Healing Nails and Cuticles

Ugh, I have been dealing with skin picking problems for years, and I destroyed my fingernails and cuticles in the process. It took me a long time, but I have finally stopped picking!!! Now I'm just trying to fix all of the damage I did. I get so embarrassed trying to hide my hands. I found a couple of things that have really seemed to help bring my nails and cuticles back to normal, so I thought I would share in case anyone else is looking for some ideas. Every morning and night, I use a combination of two products. The first is a cuticle replenishing oil (I found it on Amazon... the brand I use is Avoplex), and it has a mixture of a bunch of different oils in it that help moisturize the skin. Then I use a nail growing liquid/oil... NOT polish. I have really avoided polish at all costs to stay away from any chemicals that would dry out my already brittle nails. That has made a world of difference. During the day, I carry around a cuticle massage cream by Sally Hansen and put a little on once or twice throughout the day. Again, has made a ton of difference, especially when my hands start drying out after being washed. And I use deep moisturizing lotion or hand cream instead of just regular lotion. I also keep my nails very short. It makes them grow more quickly... which means the damaged part of my nails is disappearing faster! It has been a few months since I stopped picking, and slowly but surely, my nails are growing in strongly and looking the way they should. They're coming in smoothly, evenly, and without those awful ridges. And my cuticles are completely healed! It's a lengthy and involved process, but I remind myself just how long it took to get my hands in such bad shape. For anyone else with recovering fingers, I hope this helps. This little cocktail has really worked wonders, and the incredible improvement that I have seen has killed any remaining desire I might have had to pick anymore. I'm finally getting my beautiful nails back!