Mavala Stop Review

Mavala Stop Review

Price: $16

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Effectiveness
Sanitary & Health
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Effective when used in conjunction with another thumb stopping product, low cost.

Does not work when sleeping, many kids get used to bad taste quickly.

Our Full Review

What Is Mavala Stop?

Mavala Stop is an anti-nail biting polish that tastes very bitter, and as a result discourages nail biting for children 4 and older.  Mavala Switzerland, the manufacturer, claims that it also prevents thumb sucking, however we do not agree.

Anti-Nail Biting Polish DOES NOT WORK for thumb suckers at night. It is designed for daytime nail biters – obviously won’t work while your child is sleeping and their taste buds are turned off. Children under four years old don’t dislike the taste because they haven’t yet developed a bad taste for it yet. Some kids get used to the bitter flavor unless it is very, very strong. Nail polish was developed for nails, not thumbs.

Top ways to stop thumb sucking

For people who subconsciously put their fingers or thumbs in their mouth during the daytime this is an excellent reminder to stop nail biting.  If you are looking for a solution to stop adult thumb sucking during waking hours or you simply need a reminder and who really wants to stop fingernail biting, then any anti-nail biting polish is a good choice for you.  There are several choices including lower cost options.

nail biting before mavala stop

How Does Mavala Stop Work?

While it seems natural that Mavala Stop (or any other anti nail biting polish) would also work to stop thumb sucking, it does not. First, it is important to understand how the polish really works – it tastes bad. Is it so bad that your child will absolutely not put their thumb or fingers in their mouth?  Well.. no. It comes down to what is worse, not sucking or enduring a bad taste. For serious suckers, you need something that will physically prevent the thumb from being sucked on.

Although Mavala Stop usually does not work on its own, when used along with a physical device – one that obstructs the thumb from the mouth – it can be extremely effective. Especially when the device is taken off, the bitter taste will continue to stay on as a reminder. We recommend the nail-biting polish be used in conjunction with any thumb guard or thumb sleeve.

mavala stop bad taste

Many children will actually get used to the taste in about a day, rendering the product totally useless for them. Your child will definitely find the bitter taste disgusting at first, but a stubborn child will quickly get past it. Think of your first sip of coffee.. it was probably gross, but then, you learned to like the bitter stuff. Mavala Stop is the same kind of thing.

For stubborn children, or people who have a psychological dependence on sucking their thumb, the bad bitter taste is not a sufficient deterrent.  And for the night-time thumbsucker any anti-nail biting polish absolutely won’t work.  Many children go to bed without sucking their thumb, but start to in the middle of the night (this is perfectly natural until the habit is stopped), and they do it while sleeping.  Their taste buds are not sending the “yuck” signal to their brain while sleeping. When your child sucks their thumb while sleeping it’s automatic, they don’t know they are doing it.  So basically it is involuntarily and when they wake up there is this disgusting left over mouth taste and it is like punishment for an undeserving crime.

  • Effective when used with another product
  • Inexpensive
  • Invisible
  • kids get used to the taste
  • non-effective at night
  • must reapply frequently

Common questions asked about Mavala nail biting polish for thumb sucking include, is it effective at stopping thumb sucking, what are Mavala Stop ingredients and can it be toxic, and what are its retailers.

Does Mavala Stop Actually Work?

Is the nail biting polish effective at stopping thumb sucking?  By itself, probably not.  The reason is simple.  Children are more driven by the comfort of having their thumb in their mouth than they de-motivated by the bitter taste, and, the taste has no effect at night time while they are sleeping.  Of course, everyone will experience different results.  It does work extremely well for some, but results vary and most are not successful, especially with stubborn kids.

Is Mavala Stop Safe For Children?

Because you are concerned about the safety of our children, we want to know the Mavala Stop ingredients. Since the product is technically a nail polish it is not intended to be ingested, the FDA has not reviewed it. However, the manufacturer claims that the polish is harmless, and since thousands of people have used it we assume that it is indeed harmless. And although the ingredients look less intimidating than those on the back of a Twinkie, they are certainly not all-natural.

mavala stop ingredients

What Are the Mavala Stop Ingredients?

The Mavala Stop ingredients include Ethyl Acetate, Alcohol Denat., Butyl Ester of PVM/MA Copolymer, Phthalic Anhydride/Trimellitic Anhydride/Glycols Copolymer, Butyle Acetate, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Sucrose Octaaacetate, Denatonium Benzoate, Isopropyl Alcohol, Benzophenone-1, CI 60725 (D&C Violet No. 2).

Is Mavala Stop Safe for Toddlers?

We advise sticking with the recommended age for this product. Mavala Stop reviews indicate many people have used the polish on children as young as two, but since the distaste for the bitter substance often does not develop until a later age, the results are not great anyway.

Is Mavala Stop Safe for Infants and Babies?

Please do not use the Mavala Stop for infants because Alcohol Denatured is made of 95% ethyl alcohol and 5% methyl alcohol in USA.  Methyl alcohol is a poisonous chemical, and for infants whose immune systems are undeveloped even tiny amounts can have adverse effects.

Where To Buy Mavala Stop?

Mavala Stop retailers are plentiful. The best price will be online of course. You likely won’t find it at CVS or Walgreen or Walmart because it is the most expensive nail biting polish available, so the best place to purchase the product is from an online retailer such as Amazon.com. If you are determined to give it a shot but don’t want to waste the money, you might consider Hoof Stop the Bite instead – which is essentially the same product but cost $10 less (an added benefit of Hoof Stop the Bite is that it can be found at your local retailer).

How to Use and Apply Mavala Stop?

Mavala Stop is applied like nail polish. Brush the formula over the entire surface of the nail. You may also apply it over nails that already have polish on them. Do not wash hands after application. Re-apply the product every two days for two weeks, which is the usual time it takes to stop the habit. Remove Mavala Stop before reapplying. Use regular nail polish remover to remove the product.

How to Get Mavala Stop Off?

Mavala Stop is best removed with nail polish remover. Mavala Stop reviews say the nail polish leaves a bad taste on the nail for days or weeks even after the polish has been removed.

Does Mavala Stop Have Side Effects?

In some cases, Mavala Stop has caused some skin irritation. Serious eye irritation is also a risk if the product gets in or around the eyes. Mavala Stop may also induce respiratory irritation and breathing problems if the product is inhaled. While not a medical side-effect, please know the product is flammable, so avoid using it while smoking or around an open flame.

Is Mavala Stop Toxic?

The concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals found in the nail polish are so low, the product is not considered harmful for intended use.

How Long Does It Take for Mavala Stop to Work?

According to the manufacturer’s packaging, Mavala Stop takes about 10 days to restore health to nails and curb the nail biting habit. Some reviewers of the product claim it took two weeks to really get back to normal and stop the nail biting habit with this product. Remember that every nail biting case is different, so your results may differ from manufacturer claims.

Does Mavala Stop Expire?

Like all nail polish, Mavala Stop will have an expiration date or best buy date.  The solution may change the consistency past these dates, making it difficult to apply. The product quality can  not be guaranteed after the expiration date.

Honest 10 Alternative

Honest10 is a great alternative, they understand the key to successfully kicking the habit is consistency and a strong formula. To address the behavior behind the habit, the 10-free, Made in USA product is also offered as a kit that includes a motivational program and chart to track success along with the nail tools needed to grow out healthy nails and avoid the pitfalls of rugged fingertips and hangnails.

stop thumb sucking thumbs down

OUR FINAL CONCLUSION

  • Mavala Stop works best to stop thumb sucking when used in conjunction with a product that physically obstructs thumb sucking. Designed for daytime nail-biters, at best, it is a good deterrent for people motivated to stop.

  • Invisible and non-obtrusive.
  • Does not work when sleeping, stubborn thumb suckers get used to the taste in 1-2 days, messy.
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  1. Mavala Stop did act as a deterrent for a while but my daughter powered her way through the bitter taste. She even started to throw up. When asked how it tastes she said ‘pretty bad, but I like it’. We took a break for a while, tried again with no success then quit. Her taste buds still didn’t seem to care. Maybe I should just give her decaf coffee – I know she hates that! The other problem is that it gets on whatever she is trying to eat for lunch or dinner. I was really hoping this would work, but it didn’t!

  2. I didn’t think it was possible when my 5 year old stopped sucking his thumb! The kid sucked his thumb since about one year old. This mavala stop stuff works, you won’t even use the whole bottle. Within two we no longer needed to use it. What I didn’t like is that I had to reapply every 2 days, and after a couple weeks it was difficult to get him to sit still. I will say though, it gets on everything they eat.

  3. I know nothing about this product for thumbsucking but I found this page because I’m interested in stopping fingernail biting for myself (I’m 32). However I did know a girl once who tried this product (or one like it) and….. well, she did not stop. Instead she developed a taste for it. But for me I think it will work.

  4. Mavala stop is not to stop thumb sucking. It is to stop nail biting just like the label says. At night my child sucked his thumb and during the day it got all over.

  5. I agree with this article about Mavala Stop. It worked at first, but after a while my five year old boy got used the taste and at night I found him sucking his thumb. Although, he was very displeased with the taste in his mouth when he woke up. LOL. Mavala is problably pretty good for nail biting like they say, but at least with my kid not for thumb sucking.

  6. Mavala stop did not work for me. I put it on the tips of my four year old and it stopped him immediately, but after thirty minutes I saw him sucking again.

  7. My kid didn’t like it, four years old. But he is a strong thumb sucker and has been doing it since one year old. So after less than one day he quit!

  8. Stop thumb sucking nail polish like Mavala Stop works for some and not for others, just like every other product. It really depends on your kid. If you have a determined child then the nail polish will not work and you need a thumb guard or Nipit hand stopper, this is the same as all the other reviews say. I don’t like that you have to reapply a lot and it can be messy. I like that it does work as long as it is fresh.

  9. I thought this would be the first of many products we would try to stop my 3.5 year old’s FOREVER (from the first ultrasound images!!) thumb-sucking habit. Seriously- this kid has been sucking his thumb since he was in the womb, and would LOSE IT when we would even *try* to pull his hand out of his mouth. He sucked his thumb while relaxing, falling asleep and WHILE asleep. This article made me feel like there was no possible way that anything but arm braces, 24/7, would do a darn thing. 6 days in and I am *amazed* at the effectiveness of this polish! I’m nervous to say it’s completely worked because we are still early on in the habit-breaking process…? I think? But – straight up- my son is NOT sucking his thumb at all anymore. He doesn’t even try when he’s asleep, or he will start to move his hand toward his mouth and then stop short and just drop it, and continue sleeping. I don’t want to jinx this/ assume it’s all taken care of, and will continue to redo the polish for at least another month. It’s really not expensive and it might work like a charm for your kid too. 😀

    1. Hi, how it works for the long time? I’m on the 6th day using it and also having great results. In almost one week my son only sucks 2 times his thumb (before using the Mavala he used to suck his thumb lots of times a day and during sleep)

    2. Great question Maria. IF an anti-nail biting formula works for thumb sucking it usually works within a couple weeks. Important: when/if your son quits, keep applying the bitter stuff for another week at least to really make sure he is done with it.

  10. honestly very bad my child tried it and he couldn’t do anything after that, eat, smear of crumbs on his face and touch anything that might touch his mouth.