or not and why, do you push back cuticles or not and why, etc. etc.)

[jennypenny]

Dip your fingertips in vinegar. If that doesn't deter you, dip them in vinegar and then chili powder (or something else you find distasteful). If you're going somewhere that requires something without an odor, scrape your fingernails along a bar of soap to wedge soap underneath the tips.

Do you moisturize the nails enough? Maybe that's why they're peeling? A good way to remember to moisturize them is to do it whenever you cook. Rub the oil you're using into the nails and cuticles. Rub it into your lips, too.

[GandK]

Nail biting is usually the result of an underlying condition. Best to identify the condition and deal with it.

[Dave]

I bit my nails for most of my teenage years. It was anxiety driven. I continued to bite my nails in the first few years of college, but I think at that point I did it more out of habit.

It took a long time to quit, but it involved (constantly) actively paying attention to when I was doing it, and then of course stopping. This required diligence for probably a year, and then the habit was removed.

If you are doing it because of one of the underlying reasons mentioned above, the solution as GandK said is to deal with the underlying issue. If you are doing it out of habit, I would simply recommend putting a lot of mental energy into paying attention to it, because although the tips like dipping your nails in vinegar or other unpleasant solutions work when you follow them, you are not realistically going to follow them 100% of the time.

[jennypenny]

If you are doing it out of habit, I would simply recommend putting a lot of mental energy into paying attention to it, because although the tips like dipping your nails in vinegar or other unpleasant solutions work when you follow them, you are not realistically going to follow them 100% of the time.

If you use olfactory triggers when trying to change a behavior, you don't have to use as much mental energy. Our olfactory system is directly wired to the hippocampus, unlike our other senses, so it's the best and fastest way to create new associations.

LOL ... I don't even know why I know that^^. That's the kind of stuff taking up valuable real estate in my brain that could be put to much better use.

[Dave]

If you use olfactory triggers when trying to change a behavior, you don't have to use as much mental energy. Our olfactory system is directly wired to the hippocampus, unlike our other senses, so it's the best and fastest way to create new associations.

LOL ... I don't even know why I know that^^. That's the kind of stuff taking up valuable real estate in my brain that could be put to much better use.

Haha that is quite an arcane piece of knowledge .

I do not doubt what you say, but anecdotally speaking for myself and others, the degree to which that mental association takes hold does not appear sufficient to break the habit.

[C40]

This book may be helpful for you when trying to change behaviors and habits:

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg