Hey Gil,

Unfortunately, I will never get the before pics because they were on my old camera that uses film. I had given the camera to my friend, forgetting that I had film in there and then she accidentally opened the camera to see if there was already film in there...and over-exposed all the pics. But, I can search my photo archives to see if I can find a pic showing my old nails...I'm sure I have one somewhere... If not, I'll try to find examples of what they used to look like.

I've found that keeping polish on my nails has stopped my need to "groom" my nails constantly. I tend to inspect them less often when they are covered by an opaque color. That was part of my problem before...I would start inspecting my nails when I got bored, to see what I could fix with biting.

Basically, I had been biting my nails since I can remember...probably 4 yrs old...and it never stopped. I'm an only child, and I'm not sure if it was due to boredom as a child or just nervous energy. As I got older, biting my nails became a habit I couldn't stop. It wasn't until after high school that people started to make comments to me about it, especially my boyfriends. I became very self-conscious about it and would never show my hands. By age 30, I had had enough, and I searched the web for an answer to my problem. Previously, I had tried everything from bitter nail-polish to hypno-therapy...but I always relapsed. Thankfully, I found your website and had hope I might finally be free. After trying your method, I saw results within a week! It took me a bit longer to fight the urges, but after a month I kicked this lifelong habit! Now, 6 months later I have nails I am proud to show off!

E-mail dated April 7, 2004