How to stop biting your nails, from a former lifelong nail biter

Here’s every tactic I’ve tried to combat this addictive habit.

There are two instinctive reactions when ‘nail-biting’ is brought up in conversation. Those with long, enviable, healthy nails who scrunch up their nose, and those with little stubs for nails who go quiet from embarrassment or shame. “Just stop doing it, it’s really not that hard! Or else you’ll never have nice, long nails,” people chastise.

Habitual nail biting is actually a really common (and annoying) habit. Its scientific term is onychophagia, and it affects 20 to 30 per cent of the global population, with 45 per cent of those nail gnawers being teenagers. It’s an addictive habit that’s often done absentmindedly, and before realising what you’re doing, most of your nails are already gone. But why do people do it?

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Nail biting usually starts in childhood, and while some grow out of it as they get older, for others it becomes a habitual routine. Nail biting is a well-known habit that people do when anxious or stressed, but that’s not the only time people can be found busy biting their nails. For many, it’s a comfort thing.

If people are busy concentrating, hungry, frustrated or bored, nail biting is a time occupier – an absentminded solution. Once you’re deep in the habit of nail-biting, it can be extremely hard to stop. Take it from me; I’ve been nail-biting for as long as I can remember. And in a gross, guilty-pleasure way, I kind of enjoy it. I can’t explain why, but it feels good. My fellow nail-biters will get me.

My childhood memories are full of my mum, dad, nonna and every other relative slapping at my hands and telling me to “get your fingers out of your mouth before you wreck your nails”. When I’m feeling like a nostalgia wave and look through old photo albums, I always pause on one photo of myself: I’m probably three years old, sitting in our rocking chair, busy biting my pointer nail.

At school, my friends would tease me about my short nails, waving their long, healthy nails in front of my face. As much as I wanted my nail beds to look like theirs, this was an unattainable wish for me. It’s not like I wanted to do it, but I simply couldn’t help it. Nail biting is a hard habit to break.

My whole life, I’ve had tiny nails that make me cringe when I scroll through my camera roll. Attempting to make them look prettier by painting them only turned them into colourful stubs. Over the years, every effort I’ve made to stop biting them has failed. Truly, I’ve tried everything.

Until now. I’ve finally cracked the code to break the nail-biting habit. And the remedy? It’s way simpler (and cheaper) than you think.

So, I’m going to run you through every tactic I’ve tried to combat this addictive habit, why they didn’t work, what not to waste your money on and what’s working for me now.

Bitter-tasting nail polish

I attempted this method when I was 11 or 12, and my mum was fed up with my nail-biting-antics (which is so fair, I was too). Lathering your nails in a polish that tastes so foul, it forces you to lay off attacking them? It sounds foolproof. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop me.

Within a week of wearing the polish, I was working my way around it. I developed a technique where I peeled off the polish with my fingers, and when that didn’t work, I used my teeth (hoping the polish wouldn’t touch my tongue, of course). Gross, I know.

I’m sure this tactic would work for many people, otherwise this stuff wouldn’t be around. Maybe if I tried it again when I was older, it would work, but I haven’t bothered since (also I’m just trying to make myself feel better, tbh).

Positive reinforcement

This method is all about willpower, and unfortunately, I couldn’t muster enough. When I attempted this, I would conjure up rewards for not biting my nails for a certain period of time. So, if I went a week without biting my nails, I’d finally buy that top I had my eye on for months.

Halfway through the challenge, I’d cave. Feeling down and sorry for myself, I’d end up buying the thing I wanted despite not completing the challenge. I’d justify it by reasoning with myself, saying ‘I’ve had a hard week, I deserve this’.

SNS nails

I don’t know where the myth of ‘SNS nails make your natural nails stronger’ came from, but I lapped it up the second I heard it. Sure, your nails are sturdy and strong while the SNS is on, but the second you soak off the manicure, that added security is gone.

I thought SNS would be a great way to break the habit of biting my natural nails. I set off to the nail salon to get my manicure, thinking I’d be able to break the habit of biting my nails while the tips were on, so that when I soaked them off I wouldn’t be tempted to bite my nails.

I tried this for years, and it never worked. While I enjoyed having long, gorgeous nails for a few short weeks, it didn’t transfer to my natural nails. When the tips came off, my nails weren’t stronger like the rumour had promised. Instead, they were even weaker than before. Left brittle and paper thin, the small regrowth my nails saw broke off within a few days – if I hadn’t bitten them off first.

I tried cutting my nails after the SNS, so I could allow them to regrow stronger and healthier, but this also did nothing. The short length simply reaffirmed my subconscious habit, so once the nails were cut, they never grew long again.

After trying all these methods to no avail, I felt pretty hopeless. Until I finally found the one solution that has successfully worked for me.

Keeping a tally

Yes, you read that correctly. This is the only way I have been able to stop biting my nails for a long period of time, and I think the habit has finally been broken. As of today, I have triumphantly not bitten my nails for 10 weeks.

In my notes app, I’ve started a tally wherein each day withstanding the urge to nail bite, I add a line. If I fail, I must go back, delete the entire tally, and start over. And the good thing? I haven’t had to spend a dollar on any products that run the risk of failing me.

This tactic plays into my pride, stubbornness and perfectionism. The thought of shamefully deleting my tally after an anxious nail-biting session is really embarrassing, even though I’m the only one who sees it.

Every nail biter is as unique as their nail beds, so one of the tactics that didn’t work for me may work for you (which is great!). But tallying has been my way forward out of this lifelong habit, and if you’re looking for an out, I recommend giving this a go.

This article was originally published on October 5, 2022.

For more on how to stop biting your nails, try this.