5 Ways to Stop Picking Your Nails
a PR sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest review. all opinions are my own!
I’m not a nail biter. I’m a nail picker. I know, I know, that sounds disgusting. I’m not sure if it’s bad genes or what, but my nails are very weak and very peel-ey (is that a word?). If my hands are not busy, I’m picking at them and peeling them. I can’t stand bumps or ridges in my fingernails, so I’m always trying to smooth them out. A few months ago I peeled my nail back so badly that it started bleeding terribly. My finger swelled up, I had to wear a cumbersome band-aid and I decided I needed to work on getting control of this terrible habit.
So, I set off to come up with some strategies to help me resist the urge to pick at my nails and to grow them out a bit. I knew I needed to make some changes because I was so tired of having yucky looking nails and not being able to control my habits.
1. Keep a Nail File available at all times.
I picked up a nail file that was on a keychain at Target (of course) and keep it on my keys at all times. I also picked up a pack of regular files and placed them around my home (on the coffee table, at my desk and by my bed). When I feel a ridge or bump in my nails, I now reach for my nail file instead of picking at it to try to smooth it out and making it 10 times worse.
2. Take a HSN supplement to strengthen nails
I was skeptical about HSN (hair, skin, nails) supplements for a long while, but my nails were so weak, I knew I needed to give it a go. I first tried some from ItWorks and my nails started growing so fast, I could hardly believe it! I also noticed a difference in my eyelashes, which made me even happier. However, it was way too expensive for me to keep buying them from my ItWorks rep, so I switched over to some I found at my local Sam’s Club and they work just as well. This stuff is great because it helps strengthen my nails and make it harder for me to pick at them and peel them!
3. Have something available to keep your fingers busy
If I don’t have something to do with my hands, I start picking at my nails. I knew I needed something to keep my fingers busy so they wouldn’t wander while watching Netflix or a movie. This is where my adult coloring book comes into play! Not only is this a huge stress reliever, but it keeps my hands busy and away from picking at my nails!
4. Set up an Incentive for yourself
I am way more successful when I set up rewards for myself, so I decided to write down something I REALLY wanted and if I could go three weeks without picking at my nails, I would treat myself to it. (In the most recent case, I treated myself to a new bathing suit for our cruise!) Having a goal/prize to work towards that was always on my mind help me be more conscious about what I was doing with my fingers and to stop picking at my nails whenever I felt the urge.
5. Keep your nails painted or try Jamberries!
The thing that helped me most was always having my fingers painted or wearing Jamberries on my nails! Having my nails covered helped distract me from all the imperfections and allowed my nails to grow out and recover from how badly I had picked them to.
I love painting my nails, but unless I have a great top coat, I find myself picking at my nail polish after a couple days and that defeats the whole purpose. I had a Jamberry Consultant named Gwen reach out to me a few weeks ago and ask if I wanted to try out some nail wraps! I had only ever tried Jamberry once before (a small sample over a year ago) so I was excited to be able to get a whole sheet and do a whole manicure.
Jamberry makes nail wraps (which are basically like super sticky nail stickers) that come in a variety of designs. They are supposed to last at least 2 weeks on the nails and don’t smudge or streak after applied, leaving your nails ready to take on whatever task you have immediately after.
I sat down one afternoon to tackle putting on my wraps and I’m not going to lie, it was definitely a bit of a longer process than just painting my nails. I have tiny fingers, so I had to trim each wrap down to fit my nails. I also had to use my hair dryer to heat up the wrap and apply it to each fingernail, which took me a while to get a process down. And, because my nails were so short, I did have a little bit of trouble filing the excess down off the tips of my fingers.
That being said, once I got my wraps all on, my nails looked fantastic and I immediately went and prepared dinner without worrying about nicking my polish. They held up really well in the shower, doing the dishes and washing my hands! The wraps on my right hand lasted about 10 days before they started to show signs of wear and tear and the wraps on my left hand lasted about 12 days (I’m a righty, so that makes sense to me). And, I had enough wraps left over to pull off a second manicure, which was super exciting!
All in all, I had a good experience trying out Jamberry. I don’t know if I would take the time to put them on my fingers every time I wanted to paint them. However, if I needed to give my nails an extra long break or want a special design, I definitely would take the time to put them on!
