Tag: Nail Biting

The reusable gel finger covers are the most effective in protecting me from picking and biting my nails and the skin on my fingers. They are the upgrade from the finger protectors I shared a while ago. 

Like the finger protectors, the finger covers are tubes that you can cut into small rounds, depending on how they work best for you. I prefer my protective gear to be as small as possible. That’s why I cut my finger covers quite narrow.

The covers protect the fingertips from nail-biting and finger picking. But they also work great for dermatillomania and trichotillomania as you can create a barrier for your problem fingers. Protecting the thumb alone can works wonders sometimes. 👍

I wear the covers either preventively or as soon as I start picking or biting. Or to hide the damage I’ve done. 😬

Information for the gel finger covers: 

• easy to clean – just wash with warm water
• the gel material is soft and elastic
• comfortable to wear
• the snug fit feels like a second thicker skin
• they do not lose their shape
• they cover any wounds on fingers
• unfortunately, I only found them on Amazon: Canadian store, USA store or search for “gel finger cots” or “gel finger sleeves”.

Extra tip:

Apply cuticle oil before putting on the covers. That way, your skin will get that extra nourishing boost to stay soft and healthy. Moreover, your furniture or keyboard will not get oily from the cuticle oil 😉

I first learned about Adi Mudra in the book “Heal Your BFRB.” (great book, by the way!) Let me tell you all about it and why it helps to cope with BFRBs. 

Adi Mudra is a hand gesture that is often used in spiritual yoga and meditation. It means “first gesture” (Adi = primal, Mudra = gesture) because it is the first position a baby can make with their hands.

Fold your thumb and gently hold it with your remaining fingers. That’s it. Easy right!

Adi Mudra calms your nervous system, helps raise awareness, and increases breathing and lung capacity.

For this reason, it can be a good idea to keep your hands like this while doing your breathing exercises to help manage anxiety and stress.

I use Adi Mudra a lot to control my restless fingers. It became my go-to action when I catch my fingers wandering around feeling every so little bump or cuticle.

This hand gesture breaks my urge and protects my fingers from picking, biting, or pulling while I can refocus on my mission of not engaging in my BFRBs.

I love this little BFRB trick, especially in social situations. You can use it casually without anyone noticing. Somehow, holding my thumb(s) with the rest of my fingers soothes me and makes me feel safe and in control.

Try it out, and let me know what you think of this BFRB tip!

The BFRB thumb guard was the first fidget tool I bought to better cope with skin picking – especially at my fingers. The thumb guard is also a good helper for trichotillomania.

I noticed that when I’m not using my hands, my fingers are busy wandering around creating new skin to pick. Before I even know it, I tore off a cuticle or did more damage by “fixing” the tiniest bumps on my arms.

The thumbs are the main troublemakers. They can touch each finger, the middle finger and pointer tend to dig into the thumb, and we all know how bad the index finger+thumb combination can be for blemishes and hair.  

Feeling leads to picking, pulling and biting. 

So, it seemed like a good solution to put my main problem finger out of action by wearing a BFRB thumb guard. And it is was! I got mine from ThumbSnuggler. 

What I love about the ThumbSnuggler BFRB thumb guard:

I love that it’s handmade and that glass beads are knitted into the thumb guard. I knew my nervous fingers would respond very well to the beads.

• The thumb guard can be put on very quickly, creating an immediate barrier 
• My thumb is unable to act, so I can’t feel any hangnails or rough edges. And I can’t use my thumb and index finger to pick blemishes
• The beats are great sensory fidgets that keep my fingers busy

I keep the BFRB thumb guard in my living room-BFRB toolkit and use it mainly when watching TV, reading, or drawing. Working on the keyboard probably works great too.

“Probably” because my thumb guard is a little too big for me. I bought the standard/medium-sized finger fidget for the thumb.

However, ThumbSnuggler offers custom sizes and even different options such as covers for thumb+index finger, or thumb+index+middle finger.

A similar coping method is wearing cotton gloves.

Some of my favorite skin picking barriers are wearing finger protectors or taping the fingers. Unfortunately, those interventions sometimes are just not enough of a barrier. At times like these, I wear cotton gloves.

Wearing the gloves is very effective because you just can’t pick your skin, bite your nails or even pull your hair while wearing them. Another advantage is that I don’t see my fingers if they are in a rough shape from picking my fingers.

The cotton glove method works best when reading, watching TV, or even working at the computer – yes, typing on the keyboard works surprisingly well too! Most of the time I only wear one glove. That way, I have a free hand without restrictions to use the computer mouse … or to snack 😉

The cotton gloves should fit snugly around your hand, otherwise they may distract or get in the way. To make the gloves tighter, I tie a knot at the bottom. See the picture below.

You can get cotton gloves in different sizes at a conventional drug store for pretty cheap. 

If you buy cotton gloves, but they are unusable for your BFRBs, you can always use them to moisten your hands. Just apply a lotion or hand repair cream and wear the gloves for a few hours or overnight. Check out these tips for super soft hands.

Or do both – healing your BFRB ridden skin while creating a barrier for skin picking, nail-biting, and hair-pulling!