Nail Growers Anonymous

**Whitley Gilbert** · 09-14-2010, 03:19 AM

Random Nail Thoughts, Q&A, and support for those trying to grow their nails out

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My name is Whitley Gilbert and I'm a nail biter.

It's a horrible habit, I know. Well, I've been clean for a few weeks now and although my nails are growing fine, they are very weak and constantly splitting. So, I upped my game and started using nailtiques and vitamin E oil daily (at some else's suggestion).

We'll see how this goes.

**Phunkiesmallz** · 09-15-2010, 08:18 PM

Hi Whitley...

My name is Phunkiesmallz and I am a nail biter too .....le sigh...its now very unbecoming! Any suggestions? was thinking of getting some gel nails so I can grow my naturals ones in.....

**Savvyone** · 09-15-2010, 08:39 PM

shoot it's been 42 years and my nails have always been "nubs"...

one day I'll care but the thing is they don't grow normal, they flare out and all kinds of craziness, not cute....

**Whitley Gilbert** · 09-17-2010, 03:23 AM

Originally Posted by Phunkiesmallz

Hi Whitley...

My name is Phunkiesmallz and I am a nail biter too .....le sigh...its now very unbecoming! Any suggestions? was thinking of getting some gel nails so I can grow my naturals ones in.....

Yeah, maybe gel overlays will help you. I've never tried them, but I keep hearing mostly positive things about them. Check out the video posted in this thread, if you haven't already. http://www.nappturality.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=131144

Here are two good videos that helped me get started:

I'm following the daily routine in the first video. I'm using a hardener and Sally Hansen Vitamin E & Cuticle Oil. Next time, I think I'm just going to get some regular Vitamin E Oil, if I can find it, and put it in the Sally Hansen bottle when it's empty (or maybe half evoo and vitamin e like in the second video). For my hardener I'm using Nailtiques (formula 2 plus). It's somewhat pricey, but it works really well. My nails were so weak and constantly peeling and splitting on the sides. I didn't think I could even keep nails after I stopped biting them. I could literally bend them backwards and downwards without any effort. They grew, but they were prone to breakage and so annoying. The Nailtiques has really thickened them up and made the tips whiter too. I also use Sally Hansen Miracle Cure.

I'll try to post some before and afters next week (depending on the progress I guess).

Remember, I'm new to nail care so and still learning, so take my advice for what it is.

Hopefully some others will chime in too.

Originally Posted by Savvyone

shoot it's been 42 years and my nails have always been "nubs"...

one day I'll care but the thing is they don't grow normal, they flare out and all kinds of craziness, not cute....

I didn't care either, but I was fillling out some paperwork last months and the entire time I was thinking that people were staring at my ugly chewed up hands. I was overly conscious about it for some reason.

I figured if I can put a certain amount of effort into taking care of the rest of my body/appearance (like my hair), why not put a little effort into my stubby nubbies... and they were truly some tubby nubbies with atrocious cuticles to boot.

**SoulfulSista** · 09-18-2010, 01:03 AM

Another nubbie checking in. I don't bite my nails but they are extremely brittle. They split on the sides and I break at least two nails every weekend while doing laundry. I had been wearing an overlay for the past year and half, but I took them off about a month ago. I'm going to have to try some of the things you mentioned.

**Kadeepoo** · 09-18-2010, 03:53 PM

i, too, am a chronic nail biter. been this way since the age of four or five. my fingers and nails (i also bite the skin around my nails

) are so damaged that i used to doubt that i could ever get them to look healthy much less grow them.

but then i got braces put on my teeth a couple years ago and i was surprised to find that my nails could grow. the braces prevented me from biting my nails so, try as i might, they made it impossible to do. i wore my braces for a little under a year and my nails grew longer than they had ever been in my entire life. i actually had a free edge for once!

then i got my braces removed and it all went downhill from there lol. i'm back to square one.

so now that i know that i am capable of growing my nails i'm gonna try the regimen outlined in the first youtube vid along with trying to be more conscious of when and why i'm nibbling.

**tryagain3** · 09-21-2010, 04:29 PM

another nail biter here, i've been biting my nails since i was about 6. i don't bite my nails as much as i used to but now i bite the skin on the side of the nail

. because of all the nail biting my nails grow to a certain point and then break. recently tho it seems like the top layer of the nail is chipping off. i was taking biotin but i don't think my body was very fond of it so i had to stop taking it. the only other way i was able to keep my nails out of my mouth is getting fake nails but i'm allergic to the acrylic so thats out. i've been learning how to do manicures at home and trying really hard to take of them because i'm tired of my fingers looking ate up.

**nvsnot** · 09-21-2010, 06:04 PM

Hi, my name is nvsnot and i'm a 35 yr. old nail biter. Sad, but true. This past Saturday I got myself a manicure. I guess i'll invest in some nail hardener over the weekend so I can make this thing official.

**Neosoul** · 09-22-2010, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by Savvyone

but the thing is they don't grow normal, they flare out and all kinds of craziness, not cute....

^^^ is my problem too. I've worn tips a total of 5 times ... mostly while as a bridesmaid in some person's wedding. After the last time ... my nails started growing all kinds of crazy. Like you said Savvy ... they flare out and curve ... ugghhh ... definitely all kinds of crazy.

I'm lurking in this thread because I feel like Whitley ... I take care of my feet, my hair ... me ... my hands and nails just get left on the side. So I'm going to try to do better with y'all ...

**Whitley Gilbert** · 09-30-2010, 04:25 PM

Good luck SoulfulSista and nvsnot! Please keep us updated.

Savvyone and Neosoul, I don't know if it's an option for the issue that you ladies have, but have you tried shaping your nails into a more desirable shape as they grow out? I've read some really great reviews on crystal nail files. I want to try one.

Originally Posted by tryagain3

i bite the skin on the side of the nail . because of all the nail biting my nails grow to a certain point and then break. recently

Originally Posted by Kadeepoo

i, too, am a chronic nail biter. been this way since the age of four or five. my fingers and nails (i also bite the skin around my nails

I can so relate to this. My cuticles are extremely dry and raggedy. It's truly frightening and painful too.

My Update: I'm doing well with my little routine. All of my nails have little free edges except for three. I was doing so well and they looked decent until Monday of this week. I had a stressful meeting that day and gnawed those three down to nothing beforehand. lol. Terrible. I'm keeping track of my progress with pics (the good and the bad) and I was going to share some, but then I had this setback. So hopefully I'll have something to show soon, but not too soon.