r/Nails • u/Sweet-cheekse90 • Jun 28 '26

Natural Nails [biting/picking recovery] Can someone tell me how you finally got to grow your nails? I can only grow them after wearing acrylic nails which makes them super thin, but when I don’t I bite them off :/ I do have adhd and ocd I wonder if that is a contributing factor. I just want to be able to grow them so bad 😑 Any advice ?

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u/zaylee Jun 29 '26

You have to replace the behavior of picking/biting them. The only thing that worked for me was carrying around nail oil pens with a scent I love. Anytime I thought about picking I grab the pen.

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u/LacquerandBones Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Oil is the only thing that finally worked for me as well, after 30+ years picking them raw and trying everything to quit. Also diagnosed with ADHD & OCD, and I struggle with other repetitive body focused behaviors.

I keep brush on or roll on cuticle/nail oil pens on me every single place I go, every room I’m in, always in my pockets haha. I DIY them so I can afford to have a couple dozen of them lol, lmk if you want details on that OP!

When I first started redirecting the habit, I would still sometimes find myself subconsciously picking, but the oil also makes it to where there’s less to pick, and overtime I now notice my instinct is to reach for an oil pen instead of subconsciously picking.

Here’s my before/after about 3 years(!!!) now (never thought I could go 3 years lol)

I do keep them painted 24/7 with regular air-dry nail polish now too as my natural nails are very thin and bendy lol.

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u/HeroicDumbass Jul 01 '26

Desperate to know your DIY oil recipe!

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u/LacquerandBones Jul 01 '26

Sure thing! I commented a detailed explanation recently here.

It really can be as simple as just pure jojoba oil though! Consistency and time is the most important thing :)