I've moaned about my paper-thin nails before, I know. But this one won't be all about the cringy paperlikeness of my nails - I shall tell you today how I stopped biting my nails & how I made them stronger. That will also include a review of Essie Rock Solid base coat.

When I started blogging (almost two years ago, woah!) & heard about OPI Nail Envy, my hopes for pretty nails rocketed sky high. My nails did get stronger while using it, alas - they only got stronger to a certain point and then the whole growth got somehow stuck. My nails would still bend on touch and layers would rip off every now & then (that sounds absolutely rank, sorry!). I admit - the damage was done partially due to being a nail biter, but also due to having acrylics done for erm absolute ages - so the damage was quite brutal in all honesty, and thinking that a nail polish would sort it out was rather naive. 

I tried a number of different remedies, supplements, nail strengtheners - lemon juice, massages, painting my nails bright colours, Sally Hansen treatments, hair & nail supplements, oils, seaweed treatment, wax rubs, pepper and nail biting treatments, just to name a few *sigh*. But none of them left me with beautiful nails. And let me tell you one thing - being a beauty blogger and not being able to blog about nail polish is one big pain in the butt!

It took me whole 23 years to find a solution for my nail biting - and I guess you won't be very excited to hear this one. It was as simple as a change of my lifestyle

One of the crucial elements was elimination of stress & positive thinking. Arguments, fear of deadlines, money trouble and even running late for appointments and untidy flat can throw you in a shed load of frustration and one of the first thing that you do as a nail biter, without even realizing, is biting your nails. You need to consciously think about your work & home environment - is your potential fully used at work or do you find yourself sitting around doin' nothing? Yes, that can happen, and boredom (plus stress - if you're doing nothing but really should be doing something) is another contributor to nail biting. You also need to sort out your body. I used to suffer from migraines, flus & weak immune system in general. I still do - migraines are always gonna come & go, but the less stress I'm experiencing, the less likely I'm gonna get ill and the less medicine I have to take. It also helps a lot when you start eating healthy food. That does not mean you have to be shoving carrot after carrot into your throat - a KFC one in a while won't kill you, so don't give up on little treats like that. But eating less pre-made dishes and Maccies on the way to work does contribute to your body becoming stronger (and that also means your nails!). Another thing that really helped me was getting a kitten - although I do love Cookie more than anything, I think twice about sucking on my finger after he was licking it for ten minutes, you know. And generally, try to be happy! Even if you carry on biting your nails, happiness is always a good place in your life to be aiming for! Now don't get me wrong - these are things that worked for me - you have to find your own ways, see what works for you and what doesn't, after all everyone is different. 

Finally - one more thing that helped me a lot was Essie Rock Solid base coat. I was rather reluctant to spend £8.99 on a base coat, but eventually you get really frustrated when you can't find a nail treatment that would work for you so I caved and picked it up. And *phew* it is absolutely brilliant. At this point, I find it better than OPI Nail Envy - guess that one did its job at the beginning, but then gave up. Essie keeps going strong, works as a great base coat (my nails are not stained even by black nail polish) and it makes them much stronger - my nails are now strong enough that when you touch them, they don't bend like they used to, yay! Essie Rock Solid, hands down, all the way!


Are you a nail biter?
How are you dealing with this habit?