Update On My Nail Biting Habit

Since I opened up about my Nail Biting Habit in October, I decided the least I could do is update you on how I’m doing now that the new year has begun.

As a recap, I have been a nail biter for as long as I have had teeth. In August 2018, I decided I would try getting gel manicures as a last attempt to break the habit. I love gel manicures because the gel polish is just polish. It’s not an acrylic, its hardy, and if my nail snags or breaks, I can just trim and file it smooth.

I wear gloves when I clean and do the dishes to preserve them, and make sure nothing gets and stays stuck under my nails when they get long.

I have actually been posting pics of my nails when I get them done in my instagram stories and sometimes ask for input from my friends. In November, my friends picked wine red for me!

Picture of Brette Bliss's nails on an instagram story fro eight weeks ago. The hand is curled with long grown out grey nails. There is a poll in the picture that asks "Should I do dark grey, wine redm, or something else? What do you think?" with the option to 'type something.' the image was seen by 122 people

My grown out grey nails and the poll I asked on instagram stories

A picture of Brette Bliss's hand in front of a beige wall. Her nails are short and a dark wine red, the text over the image is "Did it, Wine red, Thank you guys." The image is from an instagram story that was seen by 113 people eight weeks ago.

The color my friends on instagram picked!

I go about three weeks between manicures. In the beginning I was going about a month in between and my nails would break, the paint would chip, and I would inevitably begin chewing at them. The last time I chewed on my nails was November, but I haven’t since. Finding the right intervals between nail appointments has really helped prevent me from picking and chewing.

A screenshot of an instagram story from Brette Bliss. The image is of a hand with short sparkly green enails and the text "December Nails!". It was seen by 84 people five weeks ago. — These are the sparkly emerald green nails I did for December. I think this is my favorite color I have chosen to date. These ones are thicker than normal because we put a hardener underneath the color.

A screenshot of a video from an instagram story from 2 weeks ago that was seen by 104 people. The screenshot is of Brette Bliss's hand with a new blue manicure. The text over the image says "Chrome glitter on baby blue for ice queen vibes." — You may have seen these in my “Favorite things about winter” post, this is a screenshot of the video I had in my instagram story.

My original goal was to go 90 days without biting or chewing before I considered my habit broken. I restarted my 90 days on November 29, so I’m 41 days in. I already decided though, that if I can go 90 days without biting or chewing my nails, I’m still going to extend my goal 90 more days. I really want to break this habit and be done with it.

I anticipate my nail biting habit to be entirely broken in 2019. I am hopeful and excited about breaking this habit. I am determined to break it no matter what!

I’m tracking my nail biting habit using the Habits app. I have an android, so I’m not sure if it’s available for IOS. I’m really liking the app. It’s easy to check off the habits I’m tracking, see how strong the habits are over time, my longest streaks, and I can set reminders based on how often I need to complete the habit. fo example. I check off that I didn’t bite my nails every day I don’t bite my nails. Once a month, I check off that I checked my oil. Twice a day, I check off that my diabetic cat got insulin.