Oddly Shaped Nails From Biting?

Oddly Shaped Nails From Biting I've bitten my nails for as long as I can remember as embarrassing as it is, but they have now started to form an odd shape. What I see as "normal nails" are nails that are shaped like a U. But my nails are shaped where they are curved at the bottom and the go outwards like this \ / and it's really disturbing. The strips of skin beside my finger nails are getting thinner and thinner and is looking really unnatural.

Is there any way that I can fix this problem or make my nails grow in the shape of a U again?

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DCA
Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers

January 8, 20160 found this helpful

Human fingernail shapes are genetic-you inherit your nail shape from your parents. Some people have U shaped nails and others have variations of U, flared and other shapes. Nail shapes can also vary in the fingers of one person, as well. The only way to change your nail shape would be via plastic surgery but there is no guaranteed result.

However, you can consult with a dermatologist for help to improve the health and appearance your fingers and nail beds. The critical factor for improvement is, of course, to completely stop biting your nails.

Good Luck!

starshower13

July 8, 20160 found this helpful

I used to have what she is referring to as "u shaped nails". After a few years of biting the tips of my nails have flattened out into more of a V shape. It is not genetic as the change only came after biting consistently. After several months without biting they have recovered some of their natural curve again.

sadiakhaliquk

December 23, 20190 found this helpful

Nail-biter for as long as i can remember. Its been a few months with moments of relapse which ive singled out to one nail

madelienegrey

February 20, 20172 found this helpful

I was a ravenous nail biter for over 30 years. My entire life. About 18 months ago, I stopped. I had the same "V" shaped nails and found as my nails got longer, the curve toward the tip got more pronounced, so they weren't as flat and wide toward the tips. You can also file them so they're a bit narrower.

I found the tricks to growing out my nails was using Nutra Nail Stressed Nail formula - it made my nails grow longer and faster. I was never able to even get them to my fingertips. But the Nutra Nail really worked. I also keep my nails polished and when I feel the urge to bite, I peel the polish instead. I carry a small nail polish remover and a bottle of polish with me at all times so I can re-paint if I peel it all off (because once my nails are bare, all bets are off on my ban on biting!)
I've not bitten in 18 months now! It took about 6-7 weeks to reach the tips of my fingers. But once they grew out, I didn't want to bite anymore as I'd ruin all the work I'd done manicuring and filing and so forth. Peeling off the polish is a nice alternative to biting for me.
I do lots of French Manicures and Hombre designs with sparkles near the tip. The 1 or 2 extra layers of polish makes my nails a bit stronger near the tips where they're most prone to break as they are still pretty weak but definitely improving. I also put clear polish on the tips and underside of my nails to help make them less prone to tearing in the shower. (Shampooing my hair always seemed to cause them to break. I tried wearing gloves but that sucked. Painting the tips and underside limits the fragility I've found.

I keep a nail file on me at all times as a snag or chip makes me want to bite. (And then once one is short, I'm compelled to even them all out by biting)
I now file my nails back because they're too long and typing gets difficult - a problem I NEVER had before!

carlaoth

June 10, 20180 found this helpful

Hi!! I bit my nails until my early teenage years. Now, roughly 10 years later my nails look way better. All of my nails look as if I never bit them except for my two index ones and one of my thumbs, which I believe are still healing (I really hope so!). I used to have my nails JUST like yours, and what I did was let them grow long. Id have really long whites, which I know looked ugly, but Im so happy I did that for like a year because thats the time they took to heal.

Now of course Im very careful with my nails and Im scared that I may harm them while filing them so I take too much care. Its what it takes I guess. But with all of you facing that problem, just give yourself some time and youll see awesome results!

susandisanto

June 9, 20193 found this helpful

I bit my nails for decades...I started playing the guitar more seriously 4 years ago and need nails for fingerpicking technique.
I was using Pink Magic to strenghten them and jojoba, or sweet almond oil regularly, to push back cuticles. This helps to make the nail beds appear longer and over several months the skin seems to reattach a little, but not on the sides of the nail of my middle finger. As a result my middle fingernails are very vulnerable, even at finger length. I file the sides straight and try to pinch the sides of my nails to make the cuticles more "U" shaped than "V". It seems to have helped a bit on my left middle nail, but that's because I'm right handed and do it more easily and often to the left hand nails.

My right hand M/F nail broke very low on one side the day before I was going to perform, making a hang nail... so I got my nails done at a salon with acrylic tips. It did the trick for the performance, but I wouldnt recommend salon practice of roughing the nail plate before application of acrylics. They last weeks, but It took a couple of months to grow out nails back to normal thickness afterwards (and that's not very thick)
... Later I experimented with acrylic dip nails after watching YouTube tutorials. You dont need to rough the nail plate, just use alcohol dehydrator and and acidic prep. Dip nails were great. Last a week to 10 days. They helped me grow my nails and not bite at all. They are very tough. Better than nail polish, or strengthener, which I'm tempted to pick off then start biting.
Also, 2 or 3 necessary coats of nail polish takes about 6 hours to cure before it is resilient and hard. You certainly cannot strum, or pick guitar strings until it is completely cured.
This is the WORST thing about regular polish manicure, which is prone to chip easily and needs several coats to make nails only a little bit more hardwearing. All that effort for a only a few days! I find it hard to get nail polish to look really good either. You can buff Acrylic dip nails to a perfect smooth finish... sculpting is easier and more controllable than painting.
Recently I tried and switched to gel nail paint, using a 48w LED light.... Gels are even better. The nails are strengthened a lot more than regular polish, but they remain tensile unlike dip nails. The varnish doesn't dry until its cured by the light, which is only 30 to 60 seconds... You can get a perfect finish because it doesn't start drying after only a couple of brushstrokes. It remains wet until cured by the light. With the LED light, the drying and curing is virtually instant. No ruined manincure an hour later. You tube tutorials again, give you lots of tips. You can use a non-damaging, peel-off base coat if the soak off removal bothers you, but I am very happy with gel polish. I use a lot of jojoba oil on the cuticles and nail plate after removal, which isn't that difficult after a long bath or washing hair. (I sometimes leave a day rest between manicure to absorb oil)
Gel polish doesn't chip, make nails tough and can last up to 2 weeks if done properly. Nails grow so much. I've never been able to grow nails and keep them long so easily until using gel. Keeping the nails long encourages the nail bed to attatch more.
Provided you follow manicure instructions it's no more damaging, or drying, than using regular polish.
I have experimented and used regular polish as a basecoat coat. Like specially formulated, peel-off gel base coat, this method doesn't last as long ...up to a week only. You can mix gel base coat with reg polish colours too, and then protect with a gel top coat ...but you absolutely MUST wait for the reg. nail polish to air dry thoroughly if you use gel polish on top.
I would also recommend getting a fine glass nail file and investing in other good quality nail care tools. Regular pushing cuticles back with oil (no cutting), filing the sides and pinching has made my nails look more elongated and U shaped...Gel, polish has been the ultimate answer for toughening and maintaining length... and fixing any annoying hang nail underneath. I can finally keep my nails looking perfect and functional to play guitar

huseyince2

June 26, 20230 found this helpful

Hello nail, congratulations on your success. A little student of mine needs help. I would really appreciate it if you could write to me one by one what drugs you used, what you did to strengthen and protect the nails you used last time. I wish you happy days.

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