When you’re anxious, you can bite your nails. If you are bored, you might bite them. Or perhaps you don’t even realize you’ve bit them until you go for a manicure and discover that they are too short. Whatever the situation, there are some DIY techniques you can try to quit biting and start trimming your nails using a nail scissor instead of chewing them.
You Should Stop Biting your Nails
Onychophagia is another term for chronic nail biting. It is regarded as the most typical behavior for reducing stress. Additional behaviors linked to this syndrome include:
suckling of the thumb, plucking of the nose, twirling of the hair and grinding of the teeth
Although it rarely starts before the age of four, many cases tend to begin between the ages of four and six. Boys are more likely than girls to gnaw their nails. In other words, you might have developed a habit of biting your nails as a young child. It’s a habit that many people keep well into adulthood. Although you might not give chewing your nails much thought, dermatologists warn that it might have major consequences.
Risk of Nail-Biting
The following are a few hazards associated with nail-biting:
- discomfort or infection around your nails and on the skin there.
- damage to the nail-growing tissue results in changes to the appearance of your nails, abnormal growth, and more frequent colds and other illnesses brought on by putting dirty fingers in your mouth.
- damage to your teeth results from biting on hard nails.
How to Quit Chewing Your Nails: 6 Steps
How can one quit biting their fingernails? You can experiment with a variety of things at home. Additionally, there are some circumstances in which consulting your doctor is preferable to going it alone.
Consider giving your initial motivation for chewing your nails some thought before attempting to stop. Try keeping a record of the times you bite. Are you worn out? Stressed? Hungry? You might begin to discern a pattern. Once you’ve identified your specific trigger, you can try to come up with other mitigation strategies.
1. Make them brief Using a Nail Scissor
Maintaining short nails is a simple strategy to stop yourself from chewing your nails. This approach’s basic premise is straightforward. You won’t feel the need to bite your nails as much if there is little to chew on. Of course, since your nails and cuticle are constantly growing, you’ll need to maintain your schedule of cutting by using a nail scissor.
2. Get your Nails Done
See if spending some money on a stunning manicure will help you stop. Your nails will feel and look fantastic.
3. Add Flavor to Your Nails
Utilizing a bitter-flavored varnish, such as ORLY, may assist you to break your habit, despite the fact that it may seem unusual at first. This kind of repellent can be used over unpolished or even manicured nails. Simply brush it on, allow it to completely dry, and then reapply as necessary.
4. Put on Chewing Gum
Cheelery. Yes, you read that correctly. Anyone (age 5 and older) who needs to chew can wear a silicone Saber Tooth necklace made by the firm Ark. On a range from mild to extra-extra tough, you can choose your color and level of toughness. If you are conscious of your nail biting, this type of device might work best for you.
You can wear a necklace in place of your nails if you chew them to help yourself focus or relax.
Note: You might want to talk with your dentist about using chewing gum. Chewing on anything, including nails, can injure your teeth and jaw.
5. Pay Attention to Each Fingernail
The all-or-nothing strategy might not be effective for you. An Academy of Dermatology advises stopping the practice by concentrating on just one nail at a time. You may begin by using your thumbs. Start with your index fingers once you’ve successfully avoided biting your thumbnails for about a week. Follow the path that makes the most sense to you, and keep making progress.
6. Persevere
It is unrealistic to expect yourself to stop chewing your nails right away. You might even be aware that it takes 21 days to break a habit. This concept gained popularity thanks to Maxwell Maltz’s book “The New Psycho-Cybernetics,” published in the 1960s. According to a 2009 study, the process of breaking a habit isn’t always straightforward or linear.
What can we learn from this? Before you label your efforts a failure, give yourself some time. The hard work should pay off if you persist. To know more about this, visit: NailScissor.com.