What is the best way to stop biting my nails?

Asked by david debos at 9:32 AM on October 20, 2009

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Posted by Brian S. at 12:59 PM on October 20, 2009

I'm currently using Mavala Stop. It works pretty well and tastes terrible. The downside is that sometimes you get it on your food. I used it for about a week and my nails grew pretty long, and stopped using it. I ended up biting them again, so I'm trying to go for much longer this time.

Mavala Stop

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11 Answers

Jason Peraza | October 20, 2009 12:45 PM

Dip your fingers up to the first knuckle in Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol. The rubbing alcohol dries quickly and residue free, but will leave a strong, repulsive and difficult to remove (while harmless) taste in your mouth. This is an excellent way to condition yourself against what is typically an unconscious behavior of nail biting.

Walgreens Apothecary Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol

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Nick Campbell | October 20, 2009 12:57 PM

Hoof Hands: Stop The Bite Kick The Habit

This stuff is pretty vile. You'll quickly learn to keep your hands away from your face.

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Brian S. | October 20, 2009 12:59 PM

Mavala Stop

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Jeff | October 20, 2009 2:04 PM

Clip your nails. Every day. Clip them as far as you can, without it being painful. Consciously decide to not bite your nails. After a few weeks of this, you will have kicked the habit.

Continue to clip your nails a few times a week after this to re enforce the (good) habit.

I did this about 3 years ago and I only bite my nails when they get really long (after ~2 weeks of no clipping) or when I am extremely nervous.

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Matt | October 20, 2009 3:28 PM

Have a significant other be a hard-ass. My wife successfully stopped biting her nails this year because I refused to let her bite them. BTW she thanks me and is very proud that she doesn't bite her nails anymore.

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Mike Roberts | October 20, 2009 6:05 PM

Do whatever you can to grow them out long enough to get a manicure. Once you get a good manicure you will want to keep them nice.

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Dan Proctor | October 27, 2009 12:55 AM

I would suggest trying to carry something with you to divert the nervous habit. I used to chew my nails, now i tear the corner off sheets of paper(especially exams). You can probably find a better alternative. In the end, hopefully you will be able to stop doing that as well.

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Grooming Lounge Team | November 5, 2009 4:40 PM

It might surprise you how much we get questions about nail-biting, but it’s actually a very common problem for guys. It’s also a bigger deal than you might think – for starters, biting your nails not only leaves the digits looking nasty and ravaged but also opens them up to infection and increases your probability of getting sick (putting fingers in your mouth all day also includes all the bacteria that they’ve picked up).

You can try to break the habit by looking for hand creams with Denatonium Benzoate, a bitter-tasting ingredient that is meant to discourage putting the fingers in the mouth, but there are definitely less nasty ways to stop nail-biting.

Our favorite method is to just start taking really good care of your nails. When the fingers are fugly, of course you’re going to gnaw on them – but who would have the heart to start biting away at a clean and nice-looking pair of mitts? This could mean getting manicures, but it could also mean simply trimming your nails and maintaining your cuticles at home with some do-it-yourself Tools . If the nails are short and clean, they’ll be harder to bite off – plus you won’t want to chew ‘em at all anymore once you see the reaction from your significant other.

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