How I Stopped Skin Picking with Press-On Nails

When it comes to skincare, one thing has always held me back: picking.

From a young age, skin picking is something I’ve struggled to control. I can’t really tell you where it started, but by the time I was a teenager, I was fixated. When I obsessed over my skin, I picked at any hint of a bump or blackhead and stubbornly made any acne I had much much worse.

I fell into a pattern of clear skin and self-control, marred by a breakout, picking, slow healing, and finally clear skin again. Despite how much it hurt or how awful it looked, I couldn’t stop. Sometimes I even did it in my sleep when I was particularly anxious.

But as I aged out of high school, I started noticing that instead of healing fully, I was starting to scar. I already knew I had a scarring condition—I keiloided when I had my ears pierced and on my chest after contracting chicken pox—but I didn’t realize how much worse it would get over time.

By the time I was twenty, every single mark, blemish, cut, or scrape had the potential to become a permanent fixture on my body. Every time my cat gets too rough, a new forever memory could be made. I’m not embarrassed by the scars I do have, but I also didn’t want to disappear beneath scar tissue.

I had to solve the picking, and I was quickly running out of time and excuses.

I wore press-on nails for the first time completely on a whim. They were pale and had little red hearts on them, cost $1.50 on SHEIN and lasted about a week with KISS nail glue. When one popped off too soon, I’d file off excess dry glue from the underside and stick it right back on.

I had to relearn how to type and pick up most things. I had to be delicate with my hands and intentional with how I did things. It made me feel more elegant instantly, just by how I was forced to carry myself.

But most importantly: I couldn’t pick my skin.

I realized this in two different ways. One is that these nails themselves were not strong. They were a thin, weak plastic not meant to do anything look pretty. That means they did not have any grip. They couldn’t pull or pick at skin or scabs because they were just not strong enough.

You May Also Like

• These 7 Press-On Nail Brands Last the Longest

Two is that wanting to preserve the integrity of the manicure prevents me from trying to mess with my face. If you’re determined to pop a pimple or get the blackheads around your nose with just the pressure of the fake nails, you can do it maybe once. After that, the glue will just fail, and the nails will likely pop off. That they look beautiful and improve my confidence is a much enjoyed bonus.

Of course, there are some down sides, and most of them have to do with limiting how I use my hands. You can’t be as careless as you normally might be, and adjusting to typing can still be an issue. You need to take extra care to clean under them as well. But compared to the benefit, those are inconsequential to me.

It's Personal

At NewBeauty, we get the most trusted information from the beauty authority delivered right to your inbox

hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "8806970", formId: "a8aef9b2-6178-4dad-9e2a-98b7661febc2" }); Find a Doctor

Find a NewBeauty "Top Beauty Doctor" Near you

Select a state State Virtual AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC FL GA HI IA IL IN KY LA MA MD MI MN MO NC NE NJ NV NY OH OR PA SC TN TX UT VA WA WI Select a state Specialty Cosmetic Dentist Dermatologist Facial Plastic Surgeon Hair Restoration Specialist Oculoplastic Surgeon Periodontist Plastic Surgeon Prosthodontist Vein Specialist Select a state Treatment Abdominal thread lifts Accent your Body Acne Treatments Alexandrite Laser Arm Lift Asclera Bellafill Belotero Blue Light Body Body Lift Botox Botox Browlift Brachioplasty Brazilian Butt Lift Breast Augmentation Breast Augmentation with Fat Grafting Breast Implants Breast Implants with Saline Breast Implants with Silicone Breast Lift Breast Lift with Implants Breast Reconstruction Breast Reduction Browlift Butt Enhancement Carboxytherapy Cellulite Treatment Cheek Augmentation Cheek Augmentation with Fat Grafting Cheek Implants Cheek Lift Chemical Peels Chin Augmentation CO2 lasers Cool Lipo CoolSculpting CoolTone Crowns Dental Bonding Dental Implants Dimpleplasty Diode Laser Dysport embrace Active Scar Defense Emsculpt Endermologie Endoscopic Browlift Endoscopic Facelift Endoscopic Tummy Tuck Erbium Lasers Exilis Ultra 360 Eyelift Eyelift with Fat Grafting Face Facelift Facelift with Fat Grafting FaceTite Fat Melters and Fat Reducers Fat Transfer Forma Fractional CO2 lasers Fractional Resurfacing Lasers Fractora Glycolic Peels Glytone Enhanced Brightening Cream Gum Dermabrasion Gum Lift Hair Hair Removal Hair Transplant Hair-Loss Treatment Injectables & Fillers for Cheek Augmentation Injectables & Fillers for Eyelift Injectables & Fillers for Lip Enhancement Injectables And Fillers Injectables and Fillers with Fat Grafting Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Invisalign Isolaz Juvéderm Juvéderm Volbella Juvéderm Voluma Kybella Lactic Acid Peels Laser Liposuction Lasers Lateral Tension Tummy Tuck Limited Incision Facelift Lip Enhancement Lip Enhancement with Fat Grafting Lip Implant Lip Lift Liposculpture Liposuction Liquid Facelift Long Pulsed N: Yag laser Lower Blepharoplasty Lower Body Lift Lower eyelid surgery Lower Facelift MACS Lift Mandelic Peels Microdermabrasion Microinjection Microneedling Microwave Laser Treatment Mini Tummy Tuck Mini-Facelift Mommy Makeover Nd: Yag Neck Liposuction Necklift Nonsurgical Facelift Nonsurgical Rhinoplasty Obagi Blue Peel Otoplasty Perlane Phenol Peels Photobiomodulation Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) Photofacial PiQo4 Plasma Resurfacing Lasers Power Assisted Liposuction Prevelle Pulsed Dye Radiesse Radio Frequency with Microneedling Radio Frequency-Assisted Lipolysis Red Light Restylane Restylane Defyne Restylane Lyft Restylane Refyne Restylane Silk Revision Rhinoplasty Rhinoplasty Salicylic Peels SculpSure Sculptra Aesthetic Selphyl Silhouette Instalift Skin Skin Tighteners Skin Treatments Slim Lipo Smart Lipo SMAS facelift Smile Smile Makeover Smoothshapes Straightening Stretch Mark Treatments TCA Chemical Peels Teeth Whitening Thermage ThermiTight Thigh Lift Titan Tooth Contouring Traditional Facelift Tumescent Liposuction Tummy Tuck Ulthera Ultherapy Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction Umbilicoplasty Upper Blepharoplasty Upper eyelid surgery Vanquish ME VASER Lipo Vein Treatments Velashape Velasmooth Veneers Xeomin Search