Beaut.ie How To: Stop Biting Your Nails

In a meeting with a Very Senior Manager Type a couple of weeks back, I was utterly mesmerised by his mouth - but not in a good way. I was fascinated and revolted in equal measure... by what he was putting in it.

This man, who meets with clients on a daily basis, spent the entire meeting with one fingernail or another in his mouth. I wondered how he thought it was acceptable etiquette to be trimming the tips of his talons while sitting around a table of colleagues. I wondered if his Other Half clenches her jaw and hisses "Get those fingers out of your mouth!" when she catches him at it. But mostly I wondered how someone who so routinely bites their nails that they don't even realise they're doing it in public could break the habit.

Read on for some top tips to help you ditch that durty digit chewing for good!

1. Identify when you're most likely to bite your nails - is it when you're anxious? Bored? Stressed? You want to train yourself to make a conscious effort not to bite when you feel like that.
2. Carry a nail file at all times. That way you'll never be able to use a broken nail as an excuse to chow down.
3. Paint on a nibble inhibitor, that nasty tasting stuff you get from the chemist. (What if it's an acquired taste, though? Like olives? Would you eventually get used to it or even get to quite like the taste?)
4. I've heard some people say they bite their nails because the feel that they're dirt catchers, so if that's you, keep fingers and nails scrupulously clean. (Although Himself reckons that if his nails are clean he's more likely to bite them, which upsets this theory somewhat.)
5. If you can afford it, go for regular manicures somewhere like Mink. When your nails look all lovely, you'll be far more inclined to keep them that way. If funds are tight, invest in a nail oil (or snag some olive oil from the kitchen presses) and some snazzy nail polishes - you'd be amazed how fab you could have your nails looking while you sit and watch Corrie. (Just mind the couch.) Remember, we women are fantastic at this multitasking mularkey.
6. Give your hands and mouth something else to do. Knitting is the new knitting, y'know. And you could chew gum or nibble on fruit or nuts - or just talk or snog more - to occupy the cakehole.
7. Find a habit to replace nail biting. A good habit. Taking up smoking is not the way to go. Some people find that drumming their fingers on the table when they get the urge to bite somehow satiates that desire. Although I suspect colleagues would prefer if you took up quietly medidating instead.
8. Leave one emergency biting nail if you feel you're just not going to be able to go cold turkey. At least then if you give in to the munchies, you're not ruining all 10 digits. And if the thoughts of giving up gives you the shakes, sure just take it one nail at a time if that seems less daunting.

What are your own experiences of kicking the keratin habit?