As I’ve said in many posts, I got put on antidepressants recently and it’s been pretty life-changing. It has pretty much entirely stopped my extreme lifelong habit of nail-biting overnight. I was such an extreme nail biter that when I ran out of nail I’d move to the cuticles, I was almost always bleeding from my fingers, and one of them was always liable to be infected. This is a good thing, however my nails are now longer than they’ve ever been, and because I’ve been nail-biting for so long I never had to worry about it. I have no fucking clue how to get shit out from under my nails without hurting myself, and as a heavy smoker that’s absolutely horrible and disgusting. How do you guys clean your nails?
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damn, i should prob go on antidepressants just for this.
anyway, there was a time when i didn’t chew on my fingers like a wild animal and i also was digging in the ground all day with my hands for root vegetables, so under my nails were a nice length but always getting jacked up with dark dirt crammed up underneath so i looked heinous. the trick i learned was, when you’re in the shower, act like you’re scrubbing your scalp through your hair with your fingertips and maybe a little drop of soap or shampoo or whatever if you hair allows. that does like >95% of the work in a few seconds. i’m shaved bald up top, so i use my beard for it when my fingernails get cruddy. anyway, after that i had one of those nail brushes (linked elsewhere) to finish them off, which i did in the shower with some more soap. all in all, doing it once a day in the shower, it took like 5-10 seconds to keep both sets nice.
the skull is nature’s brillo pad.
Yeah, it’s been massive. I really can’t understate how massive of a difference anti-depressants are. I reached out to all my family last night, I finally have the energy for everything. Idk if it’ll make that big of a difference for you, but personally I cannot imagine my life without Zoloft now.
That is such a good idea. I need to shower more anyways, I used to be really good about it but after my last depression episode it’s inconsistent. I have super long and thick hair so that’ll probably work pretty well
The skull is nature’s brillo pad
🔥 🖊️
Can confirm this is a real technique, if your nails are super dirty just wash your hair with your fingers.
Between showers I use a wooden coffee stir stick, responsibly sourced.
When my nails get long enough that there’s something to clean, I cut my nails.
they make little brushes for this very purpose
I have a two in one nail clipper that has a file/nail thingy to has a dull blade to scrape out from under your nails. See if your local pharmacy carries one?
Yeah you can get something like this for a dollar or two at a Walgreens or CVS type joint. You use the hooked part at the end of the nail file to get under those nails.
That’s it!
I have nail clippers, but never knew what the hooked part was for. Thank you so much for posting a picture
You are welcome!
Additionally, good luck with Zoloft. I was on it for a short while for smoking cessation, couldn’t stick with it because of the way it interacted with alcohol (wasn’t ready to give up all my vices at once, like a chump.)
I get it, you know why I quit Zoloft the first time? I like cough syrup (DXM) too much and Zoloft is a deadly mix with it. I also wasn’t ready to give up all my vices at once, and that’s why I’m just now getting back on it. I also post on here all the time about being an alcoholic. Don’t feel ashamed.
I’m honestly kinda shocked they gave you Zoloft for smoking though, like Wellbutrin has way more minor side effects and is objectively better for nicotine cessation. Also works way better with alcohol and other vices than Zoloft. Not well, it still makes hangover way worse, but it’s nowhere near as bad as Zoloft hangovers. If you still need help with stopping smoking, look into Wellbutrin. It’s pretty much just a slightly heavier nicotine with a very long half life, it makes cigs just feel just like smoking and completely blocks the “high” you get off a cig.
lime juice will seriously nuke the nailbiting. someone explained it to me as the flavor keeping you away from it but they’re totally wrong. there’s something enzymatic that just nukes all the bacteria irritating those nerves. slather some lime on there, let it turn that nasty ass cuticle into ceviche, and enjoy your cleanly healing nails. DO NOT PICK. DO NOT PICK. haven’t bitten em in years. good luck
I appreciate the tip, I’ll save it for when I leave the honeymoon phase of zoloft.
Hm I don’t know what that means but I’m going to take it positively
Zoloft isn’t going to do its thing forever, I have to learn to not bite my nails without it. It’ll always help, but after a few weeks I’m probably going to be doing worse than I am right now. So I’ll need that for when I’m stuck nailbiting again
smart to plan ahead then
With my nails when washing them, sometimes more abrasive stuff, or whatever sharp object I have lying around. 2 of the 3 methods I also use for eye boogers.
I have some kind of “waterpik” device for oral hygiene. I use one of the tips that has a brush-like tip.
I think you could use some kind of soft brush. I’ve accumulated several for weed stuff that seem to work… I guess an extra toothbrush?
If my nails aren’t too long, I can usually clean them in the shower while washing my hair. I’ll angle my fingers so my nails are lightly scratching while shampooing. If my nails are too long, I’ll clip them first and then try the shampoo technique.
EDIT: Just saw @came_apart_at_Kmart@hexbear.net’s comment, and that is exactly it.
Like with soap and water
actual answer currently is I either use the nail file or my teeth.
but growing up we had a bristled brush by the bathroom sink and it had an extra row of bristles laying flat on to of the brush body just for fingernails and I really miss that
edit: this style, I don’t like the plastic ones
I have a nail brush by the bathroom sink and it is excellent. Mine’s just a cheapo plastic one, but it does the job fine.
Basic nail file on most clippers can scrape underneath, but don’t get too close to the nail bed. Nail brushes for when you wash your hands so you can get further in towards the nail bed.
I use a pocketknife
I bend out the end of a paper clip and use that personally
I just keep them short and pick out any gunk that doesn’t go with a regular handwash with my other nails.
With my other nails. If they’re long enough to get dirt under them, they’re long enough to scrape the underside of each other.
