HRT and hands

[newbie123]

Hello, I will start by introducing myself.  I'm 28 years old and have finally decided that I will have to transition.  As considering I have a really nice life in every other way, I am never truly happy.  Luckily I look a lot younger (approximately 21) and hope this will help me with my transition. 

Facially I feel that I look masculine, however on numerous occasions I have been mistaken to be a woman.  I feel with hormones and possibly a little surgery, I would be able to look in the mirror and see me the female, rather than the male which looks back at me now.

In regards to my body, I'm 5.65 - 5.7, slim.  My shoulders width is approximately 16inchs, unfortunately I have no hips (however hormones and possibly hip implants could rectify this).  My feet are a size 5.5uk and therefore I'm not really concerned about this.

However I have quite large hands which are approximately 7" long and like 3 3/4 wide, I realise that for others this might seems small.  However I have very tiny wrists which make them look like pan shovels.  I understand that HRT won't changes the size as such, but will it make them look more feminine.  Also is there any surgery to reduce finger length as I truly have pianist fingers and I feel that if they were shorter the whole dimensions of my hands would be changed.

Thanks for any advice.

[A]

The width of the palm could change, but just a little. Feel between your thumb and index, then on the outer side of your hand. There's probably thick, muscular stuff. This will, maybe, reduce in size. Some people reposrt that it changes the appearance of their hands positively a little.

Also, some say the veins on their hands become less apparent, which is good, I guess. Fingers also become a little bit thinner, all due to muscular change.

Overall, I've rarely ever seen people truly impresed in hand changes, as they are minor and sometimes absent, but in some cases, it does make a difference.

Btw, what's those measurements for your weight? Doesn't tell me anything. o.o

[newbie123]

The width of the palm could change, but just a little. Feel between your thumb and index, then on the outer side of your hand. There's probably thick, muscular stuff. This will, maybe, reduce in size. Some people reposrt that it changes the appearance of their hands positively a little.

Also, some say the veins on their hands become less apparent, which is good, I guess. Fingers also become a little bit thinner, all due to muscular change.

Overall, I've rarely ever seen people truly impresed in hand changes, as they are minor and sometimes absent, but in some cases, it does make a difference.

Btw, what's those measurements for your weight? Doesn't tell me anything. o.o

I weigh about 140 - 147 lbs and thank you for your comment. 

[Beth Andrea]

However I have quite large hands which are approximately 7" long and like 3 3/4 wide

My hands are the same size, but I'm 6' 0"...my neighbor (a gg) is about your height, a little heavier perhaps, and her hands are as big as mine (and yours). She laughed about it while complimenting me on my "little" hands. Also, fwiw, my ex had bigger hands than me; she was 6' 2" and heavy, but with a good figure.

I have skinny wrists (I can touch the tips of my middle finger and thumb when wrapped around the wrist). I have noticed a psychological thing when I've done my nails--my hands seem to become smaller visually. (I generally use a darker polish, as it goes well with my skin tone).

[Felix]

Coming from the other direction, my hands have changed a lot. Obviously the finger length and bone structure isn't going anywhere, but the veins stand out, the skin is rougher, and everything is overall meatier. My skin is less translucent than it used to be, and the space in between my thumb and index finger filled in so much that I thought I was injured the first time I noticed it.

You should get softening if nothing else. I wouldn't mess with trying to get a surgeon to shorten your fingers if I were you.

[A]

I don't think any surgeon in their right mind would do something complicated like shortening fingers without a very serious reason. Plus, shorter, relatively bulkier hands are more manyl.

And I hope it works the other way, too... I want a normal space between my index and thumb. D:

[luna nyan]

It's usually the width of the hands/fingers more than the length that is the issue.  As A said, there may be some changes to the soft tissues around your hands over time from HRT, but bony changes are not likely.

If you're conscious about your hands, the better way to deal with it is to learn how to pose them in such a way as to minimise their profile.  Check some photography websites on portraiture posing - there is a lot of information there about hand positions in portraits and how different positions affect how the hands are perceived.

Hands are actually an expressive part of the body.

[Joelene9]

  My changes are small.  Except for the loss and thinning hair on the back and the softening profile, I don't care at my age.
  One thing that had changed is the return of tactile feeling of the fingertips caused by the spiro.  I can now identify the chapstick, PDA and the 3 different thumb drives I sometimes carry in my pocket.  Even though spiro is not a hormone, the diuretic effects of that drug has its good side effects.  It may have flushed out the lead that was put there subdermally by handling electronic PC boards.  Tiny flecks of metal was still visible emerging through the skin of my fingers 3 years after getting laid off, but the neuropathy remained until another 10 years when I started HRT.
  The tingling sensation in the fingers from the spiro is the key.  This means the fat and fluids closest to the dermal layer gets flushed first with the lead solder plus the copper, zinc and tin bits imbedded there, bringing up the neurons from the undamaged nerve cells below that closer to the dermal layer.  Also the spiro opens that area for the estrogen to do the fat redistribution it is known for, causing thinning.  My hands hasn't thinned that much because I still use them doing heavy work. 
  Joelene

[8888]

Curve your hand as if you're folding it vertically, keep your thumb in front of your palm as if doing "peace" sign, all fingers together and slightly curled. Women have long narrow hands while men have wide hands, very few men have fingers proportionately longer than the rest of their hand as compared to women (someone like for example Paul Gilbert does) - losing length from your fingers will just make your hands look more masculine.

As has been said, it's the chunkyness of your fingers and palm which makes them look masculine. For a 7" hand the width should be approximately 3 1/4".

[Beverley]

the space in between my thumb and index finger filled in so much that I thought I was injured the first time I noticed it.

You have got me looking at that space on my hand. I am trying to decide if it has changed or not. It does not look bulky, but I cannot decide if it looks less bulky. I do think my fingers look thinner.

[Beverley]

For a 7" hand the width should be approximately 3 1/4".

What do these measurments refer to? Male hand size or female hand size? And where are the measurements from and to?

My hand is 7" from the top of the longest finger to where the palm meets the wrist. It is 3 1/4 inches wide at the crease between the top of the palm and the fingers and 3 1/2 inches wide across the widest part of the palm.

What do these measurements mean in terms of hand size?

[newbie123]

Thanks for all the comments.....


I have measured my hands using a tape measure this time (not that good at estimating)..... My hand from palm to the end of my longest finger is 7in and (not including my thumb) the width is 3in....

I appreciate what people are saying, but I feel if I was able to have surgery to reduce my finger length... my hands would look relatively average.. ish anyway.  My fingers are soooo long... 

My hand size really freaks me out, I constantly compare my hands with others...  One bonus is hormones could possibly make them look more feminine and I suppose this will make a difference...

I do realise I am such a drama queen.... apologies in advance ha xxx

[chrishoney]

I don't think any surgeon in their right mind would do something complicated like shortening fingers without a very serious reason. Plus, shorter, relatively bulkier hands are more manyl.

And I hope it works the other way, too... I want a normal space between my index and thumb. D:

Surgeons can, and do amazingly _______ (insert your own adjective here) things, all in the name of vanity, and to make money of course.

In the US, you can get the long bones (femurs usually) in your legs lengthened if you are chronically obsessed about being vertically challenged. It is incredibly painful and VERY risky, and the process lasts something more than a year and the net gain is only an inch or two. Basically, the femurs are broken and extendable medullary rods are inserted that can be gradually lengthened over time. Once the desired length change is achieved the bones are allowed to heal, if possible. As I understand it, the pain is quite intense, and long lasting, as even a one inch increase cannot be achieved in one quick procedure. 

Surgeons are also removing the fifth toe so that women with wide feet can more comfortably fit in their Manolo Blahnik's  and Jimmy Chu's. Don't doubt for a minute that some surgeon somewhere (probably California, sorry Golden State folks!) would surgically reduce the size of someone's hands on two conditions: 1.) if the were obsessed enough, and 2.) had enough money to pay for it.

[Felix]

Surgeons can, and do amazingly _______ (insert your own adjective here) things, all in the name of vanity, and to make money of course.

In the US, you can get the long bones (femurs usually) in your legs lengthened if you are chronically obsessed about being vertically challenged. It is incredibly painful and VERY risky, and the process lasts something more than a year and the net gain is only an inch or two. Basically, the femurs are broken and extendable medullary rods are inserted that can be gradually lengthened over time. Once the desired length change is achieved the bones are allowed to heal, if possible. As I understand it, the pain is quite intense, and long lasting, as even a one inch increase cannot be achieved in one quick procedure. 

Surgeons are also removing the fifth toe so that women with wide feet can more comfortably fit in their Manolo Blahnik's  and Jimmy Chu's. Don't doubt for a minute that some surgeon somewhere (probably California, sorry Golden State folks!) would surgically reduce the size of someone's hands on two conditions: 1.) if the were obsessed enough, and 2.) had enough money to pay for it.

Having had a lot of bone breaks and some metal used to fix them (and having watched a sibling get rods put in both his legs) I can attest to the extreme and potentially lifelong pain. You can get a lot of things to happen with money, but you may regret it.

[Seyranna]

Hands, feet, shoulder are extremely overrated in passability...

Fact of the matter is: It just doesn't freakin matter.

I get mam'ed 100% of the time and for the kick I just measured my hands just for you:

length: 8 inches
width: almost 4

I got 18 inches shoulders and my feet are like size 11 US and since I'm pretty short( 5'4) it should be an issue but it's really not.

I have to say when I started transitioning I was very self conscious of my hands and kept hiding them with my sleeves but these days are over now.

[A]

Overrated in passability, maybe. But it's still pretty to have a nice ones of both.

[Seyranna]

Well yeah, but since it's part of the things that will almost never change on HRT it's pointless to fret about it it can only nuke your confidence.

[A]

I know, but I'm hopelessly a dreamer when it comes to such things.

On another note, can anyone comment on the effect of (MTF) HRT on the appearance of hand veins?

[Seyranna]

I'm pretty sure veins on the other hand will become much less visible, well less extruded somehow even though skin gets thinner.

[MacKenzie]

No I don't think it does anything to the veins in your hands if anything it makes them more visible since your skin is thinner.

I do agree that hands, feet, shoulders  are not as important for passability, your face is the biggest indicator of your gender and your voice too.