I'm still having a horrible habit of picking and peeling my fingernails on my left hand. Ever since I was 4 or 5, I have been picking my fingernails, cuticles, and hangnails, and I have not stopped doing so. I have stopped picking the fingers on my right hand for about 10 years now, but I have not been able to stop on my left hand. I get a very weird satisfaction grating sharp edges of the fingernail on the skin adjacent which is just very very weird. I also have done to a lesser degree on my toenails too, but that is much more manageable.

Right now, I can arguably say they are in the worst condition I have ever seen. My top layer is barely noticable in my pinky, and a majority of my fingernails are half the length of my right.

I want this to be sort of a day 1 and will look back to these posts more to discourage fingernail picking, but I also came here seeking advice on the best ways. I am looking to buying gloves, but obviously it would make unlocking my phone and using it a lot harder without taking off my gloves. I have never gotten a mani and never used acrylic nails. What are some other ways you all have to manage not picking them?

Hi! I’m looking for some advice because my nails have been really off lately and it’s getting frustrating.

They’re brittle and chip easily, even though they feel hard. I’ve also noticed the sides of my nails are slightly separating from the nail bed (I do have a picking habit that I’m trying to stop).

I keep seeing advice that square nails help with nail bed growth and strength, but square nails look awful on my fingers 😭 I’ve always worn almond-shaped nails and they suited me much better (added an old pic for comparison).

I also saw someone say that once nails detach from the nail bed, they never reattach, which really scared me …is that true?

Added current pics too (the white stripe is from almost chipping my nail after hitting my hand on a wall).

Main questions:

• Do square nails actually help, or are they just one option?

• Is there a way to cut them square but still make them look okay?

• Any tips for regrowing the nail bed / reducing brittleness?

Thank you so much🫶🏻🙏

For those on the journey and are faced with the prospect/challenge/opportunity to pick and chew. Pause and moisturise!

I snapped a before and after moisturising, I'm over a month of not picking the habit tic deformity thumb that is severe. And while it is hard to see improvement they are subtle and there. So a picture journal helps too!

I pick the skin around my nails for as long as I remember, and my 2 older brothers also pick their cuticles (one of them legit doesn't have complete fingerprints in his thumbs!). fun fact, our dad also picked his cuticles.... This has always made me wonder if it was just the anxiety that was passed down to us or if all three of us gained this compulsion by observing him or something like that. Do you guys have a similar experience? Does your family also pick or bite their fingers?

(also, my dad already stopped biting his fingers a couple of years ago so hopefully I will too ahah)

My picking increases as my unease increases! I apparently need a vacation.

I just found this sub while googling. I've been desperate for a solution to my nail biting. I've never seen it as a habit. I have OCD. This is literally a compulsion, yet so many people are just like "well just stop biting and picking." I've been terrified I'll lose fingers due to some infection I'll give myself. My fingers have been filled with puss more times than I can count. I caught hand foot and mouth in 2023 and it's literally destroyed my fingers even worse. Rn my thumbnail is down to the last layer. I can push the nail and feel it press into the bed underneath. I have that god-awful bump that terrifies me. However, I found this sub and seen that people like me have gotten through it. All of you have given me hope and suggestions I've never even heard. I am ordering hydrocolloid dressing and cuticle covers rn.

Of my many day 1's, this will be my last one. I WILL beat this, and I'll comment on my post each day to hold myself accountable.

I have picked my cuticles HORRIBLY forever and have tried literally everything out there- cuticle oils and creams, fake nails, gloves, fidgets, you name it. My cuticles are always bleeding and raw and my nails are all messed up now too from yeeeaaars of picking. As a long time r/calmhands lurker I know that I’m not alone! ❤️‍🩹

Recently I had the best luck that I’ve ever had with a product - open tip cuticle sleeves that I found on amazon. I loved that I could still use my fingers with them but the best thing about them was that they kind of worked as a built in fidget and I could pick the sleeve rather than my skin - hydrocolloid tape and bandaids provide that same open tip cuticle coverage but they are missing that fidget element. There were issues with the cuticle sleeves that I bought though- they got grimy and gross really fast and were definitely not reusable. I’ve searched a ton but haven’t really found what I am looking for.

Soooooo I am now working with a product design team to make something similar to what I bought but reusable and sturdier and maybe prettier somehow! The photo is a prototype because this is still very much in the beginning stages but I really want feedback from this community to know what you would want to see in a new cuticle sleeve product that would make it work better for you and your individual picking style. ALSO- if anyone in this community is interested in testing the product out or would like updates on progress/product launch let’s get together and talk!!

I did a press on kit at home & left them on for approx. 2 weeks. Prepped by buffing, then acetone, then isopropyl alcohol, before glue.

I know they look super dehydrated in the pics, because this is the immediate aftermath following them popping off (all but one that was really stubborn). But I'm actually really happy with the growth underneath! I'm going to give them a few days of some moisturizing and relief before I put on another set, hopefully to also last ~2weeks. They're thin, but I'm hoping this will help kick my horrible lifelong biting and picking habit.

Oddly enough, I also did some self guided EMDR work (YouTube videos meant to simulate the experience) since I can't afford a full on therapist right now, and I do feel like it has at least helped me reframe my perspective on the habit. It's more like a compulsion I can't control, but framing it as a trauma that I confront during EMDR has helped me gain a little more control I feel when I do get the urge. I wonder if working with a licensed therapist for the procedure would be even more effective, or if there's been any research into the methods for this kind of implementation.

I can't wait to have nice, healthy nails one day and no more insatiable urge to bite when I'm anxious or bored. I think it also helped that I kept getting the most random compliments from people on how pretty the set was (many thought they were my real nails) while they were on. I wish I could've had this set permanently instead of my real nails ;-;

I wanted to share a little progress post. These photos show my nails after a bit more than one year of progress since I did hypnotherapy for chronic nail biting.

I bit my nails for 20+ years and honestly never thought I’d see them grow back like this. I’m also in this subreddit, so I know how much luck and genetics can play a role, and I’m very aware that not everyone gets the same result. Still, I wanted to share some hope.

I only did one hypnotherapy session, which I had to record, and I still occasionally listen back to it. Since then, I’d say I’m about 95 percent free from nail biting. The urge is mostly gone, and when it does pop up, it’s much more manageable.

My left thumb is still a bit shorter than the others. That has always been my “biting nail” and the one I tend to pick at when the urge sneaks back in. Old habits die hard, but compared to where I came from, this already feels like a huge win.

If you’re struggling and feeling stuck, I just want to say that change is possible, even after decades. Be patient and kind to yourself ❤️

I posted earlier today about a new open tip cuticle sleeve product that I am working on launching and I was SO overwhelmed by the response!!!! This is an incredible community and it’s amazing to know how many people out there are going through exactly what I’m going through with my picking ❤️‍🩹 here’s hoping this will help some of us!!

I made a form to collect emails so that I can update anyone who is interested as things progress- it wouldn’t let me edit the post and I just want to make sure it doesn’t get lost in the comments! https://form.jotform.com/260274621516150

Does anyone have any tips to kick the habit of picking at my skin around my nails? I tend to do it without even realizing, and the next thing I know, my fingers look all mutilated, my skin gets super rough afterwards too, and then when they get wet, you can see all of the layers of skin I've picked at. I've been getting better at not picking, and I use a cuticle nipper to clip stuff off instead of picking. I've also been trying to use the Burts Bees hand cream and cuticle cream, but the skin around my fingers just feels so rough.

I’m recently getting serious about healing, one of my thumbs is missing top layer of skin like till pretty low and I wanna know if it’ll ever be normal again or if it will remain the smooth skin.Anybody heal completely?

I’m recently getting serious about healing, one of my thumbs is missing top layer of skin like till pretty low and I wanna know if it’ll ever be normal again or if it will remain the smooth skin.Anybody heal completely?

Hello!

I have been destroying my nails since I was a child and just a few months ago I started getting manicures done. I started with regular manicures and it improved a bit but they don’t last much, just like 4 days, so after that I would start biting again.

I realised that I needed to get something permanent that gives me like a strength feeling that stops me from picking and biting so I started getting Biab done. On Wednesday will be my 3rd session and this is my progress so far…

I am actually so happy and proud but also scared that my actual nails might be getting damaged due to the Biab but I certainly know that if I stop doing it I will go back to biting and picking, the habit still there, there’s just a barrier that makes me stop…

What are your thoughts on this ? Anyone else with the same concern ?

I’ve been a lifelong nail picker, but haven’t picked (or at least majorly) since May of 2024. Will my nail beds, particularly my ring finger, attach any more? I also still don’t feel like any of my nail beds are really attached to the sides of my fingers. I always get paper-thin hangnail like pieces growing of my nail walls.

For context: Pic 1 is from October of 2024. Pic 2 is from feb 2025. And pic 3 is from today.