Chew-Chew says…How do nail biting and thumb sucking prevention products like Mavala work?
The Right Brain responds:
Products like Mavala that are designed to keep you from putting stuff in your mouth are based on one simple principal: if things taste really, really, really bad you won’t WANT to put them in your mouth. To that end, these products employ Bitrex the trade name for denatonium benzoate, which is billed as the “bitterest substance on the planet.”
Bitter is a choice
Even the tiniest spec of denatonium benzoate is distasteful but not toxic. That’s why it’s widely employed in nail biting, thumbsucking, and “don’t chew this” products for pets. Yes, if you get a mouthful of this stuff you’ll likely to be heaving your guts up, but it won’t kill you.
In the case of Mavala, the anti-bite agent is formulated into a nail polish-like base consisting (primarily) of Ethyl Acetate, Alcohol, PVM/MA Copolymer, Phthalic Anhydride/Trimellitic Anhydride/Glycols Copolymer, Butyl Acetate, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, and Sucrose Octaacetate. This provides a durable coating that provides a slow release of the bittering agent that can last for several days.
Have YOU ever used a product to keep you (or your kid or your dog) from biting things? Did it work? Leave a comment and share your biting commentary with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Loading ...
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
When I was a kid my mom bought me one of those nail biting products. It was the most disgusting tasting stuff ever. I think it worked though – I don’t remember trying to bite my nails after that.
I don’t chew my nails, unless they break and I don’t have clippers. However when Audrey (my dog) was alive I used to buy bitter sprays because she’d chew her feet a lot. She would actually like the bitter taste and lick her feet until they were soaking wet.
A friend told me this story from her childhood.
Over one weekend, her parents thought that something strange had happened to their water supply. Every time they brushed their teeth, or drank a cup of tea, everything tasted bitter and foul. They couldn’t work it out, nobody else had the same complaints.
Eventually, they found out that my friend, who was five years old at the time, was upset at being scolded. She had retaliated by painting anti-nail biting stuff all over their toothbrushes and around the rim of their cups!
She says it was probably the most intelligent thing she’s done to date.
I can’t help but laugh at the though of this naughty little girl thinking up her plan. Of course, the story is a little less surprising given the article that I’m posting it in
I bit my nails for years and years-right now I’m in remission but it comes and goes-I can tell you honestly that the bitters really work best for children. As a teen/adult I can remember biting my nails with that stuff on saying to myself “Ugh this is bitter” chew chew chew chew chew. Past the quick till they bled.
Hey!,
It’s a very nice blog and too interesting,
MAVALA WORKS! We adopted two of our grandaughters after my daughter passed away. Our youngest grandaughter is now 9 years old. She has anxiety, and constantly had her fingers in her mouth, biting her nails as far down as possible. When she could no longer get to any nail, she would bite the skin on the sides of her fingernails until they would become inflamed and almost bleeding. She would often be unaware she was even doing this, as it had become such a habit
I bought Mavala after I had tried several other products with no success. It REALLY WORKS! As long as we keep this product on her nails, and the sides of fingers by her nails, her hands are nowhere near her mouth, and she proudly shows off her nails to anyone who will look at them. She now comes to me with the Mavala bottle to put it on her nails whenever it eventually wears off.
I accidently broke the bottle of Mavala, getting it on my mousepad, and on my hands. I can honestly say, in my 59 years, I have never tasted anything so bitter and gross in my life! AND….it almost has to wear off. Eating, drinking any liquid, brushing your teeth, will NOT get rid of the sickening taste. I scrubbed my mouse pad, and there was a lingering flavor of the Mavala even after a couple of months. From touching the mousepad, I would still get enough of the flavor of the polish to make me cringe. I had to buy a new mousepad.
It does not take very much of the polish to totally, and thoroughly coat the nails.
So the bottle of polish will last quite a long time. It would also work great to get a child to quit sucking their thumb, or wean them from a bottle or pacifier.
In rating this product from 0-10 (10 being the best), my grandaughter said we should rate it a 12! I am also in the process of buying our 3rd bottle of Mavala, and I am buying one for my grandaughter’s teacher who is struggling with this habit also.