How To Stop Nail Biting & Reverse Nail Damage

How to Stop Biting Your Nails

Nail biting is a compulsive disorder that is quite hard to stop, and it can leave your nails in tatters and looking far from their best. There are a few habits that are similar to nail biting. For example skin picking and hair pulling are very similar to nail biting and all three are bad habits that can cause damage to your health.

The good news is that there are ways to stop biting your nails and secondly, vastly improve the way they look. When it comes to bad habits the solutions can be different for everyone, depending on personality, and what triggers they respond to.

Not only can nail biting cause problems for your finger nails but you can also damage tooth enamel on your front teeth and even cause gum disease. Since your fingers touch a lot of different objects in the day they can pick up germs and diseases. If you bite your nails you can transfer these germs to your gums. Therefore, there are some risk factors that can cause health issues directly related to biting nails. Ultimately to avoid permanent damage to your teeth, you should actively try to stop nail biting.

Here are some common ways that can help people stop biting their nails.

Cut Your Nails Short

If you manicure your nails and cut them short then there will be less nail to nibble. This can stop nail biting simply because it is harder to bite a trimmed nail. You’ll also be less likely to break a nail which might instigate a biting reflex.

Use Special Anti Nail Biting Polish

One popular method to stop biting nails is to use nail polish which has a bad taste. You can buy special polish for this and it can help stop you from biting your nail. The only downside to this is that you have to remember to put it on in the first place, but it can be effective for most people.

Switch Your Nail Biting Trigger

Why do you bite your nails? Has it just become a habit with no real reason or is there a specific moment or trigger that will set it off? For example, do you bite your nails when you are stressed, anxious or even just because you’re bored? For many people nail biting is a nervous habit which they may not even realize they are doing.

The best way to stop nail biting is to understand the reasons for biting your nails and address the specific underlying problem. Some people advocate switching the unhealthy habit for something less troublesome, like squeezing a stress ball. However, you need to be careful that you are not just exchanging one habit for another, even if it would be better than biting your nails.

Go Cold Turkey

The final method of going cold turkey and simply forcing yourself to stop biting your nails, is the hardest to do. However for many nail biters this is the only way that they can address their habit and repetitive behaviors. The key to this is to become aware of when you are biting your nails and actively stopping yourself from doing it. It is easier said than done, however, with many habits sometimes you carry out the action unconsciously and this can be the case with nail biting. The solution here is to make yourself aware of when you are doing it and actively stopping. You will need to take one day at a time when attempting to stop a chronic nail biting habit, so don’t get upset if you find yourself failing once in a while. Over time if you force yourself to stop biting your nails, you will eventually improve.

Can bitten nails grow back to normal?

Once you’ve managed to stop biting your nails, one of the questions often asked is whether bitten nails can grow back to normal. The bad news is that although fairly uncommon, nail biting can lead to permanently damaged nails. You can cause permanent damage to your nails by biting them over a long period of time. Issues such as the nail splitting from the nail bed can occur and any damage to the nail bed itself may leave permanent damage. So, it’s important to ensure that you stop biting your nails as soon as you realize it’s a problem. The good news is that for the majority of individuals once they stop biting their nails they will return back to their former glory. However, don’t let this positive factor put you off from quitting immediately.

How do you treat damaged nails?

If you’ve been biting your nails and have managed to stop the habit, then the good news is there are some products available to help restore the appearance of your nails. If you have damaged nails then we recommend trying our Clear + Restore product that can help with damaged nail issues.

How do You fix brittle nails?

Sometimes after prolonged nail biting your nails can become dry and brittle. If you manage to stop biting your nails you may find that whilst they have grown back to normal, their nail health may not be as good as previously. The good news here is that you can use our Hydrate product to help restore moisture and strength to your nails while enhancing nail growth.