Excessive nail biting can also lead to issues with your teeth, rigid nail beds, and even bloody or scarred finger tips. The habit can additionally leave your mouth open to host bacteria, germs, and who knows what else! Thankfully, there are steps you can take to end this harmful and embarrassing habit.

Polish makes perfect - For many chronic nail biters, keeping nails coated with polish helps to wean them off the desire. The bitter taste of nail polish along with the particles that chip with biting is helpful in making biters more aware of their habit and physically deterring them from continuing.

Nip it in the bud - Literally! For many chronic biters, the only way to manage their habit is to limit their ability to continue it. Keeping nails cut and filed short makes biting one’s nails virtually impossible, leaving you with no other choice but to stop biting.

Find an alternative - If you find yourself biting only in stressful situations, look for alternate outlets for stress relief. Exercise, yoga, meditation, massage, and sometimes just a chance to vent your frustrations to friends could be enough to calm you and keep you away from those nubs.

Fake it - Having false nails applied often keeps people from biting their nails for two reasons: 1- having an acrylic nail to bite makes the entire process much more difficult, and 2- spending money on fake nails makes many people give a second thought to the money they will be wasting by just biting the nails away.

Seek assistance - If you have tried all of these tips in the past to no avail, it may be time to seek professional guidance. Some people’s reason for a chronic nail biting habit goes much deeper than a stress filled life. Talk to a psychologist about your habit, when it started, and what issues seem to trigger it the most, and he or she should be able to get to the root of the issue and help you resolve it.

By Jen Mathews
DERMAdoctor Staff Writer

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