There are plenty of tips and strategies to quit nail biting and some might actually work for you. But which ones may help and which ones aren’t worth the bother? While you might need to try each one before finding one (or more) that works for you, you also don’t want to waste your time and effort on something that may dissuade you from quitting and getting your hopes up for no reason.
Nail Biting Strategies
There are plenty of suggestions and tips to quit nail biting. While nail biting research is fairly easy to find, it really is a relatively new field of study compared to other habits. It wasn’t too long ago that people believed in Freud’s (now debunked) theory that nail biting was an oral fixation and was simply a reaction to that.
On that note: If you’re more a nail picker than biter like I am, you’ve probably already noticed that nail biting is the overarching phrase used by researchers and that nail picking is difficult to specifically find tips on even though it may be harder to quit. You can discreetly pick nails much more easily than bite them in public.
Here are the most common strategies and methods for quitting nail biting and picking and some thoughts on each one based on my experience as a long time (40+ years) nail biter and picker.
| STRATEGY | COMMENTARY |
| Biter or picker | What are you? A nail biter, nail picker or both? First identify what you are. I “bit” my nails for decades and it wasn’t until one day I started paying attention to my behavior and realized that in actuality I was a nail picker most of the time and a nail biter rarely. It matters. It’s part of getting to the root of the problem. |
| Consider your age | Anti-nail biting strategies can be different if the nail biter is a toddler, child or adult. Also, how long have you been doing the habit? The longer the habit, the more ingrained it is in your daily life. |
| Cold turkey | Quitting cold turkey might work for some people, it might not work for others. You may be able to just up and quit nail biting like some smokers or drinkers kick the habit overnight. Or you might try quitting nail biting one nail or one hand at a time. |
| Bitter nail polish | You might get used to the taste or you simply stop using it. Won’t help nail pickers since you aren’t putting your fingers in your mouth. |
| Tape on fingernails | Tape falls off and interferes with your daily life ie. typing on a computer, using a phone. Looks ridiculous which may prevent you from using it. |
| Wear gloves | You can simply take the gloves off. Interferes with your daily life. Masks the problem. |
| Pain | Self-inflicted pain doesn’t work. Research shows that pain and punishment tends not to work to quit nail biting. Anyways, unless you’re into self pain, are you really going to punish yourself? |
| Shame | Being told off by a loved one may help to shame you into quitting or you may just avoid biting and picking your nails around that person like I did. |
| Fake nails | Like bitter nail polish, you may just stop using them. Again, you’re masking the problem and ignoring the root cause of the nail biting problem. |
| Nail Strengtheners | After applying a nail strengthener to your nails, you might start picking at the gel and create a new problem for yourself. Or you stop buying and using the gel. |
| Nail care | Regularly trimming and cutting fingernails can help to keep them short enough that you don’t feel the need to bite or pick them. Getting manicures could possibly dissuade you from biting them when you see how nice they appear and the money you spent to achieve the look. |
| Reminder of side effects | Once you learn about the possible side effects of nail biting – tooth and jaw damage, teeth grinding, bacteria, infections and worse – it may help you to quit cold turkey. |
| Marking your nails | Every time you catch yourself biting or picking your nail(s) use a pen or marker to write a small line near the top of your nail bed to visually remind you of which nail(s) you are having the most trouble not biting. It also may help to visualize how many times you attempt to bite/pick nails each day, drawing more attention to the problem. |
| Keeping a diary | You can journal or otherwise keep track of every time you try to bite or pick your nails in writing. It can help you identify triggers, see what situations cause you to get the urge and also visualize how many times per day you’re doing it which can be a real eye-opener. For me, nail biting and picking became second nature and very subconscious. Writing down the nail biting activity helped to highlight my behavior and make them more aware of specifics that I wasn’t previously aware of. |
| Progress tracking | Similar to keeping a diary but perhaps using different technology. Make a note on your cellphone with details every time you catch yourself biting or picking your nails. Put your progress into Excel or Powerpoint and review it each day and week. Take pictures of your nails each day and try to will them to grow. Look at the older pictures of your short, gross, bitten nails and convince yourself to not go back to those days. |
| Willpower | Try harder to quit. Catch yourself every time you start biting or picking and just stop. This is like trying to get me to suck a candy rather than crunching it right away which I do every time. Not happening. If it was this easy, there would be no nail biters as we’d have all quit already. |
| Medical help | Going to your doctor to get a referral to a specialist may help to unlock your reason(s) for nail biting if there is a specific underlying cause that you may or may not be aware of. They may also specify a strategy you are unaware of that could work for your personal situation. |
| Habit replacement | Keep your hands busy with something to dissuade yourself from nail biting: Use a stress ball, keep your cellphone in your hands, try silly putty, hold a golf ball, play a handheld video game. Again, these tend to be good for awhile but who is going to constantly carry these around on a daily basis? |
| Use an app | Streaks and HabitAware are two apps you can use to monitor and keep track of your nail biting activity. The thought is you can celebrate wins for every day you quit your habit. Will you stick with it and keep using the app though? What if you fall off the wagon and start biting nails again or forget to login? |
| Identify your triggers | Did we save the best for last? Identifying the reasons you bite and pick your nails is a great start so you can begin to see if there are common situations or circumstances that trigger the habit. In my experience, identifying specifics about your behavior are key to quitting long term. |
Your Best Bet?
Start by determining if you’re a nail biter, nail picker or both. Pay close attention to when you feel the need to bite your nails ie. what sets you off? and the specific situation(s) when it happens ie. Are you alone? At work? Under stress? Bored?
For me, the more I paid attention to the specifics of nail biting, the easier is was for me to realize that my trigger for nail picking and biting was basically just a lack of motivation to quit. That was it. While stress, boredom and other triggers may have played a part in the past, by the time I was able to quit nail picking and biting, it came down to me recognizing that I didn’t need to do it anymore. I think it was just (finally) my time to quit.
I realized that it was easier to quit than I thought when I became aware that I didn’t need to bite and pick my nails anymore. While in the past, it was very difficult for me to quit – impossible actually – this time around when I considered all the horrible side effects of nail biting and how gross it is, I realized that I no longer wanted to do this. In the past, my motivation to quit was virtually zero and my self control was even less.
This time around, paying attention to my nail picking (most of the time) and nail biting (less so) behavior helped me admit and see that I simply didn’t want to do this anymore.
Your situation might be different. Your motivation to quit and remain a quitter is key but also your personal situation is also important.
Summary
Once you’ve identified your nail biting/picking behavior and triggers, you’re in a better position to determine which strategies may work for you. It may take a combination of strategies and it may take significant time and effort to quit. Nail biting is an easy and cheap habit to start and a hard one to stop. Unlike cigarettes or alcohol, nail biting doesn’t require you to buy anything and if your nails get too short, you just wait a few days for them to grow back and start up again.
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