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Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today? I was about 7 years old when I got my first nail polish. If my nails are not done — and sometimes even when they are — I will bite, pick, file, and pull at them until my fingers are raw and bleeding. Today when I paint my nails, depending on the season, I prefer a classic nude or dark gray polish to the pungent one of my childhood. Still, not long ago, I was at an industry event for work filled with powerful, glamorous women.
Embarrassed, I clutched my wine with both hands, hiding the evidence of my stressful workday on my nails or lack thereof.
So why is it so hard to stop biting your nails? Researchers insist that onychophagia, the medical name for nail biting, is a very prevalent problem wrongfully camouflaged as a bad habit. They do, however, often have traits in common.
BRFBs serve as an emotional regulation to release tension, helping a person cope with difficult emotions. I wanted to know if there was a genetic factor at play, making lovely, unbitten nails harder to attain for anxiety-ridden people like myself. Anyone who bites their nails compulsively can tell you myself included that there can be real damage to the cuticles and the nails and skin from biting.
