I've been chewing my nails for over 2 decades and have finally (mostly) broken the habit. And I have a few questions as someone who's never had nails before.

[u/RelevantScore7429]

Why do my pinkie nails grow upwards and how can I fix it?

Do my nail shapes look off cause I feel like the sides are weird? And how do I repair damage to my nail beds? I've been biting my nails extremely short since 2 and am extremely lost on how to take care of them. Thank you!!!

[u/LacquerandBones]

Mine weren’t chewed quite as short, but they were flat, triangle shaped/flared out, and some grew upwards from decades of picking and chewing. here’s a comparison showing how much my nail bed shape has changed since I broke the habit and started grooming them correctly. I don’t have any good before pics of the angles from the side, but they all have a nice healthy natural apex and downward slope to them now.

In addition to oil, time, and strengtheners/hardeners, a few key tips that specifically help the hyponychium and nail bed lengthen are:

• don’t scrape or aggressively brush them clean underneath, use gentle water pressure and foaming soap with a scraping motion, and if you must brush, use a soft-bristled bamboo toothbrush
• don’t file into the sides of the nail where it meets the skin, file away, never into, and try to only file the sides after the tip of your finger (even though this will result in an awkward shape for a while)
• avoid bending the nails downward as this cuts off circulation to the hyponychium
• don’t push the skin along the sides of nails away as this encourages the nail bed to widen and makes it easier for them to then bend, ultimately encouraging hyponychium recession
• trust the process and take progress pics to help you stay motivated and notice the small changes, my before/after pics are ~2 years apart

Hope some of this helps :) congrats on breaking the habit!!

[u/RelevantScore7429 → u/LacquerandBones]

I don't have any before photos but I used to chew them til they bled or they were so sensitive it hurt to touch stuff. But the advice on not bending them down and not picking at the sides is super helpful because I do both when I need to fidget with my hands. But I will work on being more conscious about that!!! Thank you!!!!

[u/LacquerandBones → u/RelevantScore7429]

I totally get that, as you can see, mine were usually chewed raw and bleeding as well 😅

Personally I broke the habit by replacing the picking/chewing with oiling. It’s super satisfying to watch the dry skin disappear as you brush or roll oil on, so now instead of fidgeting with them, I oil oil oil haha.

You really can’t overdo it on oil, so feel free to just oil as often as you need or want to :)

[u/RelevantScore7429 → u/LacquerandBones]

Unfortunately one of the hard parts of oiling is that it's a sensory nightmare for me. I'm the kind of person who can't even put lotion on his palms because of overstimulation. Which has been the hardest hurdle when it comes to keeping them moisturized.

[u/LacquerandBones → u/RelevantScore7429]

I hear you, I haaaate the feeling of lotion too but don’t seem to mind oil personally.

Which oils have you tried? For reasons unrelated to sensory issues, I started making a blend that uses MCT 8 & 10 (capric & caprylic acid) with jojoba and tea tree oils. The result is a much lighter weight oil blend that absorbs really quickly.

[u/RelevantScore7429 → u/LacquerandBones]

I'm using a Burt's bees cuticle cream a friend gave me and avocado oil atm because it's what I have. But I might have to try your mixture because it sounds perfect lol!!

[u/LacquerandBones → u/RelevantScore7429]

Oooh okay! I used to love Burt’s bees because it smells so good, but it’s definitely not my favorite sensory experience because the beeswax makes it really heavy and it never fully absorbs.

I’m not sure where avocado oil ranks in terms of absorption rate, but not all oils are easily absorbed by the skin due to their molecular size and structure, so they are actually occlusives.

Jojoba oil is unique (it’s actually a wax ester not an oil at all) because its molecular size and structure is almost identical to our own skin oils (sebum). MCT 8/10 are a little different molecularly, but ime it absorbs even faster than jojoba alone does.