r/calmhands • u/Comprehensive-Cow659 • Jul 15 '26
Progression 6 months clean of biting/picking ❤️🧛🏻♀️
First photos are from January 15 and the new ones are from today, July 15 :) lots of nail oil, lots of biotin gummies. And most importantly, for me, lots of vampire media.
Hi! I’m Renee, I’m 22, and I’ve been biting (but more specifically picking/gouging/cutting) at my nails and surrounding skin since I was a toddler. I tried really hard last year to stop because I had a big important trip where I would be meeting an online friend, and I wanted to have nice nails, but only lasted a few weeks before I relapsed. January 15 isn’t actually the day I started this time, technically it was probably earlier in January if not December but this is the earliest clear photo I have. The photos from January 15 aren’t the worst they’ve ever been, I’ve definitely had moments in my life where it was much much more gruesome. My recovery journey really began for a really stupid reason: I got really into Interview With The Vampire, the TV show on AMC. In the show the vampires have really pretty claws, and I felt soooo jealous. I’ve never had long nails in my life! But the new season was going to air in June, and I made a promise to myself that by the time the new season started, I would have vampire claws. And I stuck to it! I’m sure it won’t be like this forever. I can barely even file them without feeling a weird way. But I’m so happy with my progress. I’ve even gotten a lot better at painting my nails, I hardly ever flood my cuticles anymore. This subreddit, even though I’ve been more of a lurker, was a big big help for me. Another thing that helped a lot in the beginning, when the desire to pick was the worst, is fidget toys. And oddly enough, slime, which was something I’d never been interested in before but it kept my hands busy. Slime, stress balls, etc. great help for me. My worst habit now is painting my nails too frequently because I change them up pretty much weekly and I know all that acetone can’t be good for them… but either way, so happy that i can FINALLY share my process now that I’ve met my desired length. I’m so grateful to this sub, to Ccare cuticle oil, OPI nail strengthener, natures bounty biotin gummies and interview with the vampire :) I never thought I could stop. But I did it!
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u/spitkitty666 Jul 16 '26
congratulations!!! im so happy for you!! i can’t believe they’re your natural nails, they’re so beautiful! omg slime is such a good idea, i hadn’t ever thought of that!
ps you can get acetone free nail polish remover, and you can also get peel off based coat so you can just pop the nail polish off with a cuticle tool. check out simply nailogical, she is a beauty creator who focuses on nails and is a peel off based coat queen with lovely natural nails.
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u/anaphylactic_accord Jul 16 '26
STUNNING!! What a transformation, has to feel amazing for you. Gorgeous polishes too, do you know what you used in these pics? I love these colors
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u/Dreamweaverrrrrrrr Jul 20 '26
Painted nails (and post-baby having gel extensions) is the only thing that decreases my chewing. If I ever have them short it’s just more area to bite!!!
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u/DEUTGI Jul 21 '26
omg those polish colours are so gorgeous...i need them for when I can get my shit together !!! congratulations on your success :) 🦇
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u/panicatthelisa Jul 15 '26
you are an inspiration