The Nail Chronicles of a Professional Nail Biter

WEEK 1: Fighting Tooth and Nail

Since about the second grade, I have been a chronic nail biter.  But it doesn’t just stop at the nail.  I pick and bite my cuticles like there’s no tomorrow.  I know, gross.

There have been countless occasions where I’ve torn or bitten my nails/cuticles to the point of bleeding. (Right.  I know, gross.  Didn’t we cover that?)

But 2013 ushers in a peace treaty between me and my defenseless fingers.

My plan is to document my progress as a reformed nail biter.  I’m going to show pics of my hands on a weekly basis to keep me accountable.  Any encouraging words and/or tips are welcome!

This week – I received some great tips from a friend (and a formidable poker player, I might add) who is a recovering and reformed nail biter, herself.  Her name is Alice Pagoota Morgan and this is the advice she gave me:

“I did want to tell you that the nail thing I kicked within the last couple of years by becoming a nail polish fiend. This resolved a couple of things. Kept me busy (and happy) when home so I didn’t spend so much money going out, and it STOPPED the nail biting pretty much immediately. And without a lot of conscious “trying.” I just looked back and realized, hey I don’t bite my nails anymore. Cool.
Make sure to keep them at a manageable length to prevent breaking and splitting. Short, pretty, uniform nails look better than half long, half split/chewed nails. And get yourself a cute set of nail clippers to carry in your purse. When you go to put your fingers near your mouth, pull those out instead.”

See, my problem is, I never want to do my nails because they look like chew toys for gremlins.  But, last week, despite their appearance, I gave my hands a full on DIY mani.  Just like Alice said, I went and picked out a couple of nail polishes so I had some incentive to do my nails.

And guess what – I haven’t bitten my nails once and my cuticles are healing!  There still takes some effort not to pick but I just have to stay focused.

I’ve been having an internal debate as to my “starting out pic” and I gotta be honest – I REALLY don’t want to post it because it’s so embarrassing how mangled my fingers are.  I mean, like bad.  Real bad.  But here goes nothing.

Geez, this pic hurts my feelers.  Once you look past the gross, you may notice the polish.  It’s China Glaze in Ravishing Darling – two coats.  It’s a deep crimson red.  This pic makes it appear a little lighter than it actually is.

So I kept my nails painted and shaped as best I could and 7 days later:

Better, right?  So… Success.  They’re certainly not where I’d like them to be but they’re so much better than they were!  I really like this polish.  It’s China Glaze in Evening Seduction – A deep purple.

Next week, I may pick a polish or two from this collection.  FUN!

All in all, thanks to Alice’s awesome advice, a good week for me and my fingers!  Any other tips/advice is welcome!  What are some of your favorite nail polishes?

Happy Hump Day!  Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!  Muah!