Published By: Ishani Karmakar

How Can You Stop Yourself From Biting Your Nails?

People bite their nails for various reasons, and they may not even realize that they're doing it! Although it's a seemingly harmless activity, nail-biting may cause adverse health effects, such as nail deformities and bacterial infections.

If you are one of those people who bite their nails down to the skin, don’t despair, there’s always help available – you just need to seek it! Here are six tips to stop from biting your nails once and once and for all.

Get your manicure done regularly

When it's in the way of your gorgeous, brand new nails, biting may turn out to be less attractive. In addition, the chemical flavour of nail polish may also be a dissuader.

Traditional manicures may help; however, having fake nails or gel on your nails can also reduce the urge to chew.

Apply a gross-tasting nailpolish

Applying unsettling or shocking flavour to your nails may stop you from biting them. The polish with a bitter taste is available at most drug stores for those who want to stop chewing their nails.

You can also create the perfect "bitter application" at home using ingredients like jalapenos or salt. If you apply these ingredients to your nails, mix them with something sticky such as honey, to make sure it remains. You can apply the mixture using a cotton swab or tiny brushes to spread the mix.

Note: This method could be extremely messy, and difficult to clean up.

Trim your nails regularly

Make sure your nails are cut short. You are less likely to bite them this way. If you do this, there's a good chance that you'll lose interest in the edges of your nails when you're having a difficult time getting the nails to your teeth.

Try reverse habit training

Another method to get rid of nail-biting is to practice the habit reversal program that can replace an unhealthy habit with a new, healthier option. When your habit has been destroyed, the replacement method will no longer be required to keep going.

Wear gloves

Cover your nails with gloves to stop yourself from biting. But, in warm weather, gloves can become sweaty and uncomfortable. They also make it difficult to operate touchscreen electronics or perform other tasks that require precise hand movements.

Find the triggers

Although you may not even be aware of nail-biting, please do your best to be mindful of the times it happens. You could be doing it when you are anxious or bored; knowing the reasons behind your behaviour will allow you to understand the issue more thoroughly, enabling you to focus on a solution.