Trying to fall asleep. Waiting in line for something. Being extremely nervous.
What do all of these things have in common?
Tons of people, when dealing with these situations, resort to biting their nails, whether they know they're doing it or not. I know exactly what that's like; I bit my nails for almost seven years before I stopped a few years ago. I tried tons of things to stop myself from doing so, and all of them contributed a little to achieving my "desired" nail length. So, how can you stop biting your nails and start letting them grow? Here are a few tips.
1. Buy one of those gross-tasting nail polishes. Paint them on all of your nails (or the ones you bite) and let dry. If you try to bite your nails, it'll taste bad and you won't want to. I've tried this before, and personally, it worked for me when I was much younger (around 10 years old) but not much when I got older. I recommend the Sally Hansen Nail Treatment Miracle Cure for Severe Problem Nails (whew that was a long title). It's $6.09 if you buy it from Target and that was the one I used, which helped a lot.
2. Wear gloves to bed or whenever you tend to bite your nails the most (unless you do it in a public place and it's the summer, then that might look a little weird). I'm sure this one sounds crazy, but trust me, it works. I bit my nails most right before I went to sleep, so for a week or a little more I wore loose gloves to bed and it TOTALLY worked! I highly recommend this one. It'll stop you from having the reflex to pick at the skin around your nails or bite them off.
3. Paint your nails- no matter how short. If you want your nails to grow, you have to see what they look like painted and what they could look life if they were longer. Plus, you won't want to bite the nails off if they're colorful or with a pretty design- that would be biting off all the time you spent painting them.
4. Make a calendar. When I was younger, my mom helped me draw out this huge calendar for the month on paper and we hung it in my room. Every day that went by where I didn't bite my nails, I'd put a huge checkmark in the box for that day on the calendar and I'd put 25 cents or a dollar into a jar. At the end of the month, my mom and I would go get our nails done at a salon with that money or go out to dinner. For some months, we skipped the money idea and put a reward at the end of the month (usually it was hanging out with my family friends at Adventure Land or something like that). This trick was the one that helped the most. It was so nice and rewarding to do something at the end of the month to celebrate longer and healthier nails.
5. Look at pictures of nails on Pinterest or Tumblr. This helps a ton! Like I said before, it shows you want your nails can look like and will make you want to grow them out. I've included a few pictures to help you get started with your nailspiration ;)
What do all of these things have in common?
Tons of people, when dealing with these situations, resort to biting their nails, whether they know they're doing it or not. I know exactly what that's like; I bit my nails for almost seven years before I stopped a few years ago. I tried tons of things to stop myself from doing so, and all of them contributed a little to achieving my "desired" nail length. So, how can you stop biting your nails and start letting them grow? Here are a few tips.
1. Buy one of those gross-tasting nail polishes. Paint them on all of your nails (or the ones you bite) and let dry. If you try to bite your nails, it'll taste bad and you won't want to. I've tried this before, and personally, it worked for me when I was much younger (around 10 years old) but not much when I got older. I recommend the Sally Hansen Nail Treatment Miracle Cure for Severe Problem Nails (whew that was a long title). It's $6.09 if you buy it from Target and that was the one I used, which helped a lot.
2. Wear gloves to bed or whenever you tend to bite your nails the most (unless you do it in a public place and it's the summer, then that might look a little weird). I'm sure this one sounds crazy, but trust me, it works. I bit my nails most right before I went to sleep, so for a week or a little more I wore loose gloves to bed and it TOTALLY worked! I highly recommend this one. It'll stop you from having the reflex to pick at the skin around your nails or bite them off.
3. Paint your nails- no matter how short. If you want your nails to grow, you have to see what they look like painted and what they could look life if they were longer. Plus, you won't want to bite the nails off if they're colorful or with a pretty design- that would be biting off all the time you spent painting them.
4. Make a calendar. When I was younger, my mom helped me draw out this huge calendar for the month on paper and we hung it in my room. Every day that went by where I didn't bite my nails, I'd put a huge checkmark in the box for that day on the calendar and I'd put 25 cents or a dollar into a jar. At the end of the month, my mom and I would go get our nails done at a salon with that money or go out to dinner. For some months, we skipped the money idea and put a reward at the end of the month (usually it was hanging out with my family friends at Adventure Land or something like that). This trick was the one that helped the most. It was so nice and rewarding to do something at the end of the month to celebrate longer and healthier nails.
5. Look at pictures of nails on Pinterest or Tumblr. This helps a ton! Like I said before, it shows you want your nails can look like and will make you want to grow them out. I've included a few pictures to help you get started with your nailspiration ;)
In the end, it's all about your self-motivation and willpower! You CAN do this! I can't tell you how rewarding and satisfying it is to paint my nails now and be able to do designs on them because they're long enough. It's a long road to long and beautiful nails, but I promise you it will be worth every step.
- Gabriella
- Gabriella