How to stop biting nails
Everyone dreams of having soft hands and an impeccable manicure that give the feeling of neatness and delicacy; but not everyone ends up getting it since a significant percentage of the population usually has onychophagia problems, or what is the same, nail biting. And you’ll wonder “Why can’t I stop biting my nails?”. Stress, the hectic pace and bad habits can mean that, no matter how hard you try, in the end you always end up biting your nails and fingers, and end up full of bites and wounds, the result of compulsive and almost unconscious behavior. However, many people struggle with themselves to stop doing it and wonder what the best way is.
Chew gum to stop biting your nails
This is one of the techniques to stop biting your nails, whose main premise is to use a substitute to avoid the automatic impulse. In this case, we can try chewing gum to simulate the movement of the jaw and let our nails heal.
We recommend that the gum be sugar -free so that the remedy does not become something harmful and, in this way, you will not only have better nails, but also fresh breath throughout the day.
Chew licorice to stop biting your nails
If the chewing gum does not convince you and you do not know how to get rid of the mania of biting your nails, you can use another substitute remedy such as chewing licorice. You can try to carry a pod of licorice always with you and, when you feel like biting your nails, start chewing the licorice and messing around with it to distract attention.
In addition, this food has many properties, so it will benefit you as well. Read more about this in our article What are the properties of licorice. We leave you an image so that you know that you can choose between several types of licorice: the sweet stick or the black licorice.
Use a polish to stop biting your nails
If you still can’t stop biting your nails, the best method to stop biting your nails and make them grow faster is to get a specific polish with a bitter or unpleasant taste so that, when the nail comes into contact with the mouth, feel repulsed and get used to not wanting to do it. These enamels can be easily obtained in pharmacies or supermarkets.
Use aloe vera to stop biting your nails
If you want to use the unpleasant taste technique to stop biting your nails and overcome onychophagia, but you are looking for a more natural product than nail polish, you can resort to aloe vera, whose properties are multiple but, precisely, its taste is not very pleasant. and how we are going to use it for your nails. However, we leave you the following article in case you are interested in including it in your diet: How to take aloe vera.
To prepare this treatment to stop biting your nails, all you have to do is put the gelatinous part of an aloe vera leaf in the freezer for one night and, when it begins to have a reddish color, apply it to your nails so that they acquire an unpleasant taste that it will make you want to bite them.
Get a manicure to stop biting your nails
How to get rid of the mania of biting your nails? Among the best methods, we find that of maintaining nail hygiene and sanitation routines by a professional. If you go once a week to get a manicure, you will ensure that your nails are always in perfect shape and you will avoid having hangnails or loose skin and, in addition, it will be a motivation to keep them in good condition as much as possible.
Perhaps you prefer to do your manicure at home and put this technique into practice with nail polish to definitely stop biting your nails and fingers. To do this, we recommend you consult our post on How to do an express manicure.
Keep your nails trimmed to stop biting them
It often happens that people who bite their nails, as paradoxical as it sounds, want to see themselves with long nails. However, if onychophagia is not overcome, long nails will be a temptation for our senses, so it is best that, until you overcome this impulse, keep your nails as short as possible to avoid injuries.
Wear gloves to stop biting your nails
Especially if we are in a cold season, gloves can be good allies to prevent you from biting your nails and overcome onychophagia; In addition, you will get your hands protected from the cold and external factors.
Put on band-aids to stop biting your nails
If the gloves thing seems very exaggerated to you but you can’t find another solution than to cover your nails and quit this habit, you can try putting band-aids on your nails. In this way, you can wear them all day without taking away autonomy in your tasks. This is a solution that is a good option to stop nail biting in children, since it makes it impossible for them to bite their nails and you can use colored strips to add fun.
Use false nails to stop biting your nails
If wearing band-aids is uncomfortable or you don’t think it looks very aesthetic, perhaps due to work demands or body image, the best solution to stop biting your nails may be to try something more hidden: false nails.
Ask your manicurist to put on some impossible-to-bite acrylic or gel nails and you’ll have bite-free nails for a few weeks. To help you, in this post we tell you How to do my acrylic nails.
Eat sunflower seeds to stop biting your nails
Another solution that you can do to distract your attention and get out of this bad habit of biting your nails is to take sunflower seeds. Normally, nail biting is associated with anxiety situations in which your body tends to make compulsive and rapid movements. With sunflower seeds, you will have to concentrate on peeling each one of the seeds and, in addition, its content is low in fat and healthy, so you can get a double benefit.
Find a concentration activity to stop biting your nails
If you consider that with distracting elements such as chewing gum, liquor ice or pipes, you are not getting results or they are making you feel bad, one of the best tips to overcome onychophagia is to look for an activity that you can do anywhere and that it takes concentration to get the nail-biting thing out of your mind. These activities can be origami and sudoku puzzles or even word search puzzles.
We give your ideas to carry out these activities and other activities in our posts: How drawing mandalas benefits my health, how to make an Origami Lily and How to make a paper jumping frog.
Play sports to stop biting your nails
How to stop biting your nails? You may feel that it is not very related but, by doing physical exercise, you will lower your stress and release hormones that will make you feel calmer and more satisfied, getting rid of the desire to bite your nails.
Meditate to stop biting your nails
You can also try having a daily meditation routine. Even if it is only 10 minutes, meditation or activities such as yoga can make your mind calmer, reducing the feeling of stress and anxiety and getting you to stop the revolutions and not have the need to bite your nails.
So that you can perform this technique to stop biting your nails correctly, consult our article on How to learn to meditate, surely it will help you to overcome onychophagia.
Be aware of the problem and the trigger
However, the best method to stop biting your nails is to be able to dedicate time to being with yourself and to be able to identify what is the problem or the trigger that causes the stress or anxiety situation that you are experiencing. The habit of onychophagia is a direct consequence of a nervous situation and, if you manage to solve this situation, your nails will no longer be conditioned by your bites.
