Hello everyone,
Another editorial post - I have a couple of features I need help with.

Number one:
I am writing a feature on nail biting and what can be done about it.
So if any of you have had a successful, or unsuccessful, experience with a nail biter as well as any general tips and hints for other techs to learn from let me know either via this site or via my work email - lauram@tradesexhibitions.com

Number two:
The other feature is on children and more specifically how young is too young. Do you offer treatments for the younger members of public and if yes what? Would you do enhancements on a 12 year old if asked? You can also drop me an email if you have strong views on this subject - either for or against treating those under 16.
Answers to the usual address please...

Thanks
Laura

Professional Nails

The only time some of my diehard nail biters actually stop biting is when they have nail enhancements on. Then sometimes they start biting the skin.

What I have noticed though, is that those ex-biters have some of the most beautiful nails I have seen. Strong and long.

Most of the ex-biters say they are never really cured and they would always love to have a good old nibble on their nails.

To stop the urge of biting I tell them to sit and file their nails and push the cuticles back to take their mind of it. It works if they remember!!

hi im a ex nail biter i started when i was about 6 now im 22 its hard work what helps me is i use solar oil to rub in and i think to myself what lovely nails i will have in the end, i still nibble on my thumbs but im hoping ill stop that soon when i start my beauty course its a really bad habit

I specialise in nail biters as I find they are your most loyal clients, and it is so satisfying when one day you can "set them free" and have cured them of this habit.
They start with them applied as short as possible and have weekly maintenance at half price until their natural nail has grown enough to give the enhancement a stable platform to sit on. Make sure you work quite thin and that there are no rough edges to get their teeth round, or pick at. if they are smooth they won't touch them.

However to be good at applying the nails is only half the battle. You have to be a mini psychologist. When they come back with the tell tale nibbles out of the corner, or worse, the whole lot off they will often deny having done it. Chances are they won't even KNOW they have done it!! So you have to be firm but fair. I have a lady at the moment for example who has been coming to me for nearly a year. She has gone from biter to picker. So i just say "so how are WE going to get you out of this habit? When do you start to pick at them?" And we sit and discuss that she's had a bad week at work, that there was a litle edge and couldn't help herself and so on, and we work together to break the habit!

So i teach each nail biter the following things ...

Nail biters tend to have an ordered mind. They cannot bear to have one nail looking different so if one comes off then they all come off.

I teach them how to buff the little edges rather than bite and pick at them. They may come back with nails at a funny angle but they are getting out of the habit of biting and picking.

I was told that the refexology points for the head are also in the finger tips so if we are stressed then by biting and picking we are unknowingly relieving the tension. So I say to them if you are tempted to do this then get your solar oil and rub it into the nails. You are still doing a similar movement but it is a positive one.

I was also told that there are more germs on your nails and fingers than there are on a loo seat, so I get my biters to visualise licking a loo seat every time they put their hands in their mouth! It sounds really gross but boy does it work!

I find it normally takes about a year for a nail biter to get out of the habit, but real cannibals can take up to 2 years. It is an uphill struggle at times, but with persistence and working together with your client I have had many success stories .... including myself.

Empathy goes a long way, having been a nail biter myself means I can truly relate to how hard it is to stop it. And encourage your clients, if they have a bad week don't tell them off or make them feel bad, explain the damage they are doing to the natural nail by biting and picking at the enhancments. And if they have a good week then tell them how great they are doing. The client I mentioned above is still struggling, but she is getting there and at least she has a good amount of nail plate which is now reattaching itself to the sidewalls, and so little by little we are making progress.

Once the enhancements come off then advise your client to keep using cuticle oil and come in for regular manicures to give them some moral support to keep going. But the main thing that makes the difference is if tehey break a nail, or get a tear at the side then make sure you have nail files everywhere - handbag, upstairs, downstairs, car, work - so that you grab a file and use that rather than your teeth.

Hi,
I have been biting my nails for years, and it was only when I had enhancements on for a few months that I didn't feel the need to bite them anymore. Not only was I not used to biting them, but I took pride in my nails and would rather file them or paint them than bite them, as they had grown to a lovely length. My nail technician says that my nails are really strong and grow really quickly, which I find strange as I had abused them for so long. From that point on I was really interested in nails, and that's what made me quit uni and train to become a nail technician.
I had tried every method before that to stop biting my nails and non worked, so I must say that from my experience nail enhancements are the only way!
Heather xxxx

Sassy I love that thread, I could often get impatient especially when clients didn't want to quit and I had to turn them away. So great info!

Another thing I was thinking about when Scarlette mentions Transforming a nail biter, say a nail biter who is about to get married and doesn't have time to grow them out. CND Custom Blended Manicure is perfect. Customize a nail color to your client. Lengthen their nail bed and give them a natural french look. Most biters have such short plates and damaged nail beds that it takes them a long time to get them to the point where they don't have short stumpy looking fingers when they get enhancements. Its pretty rewarding so see their reactions too!

About young adults nails, my cut off was usually 13 with parent's permission. That is for Enhancements. As far as manicures, I'll do any age, I love to do nail art and kids are so easily impressed, its fun!

Hi everyone just reading your treads and i completly agree with everything said, a nail bitter is always going to be a nail bitter i've found that if they even find the smallest snag or bit of lifting they will try and get the nail off, also at first i found it is good to have a weekly check up with them as nail bitters nail grow twice as fast, they are try to play catch up, so even if they just come infor a nail tidy.
Once their own nails have grown up i always soak them off and just do a natural overlay just so they look all new and clean, i found that this way the client sees what they have achieved in such a short period of time(4 months at most).
As for age limits i guess there really isn't one but its not great idea for them to be having enhancements at a young age because their nails ars still soft, i do little nail parties in the salon for £6 each, i do their cuticles, shape the nails, oil the nails and then any nail art they woult like with maybe alittle diamond on one finger.
I try to talk to them while i do the treatment and teach them a few things about looking after their nails, girls are like sponges when it comes to beauty tips even at that age lol.


KIRSTY LUND
owner/nail tech
creative nail design
winner of national nail competition sept 2006 l&p lvl 2

I was a nail biter until 3 weeks ago...

I'd bite my nails till there was nothing left and they were so sore. Then a friend of mine applied a set of tips using Acry Gel. I couldn't believe how instantly my fingers looked beautiful!

the rest is history - I've not even had an urge to bite because after 28 years I now have fingers I'm not ashamed of.

i cannot recommend Acry Gel enough.... yesterday I had my 1st set of infills done and my friend was so amazed at how long my nails had grown.

There is hope for any nail biter! x

A Nail Biters Journey

yes you can reform a nail biter,
But not all on your own, the nail biter must be willing to put in some hard work to break the habit,
x

I don't have any problems with my biter and their enhancements, my only problems with an OCD client picking makeup or dirt out from around her cuticles and nails, shes good and doesn't cause problems to her enhancements, but damn her cuticles are in bad shape.. And she damaged on of her natural nails because of it..

I have noticed my nail biters always have the nicest nails, and I always encourage them in that way.. Keep up with it don't pick or bite and they will be beautiful.. They always have the strongest damn nails... I just think their nails have a mind of their own!! "AWWWWW, thank you sweet nail tech, for saving my life!!"

I have had a couple of success stories and Pazzy is right, they have the most amazingly strong beautiful nails!

Anyway, imagine my amazement just a couple of weeks ago, when one of my clients, who only occasionally has enhancements for special occasions (as much as i tried to encourage her otherwise) calls me to make an appointment for a manicure and turns up with a perfect set of naturals nails!!!!

Tried as i might, i could not get this girl to attend regular appointments & failed miserably to get her to stop biting them!

So it turns out, that the trick (discovered by her mother) is the promise of a very expensive pair of italian designer shoes on their pending trip to Rome, well can't compete with that can we lol x