I Have Nails!

I have been a terrible nail-biter all of my life. There have been short periods where I was able to grow a small nail, but I always go back to biting and the ends of my fingers look like stubs then.

I know it's a bad habit. It looks terrible, leaves me no nails to use for scratching (or anything else!), and nails are just dirty and shouldn't be put into your mouth. It is such a hard habit to break, though. Well, last time I visited my grand-daughter she was nibbling her nails, so we made a pact that we would quit together.

She is all the way in Seattle and I'm in Florida. When I'm there, we remind each other if we see biting, but once I go home, we can't really keep tabs on each other. To tell the truth, I didn't worry about it after I came home, and I would suspect that she did the same. Now I'm going out there for a visit on May 2nd, so I knew I had to really get my butt in gear if I want to be able to flaunt nails when I get there!

So, here is my "quickie" plan for growing nails in a hurry...

I bought a gel to moisturize my cuticles so that they would not be ragged, and used it faithfully every day. I also bought Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps nail hardener. It brushes on like clear nail polish, and it really makes a protective covering for your nails so that they don't break easily. (my nails grow in very brittle from biting them)  At the beginning, these were the only products I could use because my nails were too short for anything else.

I removed and re-did the nail hardener every couple of days.  That satisfied my need to play around with my nails, and reinforced in my mind that I should not be biting them. Also, just having nail polish on, even if it's only clear, acts as a deterrent. At least they started growing a little bit right away, so that I was also getting positive reinforcement from being able to see white on the tips of my nails.

After a few weeks, they were finally long enough that I could put colored nail polish on without it looking ridiculous. I was so excited to reward myself with some pretty polishes! I did buy some very nice ones, and this is what I chose for my first manicure: Sally Hansen Extreme Wear, Fuschia Power and Milani, Sugar Rush for the glitter. You can't see the sparkles in this picture, but look --- I have nails!!! Now I just have to keep myself from wanting to change my polish every day, hehe.

The dots look like they're having a party on my nails.

I'll find out in a couple of weeks whether my grand-daughter has resisted the urge to bite. Either way, I'm bringing her some of the nail hardener polish and giving her these tips so that she can conquer this bad habit, just as I have. (I hope permanently this time!)

Cat