How to Stop Biting Your Nails

By Carlon Haas | July 30, 2007

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One day, I was talking with my speaking coach. She looked at me with the most serious face and said, “Carlon, now don’t be offended. You know I tell you things only because I think it will help you.”

I knew this had to be something bad. So, I closed my eyes…

…took a deep breath…

…and waited.

Finally, she spoke.

“Now, imagine that I am a corporate executive who wants to pay you $5,000 for a 60-minute speech…and I look down at your hands and see those things. I may think twice about it.”

What she was referring to was my cutically-challenged fingernails.

“Come on…do you really think my nails make that big a difference?”

“Yes, I know they make a difference. They can make all the difference. I’ve seen it happen.”

Appearance. There it goes again. How you present yourself makes a difference not only to people you meet but in the way you feel about yourself.

So, I resolved to quit biting my nails. Now, compared to quitting smoking, it wasn’t that bad. But after biting my nails for the lat 20-something years or so, it wasn’t easy.

So, I want to give you some tips on how you can stop biting your nails.

#1 Determine why you want to stop biting your nails

To me, this is the most important part of the stop-biting-nails process. You have to feel that there is a reason to stop. It is a nasty habit for sure. But as someone who bit his nails for 20-something years, “nastiness” just doesn’t cut it. For me, my motivation was an improved appearance. I had been told so often about my nails that hearing my speaking coach say it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

#2 Become aware of when you bite your nails

Now, you know why you want to quit biting your nails. But now comes the hard part: figuring out when you actually bite your nails. The hardest part about stopping biting my nails was I had been doing it for so long it was subconscious. So, the first step is to become conscious of when you bite your nails. For me, it was when I was in front of my computer and when I drove (it took me 2 weeks to figure out that I mainly bit my nails when I drove).

#3 Put polish or something else like it on your nails

There are a lot of products that will help you to stop biting your nails (lots of creams and likewise bitter-tasting products). I didn’t go that route (though I wouldn’t advise against it—see next step). Instead, I put something on my nails called Man-e-cure. Kind of nail polish for men. I only admit that to you for one reason–putting something on my nails made me value the appearance of my nails. Before then, I never even cared what my nails looked like.

But after putting something on my nails, I noticed they did look better. And this knowledge encouraged me to stop biting my nails.

#4 Get some help

If you need some aids, buy a good stop-nail-biting product. I don’t have any recommendations as of yet, but there are many good products out there. This is to get you through the initial tough part. But through this time, you should develop awareness of your nail-biting habits and eliminate them step by step.

Also, for those who have an oral fixation, you can find aids for that as well. This might include straws, toothpicks, or even licorice. Whatever helps.

Well, there you have it. A way to step biting your nails. Don’t worry if you don’t get it on the first try. The key to not biting your nails is determination to quit and awareness of your habit.

By becoming aware of your triggers and understanding your habit, you will be well on your way to a nail-biting free future.

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