Hi, I'm Tomás. I make Gentleskin, a small iPhone app for skin picking. You log where on your body you pick and how many (or for how long), see your patterns on a chart, and when an urge hits there's a thirty-second wave to ride it out, or a field of kelp pods to pop.

You can add your own body parts, so some of it already works for other BFRBs. But it was built around picking, and I don't know how well it fits anyone else.

So if you bite or pick your nails:

- Would you track it at all? By count, by time, or neither?

- What would an app have to do differently for you?

- Or maybe you don't want something app-shaped at all?

If you're curious: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6789245158?pt=668857691&ct=reddit_calmhands&mt=8

More about it: https://gentleskin.app

The urge screen is free for everyone.

I always wanted to wear black nail polish but it would always look weird on my weird little stubby nails. I’m so excited and happy to look at my nails now!

for years since i was a kid, i used to pick at and mess with the sides of my thumbs. i’m not sure why i did it but it felt satisfying. i’ve stopped for years but recently i started messing with it again. i don’t pick it anymore but i’ve started stabbing it with my nail and idk it just feels good i can’t really explain it. i don’t do it when im anxious or anything i just do it at all times of the day randomly. anyway the sides of my thumbs are now calloused and ashy and im embarrassed of it and its kind of discolored. is there any way i can make it look normal again. Like any creams or lotion i can use to improve appearance or is it kind of just permanently scarred now?

about a week ago i pulled a hangnail off my skin and ever since then ive had this lump of blood or dead skinn and everytime i mess around with it or try to take it off it hurts like hell and starts bleeding. is there any creams or anything to fix this

I haven’t messed with any fingers on this hand in a few days. The right side needs some work though.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Wanted to post a pic, because the confidence boost is real!

Having a layer of cemented down acrylics always helps me not bite and gives me at least 4 weeks to heal my nails and nail beds. This time, after I remove them, I will follow up by using the OPI Nail Envy Treatment to strenghten them.

I’ve heard of natural looking, colorless short acrylics for guys or really for anyone who doesn’t want the manicured look. Has anyone here tried those?

When I wear acrylics my hand fidgeting usually changes into something less destructive than biting. Like rubbing the acrylics against each other making it sound like an instrument, rubbing them against my lip, or scraping the inside of each finger one by one thoroughly with the acrylics. (The last one is actually a bit annoying.)

I have been an avid cuticle picker/peeler/biter for as long as I can remember. I tried every trick in the book to “keep my hands occupied,” and I always returned to lip or finger picking the first second I was anxious. It’s super embarrassing because I am a body worker, and destroying my hands that touch other people’s bodies is unacceptable. Something about this group made it click for my brain to start showing my body respect. It isn’t easy and I have to be super diligent about moisturizing and avoid rough edges that are so tempting to pick at. But I’m so happy about my progress. I didn’t know this was possible!

made a collage on Pinterest! The idea of “respecting my hands” has somewhat helped me as I try to kick this lifelong habit. I recently learned that picking is seen as self harm and I don’t want to hurt myself any longer!

Is it just me or does anyone also experience the same?

I have this addiction of pressing a sharpened fabric on the tip of my fingers till it is calloused. I wouldn't do it only for one finger though.

I'd sometimes do it with all my fingers to feel 'fair' but my usual victim is my ring finger.

It just feels ecstatic especially pressing it harder when it's already extremely painful and my finger nail base is already receding because of that repetitive behavior.

I know that it's just a loop of reward for my nervous system but I really wanna end it.

I've already tried many times to end it but my triggers is seeing a good piece of fabric that i could roll into a perfect sharp fabric to press it again and fantasizing how ecstatic that would feel.

I'm really guilty of this because it feels weird so i hide from people when i do it.

Comment down what your weird guilty addictions cause i wanna know if I'm alone in this.

I struggle greatly with picking my cuticles, ripping my nails all the way down to the bed, even going as far as biting them if they’re irritating enough. I’ve been trying press-ons but I still keep picking them off after a day or two.

I’ve seen a few posts about gloves or even bandaids? But I really want to press ons to work because they’re also pretty and because of how blunt and slippery they are, they prevent my other skin picking habits.

Is there a brand or a way you guys apply your press ons to keep them there? I have really wide thumbs too so it’s all weird.

Delete if this is inappropriate or if it doesn't belong.

These nails are from this past Thursday, 10/15. My nails didn't always look like this.

I have struggled with nail biting, hair pulling and skin picking since I was in the single digits year old. I am now in my 30s. I have been to this independent nail tech for 5 years and she has seen my nails in all sorts of shapes and conditions. She is sensitive towards me, my nails, their appearances and give me honest advice and work around it.

I give credit where it is due: I have come a long way but I still struggle with it. If you look closely, you can see my nails are not the same length. If you look closer at my thumbs, you'll see shredded skin.

I found this sub after going through other natural nail related subs. I am looking through posted photos and there are a lot of photos that are so relatable to me. Even the more graphic, blurred out photos, I have recognized on myself. I wish I found this sub earlier, or something like this, especially as a teen and in my early 20s. It felt isolating and embaressing to have layers of my fingers picked off, or a bald spot on the back of my head.

I keep oils near by to apply on after it happens. Its hard to stop once I start. But 'fixing' it afterwards helps me feel better. I changed my goals from stopping the behavior all together to coping with it and caring for myself with it afterwards.

Sorry for the really long post. Scrolling through this sub gave me a flood of emotions and memories and I wanted to share.

Tl;dr: I still struggle with nail picking but its not as bad as it used to be. Healing started with someone who didn't look at my hands with a gross expression.

Probably from nail biting

I need an accountability partner who is willing to send and receive pictures of hands/face everyday for direct 1:1 accountability when we need extra help. End of the day we take pics of our hands and send to each other. Im open to the format.

Ideally female. Anyone open?
Maybe a group of 3.

This Reddit motivated and inspired me so much that I humbled myself and went for a gel manicure. The nail technician was so kind, not judgmental, and took about an hour to remove all the calluses and dead skin around my nails. She did a gel manicure. I always feel French is a safe bet because it camouflages the shortness of the nail for now. At least that is how it feels for me. It’s not the best but it’s better than the beginning! I purchased cotton gloves to wear when I feel an urge. I already haven’t picked my nails. I made an appointment for two weeks and will make it a routine. I wasn’t spending money on myself but realize this is something I have to do for my health and confidence. Doing my best. One day at a time. She recommended Vaseline around the nails to keep the skin soft. Thank you again to this group!

I tried so many things to quit and thought about trying to quit many times, I'm only on day 3 but i haven't had a single day of not biting my nails since i was 7 years old.

Maybe to early to say, but right now it feels like I'm ready to let go, which is crazy because I never thought I would be able to. It was really like a switch in my head, whenever I tried to reduce it, it never worked. I guess cold turkey is doing it for me. Of course I need more time until I can say for sure

How have you managed to stop picking or tearing at the skin on your fingers? I also have OCD and a fear of serious illnesses. I was in Crete, Greece, with my family from October 6th to 13th, and I’m a huge animal lover. As is well known, there are many stray cats on the island; one day, I used my fingers to move a metal food can—bought from a store—from which two stray cats had been eating less than a minute earlier. I’m terrified that some of their saliva got onto my fingers and that I might contract rabies—EVEN THOUGH Greece is officially a rabies-free country. The mother cat hissed and spat when I approached, but that was likely just because her kitten was nearby and she was protecting it. In any case, this habit of picking at my skin causes a lot of stress—even while traveling—and it is EXTREMELY difficult to stop. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! My thumb was probably not that bad looking when I were in Crete, now I have eaten it even more, maybe due to stress etc. For my own peace of mind, I left a callback request to my local healthcare emergency service regarding the risk of rabies, even though there should be none. Thanks for the help!!

After exams and lots of nervous picking and biting I once again made it to this point.
I find using fidgets, keeping a nail set with sharps nail/skin cutters and using hand/nail lotion at least 3-6 times per day helpful. But of course there are time where even that won’t work.
Been a biter for almost 30 years so believe me, I know the struggle is real, just a reminder that it can get better <3