8 Expert-Approved Strategies To Finally Stop Picking & Biting Your Cuticles

Cuticle picking (and all forms of skin picking) affects around 2 to 5% of the population, and of these people, 75% are women. Typically, the behavior starts in childhood, and it can arise for a whole bunch of reasons—including a psychological component to all of this picking. Whatever the reason, here are eight ways you can put this habit to rest.

Attempting to stop picking with sheer willpower alone is definitely not a good approach, and you'll only set yourself up for disappointment. But there are some very practical things you can do to heal damaged tissue and help break the cycle—like wearing a bandage over the cuticles you tend to pick. "If something is covered, then it's hard to access, and when you try to get to them but can't, that's enough time for you to think, Oh, I shouldn't be doing this," says Amy Wechsler, M.D., board-certified dermatologist and psychiatrist. "Sometimes my patients will be walking around with lots of Band-Aids, but it's the only way to heal things."

Sometimes, the slightest frayed cuticle may trigger an all-out picking binge. (At first I tell myself I'm just "just smoothing things out," but it rarely stops there.) To reduce the likelihood of this, both Wechsler and dermatologist Lisa Airan, M.D., recommend using an oil to keep your cuticles hydrated and prevent the rough or frayed skin that may prompt picking.

If you tend to pick more during stressful events or periods in your life, any means of lowering your cortisol levels and increasing endorphins and other feel-good, healing molecules can help bring you relief and curb your urge to pick, says Wechsler. This can be accomplished with anything from stretching to jogging to yoga to visiting a friend to having sex. Basically, to pick less, move your body more.

If your picking habit is a conscious behavior that happens when you experience intense negative emotions, "try to understand that something is affecting you in the moment that needs to be released," says Michaela Chatzimanoli, a clinical psychologist at SkinPick.com. "Bring your attention to your body, then breathe in deeply through your nose and breathe out slowly through your mouth, allowing this release to happen in a different, more caring way."

For people who tend to pick mindlessly, and not necessarily as a result of obvious negative emotions, a good strategy is to "do something else that involves the same muscle as the skin-picking behavior," says Chatzimanoli. For example, instead of moving your fingers toward your cuticles to pick, try clenching a specific object like a stress ball, digging your fingernails into Silly Putty or a piece of clay (which is surprisingly satisfying), or applying pressure gently on a specific part of your body to reduce the urge to pick. If you tend to bite your cuticles as well, try chewing gum or always having a drink to sip on.

"Due to its beneficial actions on glutamate and dopamine, NAC can be an effective part of treatment for behavioral disorders," integrative neurologist Ilene Ruhoy, M.D., Ph.D., told mbg. "I often see improvement in irritability and aggression as well as impulsivity."*

In broad terms, CBT involves working with a practitioner to identify the thoughts you're having while picking or engaging in any unwanted behavior and replacing them with healthier thoughts. "But it only works if you're motivated," says Wechsler. To find a therapist, search the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors' database.

Once you start making some progress, rewarding yourself with a manicure can actually be a pretty effective strategy, says Wechsler. Seeing those smooth cuticles and polished nails might be just the motivation you need to keep up the healthy habits.

In addition to your fingers looking pretty nasty, chronic cuticle picking, especially at the base of the nail, "can damage the nail beds, which causes permanent indentations in the middle of your fingernails," says Dr. Wechsler. There's also the risk of an infection called paronychia, which causes your cuticle and the surrounding area to become red, hot, sore, swollen, and filled with pus. You may even end up with a fever and need antibiotics.