Town Talk
My niece has come to stay with us for the summer. She and my daughter are inseparable. And she and I have a lot in common. For instance, I used to bite my fingernails to the quick. Something she has been doing ever since I’ve known her. Naturally, my sister has tried everything to get her to stop biting. Nasty tasting applications, gloves, bribes, the possibility of a new car—you name it. Nothing has worked. As a former hairstylist—and someone who had spent a great amount of time working on skin and nails—I found myself ruminating on the problem. And then it came to me—a real solution to break the nail biting habit.
Which was great, because I have a friend who is a nurse, and she had said to me, “She needs to stop because this swine flu, this H1N1, might hit hard. Nobody needs their hands near their mouth.” Which, of course, gave me pause for thought. Any flu is a good reason to keep fingers away from a mouth.
How To Stop Biting Your Fingernails
Before you read on, a few things to consider/understand:
- The nail biter has to be at a stage where they really want to quit biting their fingernails. They have to be at the stage where they are cognizant of the fact that they need to quit, but they just don’t know how to break the problem.
- The solution has the possibility of harming the fingernails temporarily (and the nail bed permanently if used too long, i.e., as in a year, e.g., the nail bed can deform the shape of the nail, a fungus can grow, etc.). I’m more concerned with the temporary damage than the latter, because most people won’t want to do this for a year, and, even if they do, long term damage is still only a possibility. And I’m actually not very concerned about the temporary damage, either, because if you’re reading this, you know that any damage done to severely bitten nails, is nothing compared to the damage done to, well, severely bitten nails.
- Purchase false nails at any drugstore or online (recommended: Nailene So Natural Nail Kit
). If they come with a sticky film on the back, rub that film off. Make sure the nails come with fingernail glue, or purchase the glue separately. It will be in the same general area of the store… in fact, it should be on the same shelf.
- Size each fake nail to fit each fingernail. You do not want the fake fingernail to be too wide or too short. It should cover the nail, as much as possible, but it should also look slender.
- Cut the nail down so it is very short. At this stage, you do not want the fingernail poking above the top of the finger. Cut from the bottom of the fake nail—not the top.
- Soak the hands in warm, soapy water, then push the fake nails gently into the cuticle bed—gently—and just a teeny bit. The fake nails should be under the cuticle, but barely. Just enough to hide the fake nail and not give the biter reason to pull from there.
- Dry nails, put them aside. Dry hands.
- Put wax paper down and have person rest their hands on top of the wax paper (this way, if some of the glue spills over, the person’s finger does not become superglued to the table.
- Apply glue to the fingernail directly, making sure that it is quite covered.
- This part must be done, fast! Position the fake nail onto the fingernail—trying to get it just a smidge under the cuticle (and if it hurts, do NOT put it below the cuticle!). Then press and hold. It helps to use tweezers to set the nail in place, and then I use a large emery board to push and hold the nail while the glue sets. If you use your own finger to push and there is any glue contact, you might become glued to the fake nail, too! Obviously, something you do not want. An emery board will pull away from a fake nail if it is in contact with glue. If the nail is at a slant or not positioned right, you can fix it, but you must do it within the first few seconds. Just manipulate it around until it’s set, then push and hold.
- Hold for around 30 seconds.
- Once the nails are all on, do not wash the hands for at least five minutes—just to give everything a chance to harden.
- File down or buff any rough spots.
- Now is a great time to add fingernail polish, if you so choose. I recommend no polish at first, to give the person a feel of what real nails look like.
Why this works.
Once someone who sees real fingernails on their hands, they tend to want to leave them alone. Also, fake nails are not very gratifying to bite. They don’t have the same consistency or texture, and, in fact, all the pleasure of biting is removed with fake nails.
Caution! The peeler!
Fake nails can be fun as heck to peel off! Make sure to check for any peeling activity. Add glue to areas that might have been tampered with. In severe cases, soak the fake nails off (there are solutions out there), and reapply a whole new set of fake nails. In worst case scenarios, it usually takes at least three days for someone to be able to start peeling fake nails off. (Peeling is also what causes the temporary damage.)
Expect growth, fast! It is not surprising to see the white tips of real fingernails showing after a week! Within 2-3 weeks, the nails will probably be long enough to exchange polish for fake nails (although the participant might need a few more weeks of wearing false nails to keep the biting need at bay.
What to do once the nails are grown out.
Make sure the participant is ready to leave their real nails alone. Then remove the fake nails, buff down any roughness, apply something like Duri Rejuvacoat
If a real fingernail breaks, it sets up prime biting time again. So always keep an emery board, fingernail clippers and a band-aid at the ready. File down, clip or pop on a band-aid if there is a fingernail break. Let the nail grown out under a band-aid OR add a fake nail to the one broken nail until it grows out.
Disclaimer
Please note that we have cautioned against the possibility of damage. Also note—biting nails causes damage, too, so this might just be a better alternative.
This technique can be used on children, but caution must be heeded! It would be best to wait until a child is older than 8 years of age. And children must keep fingers with fresh glue away from their eyes and mouth. Nails for teens are available.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/14/09 at 09:39 AM
